NEWSPAPER PHOTOS OF OLD WIGAN
These are photos of old Wigan mainly scanned from the Wigan Evening Post with some from the Wigan Observer.
Most of the ones from the W.E.P. were sent in by readers. Copyright holders objecting to their use please contact me at my Yahoo e-mail address to have them removed.
Four photos showing the inside of the much missed Market Hall from a millennium special produced by the Wigan Observer.
When I was a kid, virtually every time I went in there I used to go round and round in the revolving doors.
I'm not ashamed to say that I did it again the last time I went in, on the day it closed, despite being 24 at the time!
Central Park again, but this time in a different context.
As the caption on it says, this shows the view across Hilton Street and Greenough Street before the area was re-developed and the Central Park Way section of the ring road built.
Another shop that older Wiganers will remember, Latimers was situated in Commercial Yard just off Market Place.
This area was demolished in 1970 to make way for the Wigan Centre Arcade as can be seen on the aerial view further down the page.
Another of Wigan's lost pubs, the Legs Of Man ran alongside what was known as the Old Arcade or Little Arcade.
This area was demolished at the same time as Commercial Yard, being adjacent to it.
This picture shows a 1960's view of Wallgate looking down to Wigan Pier.
Wallgate is one of the main entry routes into the town centre.
The buildings on the right were demolished in the mid 1980's as part of the - seemingly all-destroying - ring road scheme, the road being widened along this stretch.
The Wiend is one of Wigan's oldest shopping streets but is now a shadow of its former self due partly to redevelopment work at the top end some years ago.
A view of Market Place looking down Market Street.
This photo appears to have been taken in the 1960's judging by the vehicles.The view today is quite similar but the area has been pedestrianised and the shops have changed owners.
This is an aerial view of the town centre taken about 1970.
On the left is the Victoria Hotel and Wigan Wallgate station. Top centre is the demolished Commercial Yard area, the curved line of buildings immediately below it being the buildings shown in the photo above.See if you can spot the locations of some of the other photos on this site.
This is another aerial photo of the town centre. The caption on it is incorrect. The photo was taken in the early 70s, probably around 1973.
However, it's right in that massive alterations have taken place. Most of the area in the lower centre of the photo has been redeveloped, mainly to provide the inner part of the ring road.Well-known buildings on here now demolished include the Market Hall, the Co-op Emporium, the T.A. Drill Hall and the Park Hotel.
Makinson Arcade was the biggest of the three arcades in the town centre.
It is pictured here in the 1960s at night, which may account for the blurriness of the picture.
Still extant, it has become more upmarket and consequently has lost most of its charm.On a personal note, I remember as a kid there being a kiosk in the side wall of Boots's shop but I have never seen any reference to this anywhere. Does anyone else remember this or is it something else that I've imagined?
This shows the construction site of the Wigan Centre Arcade - now Marketgate - in approximately 1969, the building of which caused the loss of the much-loved Market Arcade and Commercial Yard.
Ironically, if those areas had been retained, they could have been refurbished in the same way as Jaxon's Court and Makinson Arcade to become an attraction alongside The Galleries.
Today, the centre links to The Galleries but the downstairs area - whilst still occupied in part - somewhat exudes an air of dereliction.
This shows one of Wigan's longest established pubs, The Minorca, probably in the 1930's.
Still extant, it has changed greatly but differs little from the majority of the town centre pubs offering the same over-priced nitrokeg beers, loud dance music and bouncers.
Now known as Berkeley Square, it is part of a chain of similarly themed pubs covering the North-west which won an award for 'Best Brand Identity' or somesuch meaningless marketing term.
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Page last updated on 25 October 2000.
Central Park again, but this time in a different context.
Another shop that older Wiganers will remember, Latimers was situated in Commercial Yard just off Market Place.
Another of Wigan's lost pubs, the Legs Of Man ran alongside what was known as the Old Arcade or Little Arcade.
This picture shows a 1960's view of Wallgate looking down to Wigan Pier.
The Wiend is one of Wigan's oldest shopping streets but is now a shadow of its former self due partly to redevelopment work at the top end some years ago.
A view of Market Place looking down Market Street.
This is an aerial view of the town centre taken about 1970.
This is another aerial photo of the town centre. The caption on it is incorrect. The photo was taken in the early 70s, probably around 1973.
Makinson Arcade was the biggest of the three arcades in the town centre.
This shows the construction site of the Wigan Centre Arcade - now Marketgate - in approximately 1969, the building of which caused the loss of the much-loved Market Arcade and Commercial Yard.
This shows one of Wigan's longest established pubs, The Minorca, probably in the 1930's.