Wigan Album

Until Thomas revealed these shots we had no clear photos of the old St Mary's Schools, so we're very grateful to him for having taken them in the first place, and for sharing them now. The nearer building is the original 1866 building, while the one behind, at right angles to it is the 1875 Infant's (sic) School. This building still stands, having been converted into a replacement church for the Parish in 1978, after the 1887 church was demolished. The Schools were originally built as the "Hall of Ince" School - being built opposite the Hall of Ince on Warrington Road. The School moved down the road to take over the redundant Spring View School buildings in 1976. There are proposals to close the School, along with Britannia Bridge School, and build a new School to replace them on a site off Wilding Street, where a new Clinic has been erected.

i can remember having band practice in there in the late 60s when Maurice Heaton was in charge of the CLB.
all the bands from the CLB companies from around town would come together for a joint band practice.
oh happy days!

Until Thomas' pics surfaced our best glimpses of the school were in the background of photographs of various groups preparing for Walking Days. The CLB Band features in some of these - I'll post a couple directly.

I share p frost memories of joint band practice at St Mary's but from the late 50's. I was in All Saints CLB.

thanks for putting these photos on tom.i attended both these schools,the things i remember most are the bottom playground,
open coal fires in one of the classrooms and the little bottles of very often frozen milk.very good photos,black and white looks great.the headteacher,if i remember correctly was mr asbridge,who lived in a house just under the railway bridge heading towards wigan.

Thank you for printing the wonderful photographs of St Mary's. I too remember Mr Asbridge being the headmaster. One of the teachers was Mrs Round. Mr Johnson was the caretaker. The vicarage now stands on this site but used to be at the top of Westwood Lane.

Like Geoff I remember attending St Marys but for a short time only as my first school in January 1947. I too can recall the bottom playground and open fires but also my first day when I was involved in a fight! (I was innocent-honest). The well worn floorboards, the vast (as it seemed to me) schoolroom (probably the Hall) and the loudspeaker perched precariously high up in the corner of this room and its blaring out of the tune "Pedro the Fisherman" probably a "top ten" hit of its day.

I remember his school with affection,i fell in love with a girl called joyce carr and another girl taught me to skip called may wittington,remember being dragged to school by my mum on the first day but enjoyed most days after i called recently having lived in manchester since 1960 and was quite sad to see most of the school was demolished but the vicar was kind enough to show me round what was left of the original site,how time has hemorrhaged away i have very fond memories of this old school that i attended at the age of 5 in 1954

what a memory,my infant school i am now 44yrs

The school moved in 1974 because i finished my final junior year there before i went to Rose Bridge.

I attended the school 1945-1948. I think the picture is from before my time since in my time the gate had been replaced by horizontal bars (probably for road safety) and the porches were not white (but I cannot remember what colour). Mr Entwistle was head master and Mr Asbridge taught
me my last year. He was a Church Warden and I have a nice picture of him in a walking day. Perhaps he became head master later. Other teachers who taught me were Miss Cunliffe and Miss Ingram.

I began my school days here in 1938. the teachers'were Miss Kenyon, Miss Ormerod and Miss Naylor. On moving next door to the junior school. The headmaster was Mr Entwistle. I was in Miss Marsden's class, she was a strict disciplinarian.Generally it was a very happy environment at this school. It is good to see such photographs,they are priceless.

I went to St.Marys' from about 1953 to 1957 then moved on to Springview big boys, fond memories oh. yes, me and my cousin Jimmy Allen from Cecil St. we both used to help Mr. Johnson the caretaker, light the coal fires to help warm the classrooms on those very cold winter mornings, and load up the big boilers with coal they where located under the school (no health and safety in those days)They were great days and a great place to be in.Some names from the time there, Maureen and Tommy Meadows, Kathleen Rigby,George Rothwell, Wilf Lucas,Chris Smethurst,Ray/Roy Fox, just some that spring to mind. I lived in Hope St. Springview. My family moved South in the late 1950's.Does anyone remember me at the time.Lennie Ashton

What a lovely school, shame they demolished the junior building,but at least the church still stands there today. Good memorys back in the early 70.s when i was in the infants.

Lennie, I started St Mary's in 1953/4 remember me and my mam (Elsie edwards) meeting Mrs Round on my first day. One lady teacher forgot her name lived in big house top of Westwood lane facing cemetery .used to take her papers when I was at Spring View always got a good tip at Christmas .Mr Johnston lived near us (facing church ). Is that the same Jimmy who played loose foward at Spring View School ,and signed for Wigan on his 16 birthday .remember Tommy Meadows very we'll .great days growing up in Spring View .Mam&dad(Miah Edwards ) had nowt but in View nobody else did ,but great days.

Jimmy was it miss fairhurst that lived at the top of Westwood lane .

Owd Viewer,your right it was. she was a good Teacher ,and a very nice Lady.

The teacher was not miss FAIRHURST but Miss Fairclough she was my first teacher Strange that became my name when I married!

How wonderful to see the photo of St Mary's Infant School! I attended from 1955-56 and cherish memories of Miss Fairclough's class, the orange coloured jumper she always wore, quite vivid to a tiny child. And her new cupboards that arrived where the toys were kept, coloured shapes and rolls of clay, coloured birds and men to paint. Also, the blue car made of tin and the shoe box bricks we loved to play with in the cloakroom. We were given little dark sacks on strings tied on the back of our chairs with our names written in yellow paint. The cupboard had a potent smell I retain to this day, which I now recognise as cedar. These sacks were for our "belongings" as Miss Kenyon explained later. I'm sure we all recall the coal fire she kept lit and the tiny Oxo tins where we stored our chalks in "desks". On the deep playground nearby. we played football. The playground was still there twenty years ago when I visited Ince. Is it still? My father was the vicar Rev. N. F. L. Williams. Does anyone remember? John Williams

I went to this school aged around six or seven. I remember Mr. Cambridge, Mrs Davies whose family had the farm on Bickershaw Lane, Miss Ingram, Miss Holcroft who used to scare the daylights out of me, Mr. Richardson,and I think there was a Mr. Ashcroft there, but I might be mixed up. I often wondered why they pulled down the school, and what happened go the stones laid in memory of those passed that were displayed in the assembly hall. I can remember one in particular about someone's daughter who "fell asleep" in 1800s. It's sad that we lost the church and the junior school. Now we've lost the old Spring View school too. Very sad. Wonderful memories.

Hi Chris the teacher was miss Holbrook she was my class teacher for my final year at Saint Mary's in Derby Street just round the corner from our families homes before I left in the summer of 1981 to start park high school formerly Hindley and Abram grammar school in the August of 1981.
Miss Holbrook was an extremely good teacher but didn't stand for any messing around with unruly children.