Wigan Album

Is this looking up Greenhough street with central park on the left of the photographer? I never knew it like this if it is and when would this have been taken?

could it be the Princess of Wales ?

Remember this in the 1950s used to walk down to the rugby ground on Sat afternoons with my grandad

got me first ever new bike from sam melling
remember it well
i think the toilets would have been to the left of the photographer with Central Park just over the river

That squares with my recollection. This is exactly how I remember Greenough Street, often look for it on the occasions I visit Wigan, but never find it, no matter how hard I try, just makes me nostalgic.

This brings back memories. There was a small cafe opposite Sam Mellings in the late 1960's where me and my work colleagues met every morning for breakfast. Our skiving came to an end when the boss was tipped off and raided the cafe. Bodies and vans flying everywhere like a disturbed wasps nest. - happy days !!

The shops on the left (Sam Melling's etc) were the last to go, only demolished in the mid 1980s.
An excellent photo.

Barry Harcourts family (I think) used to have the cafe on the left as you look and Tickle printers was where the door is on the angle.

prescotts between sam mellings and maidwells..the old scrooge remember owing him 1/2 p when a loaf went up from 12p to 12 1/2p...needless to say mum sent me stright back with it...

Did Sam Mellings become a branch of Rogersons? or have I dreamt it?

My brother told me that Sammy Melling was really well-known around Wigan, and that a joke went round saying he had gone to Rome and somehow ended up on the balcony of The Vatican alongside The Pope, and a Wiganer in the adoring crowds below pointed up and said, "Who's thar up theer wi' Sammy Mellin'?!

When Wigan was Wigan,

Stan - You are right. Rogersons had Sam Melling's in the early '80s.

was the pub the Regent ?

my hubby said he rememberes a shop called lenegans on other side from mellings further up he said was it a bike shop ? everyone went there for theire square elastic for theire cattys .

Yes, that is the Princess of Wales Pub.

My mother and sister worked at maidwells in the 50s ,sister betty was a sower ,mother worked in kitchen sorting out breakfast and dinners, maintenance man made my first 4 wheeled trolley out of brand new timber and old pram wheels best thing I ever had ,gave me years of pleasure

pub is the Prince of Wales - the Regent was further up on left - used to be a good chippy on left as well - and 'Dicky Plums' barber shop on right, who used to smarten the deceased up with a neat trim (or so mi dad said)!

I bought a Claude Butler 10 gear racing bike from Sam Mellings in 1969 it had two drinking Bottles on the handle bars it cost £36 wages were £9 a week then you could buy a second hand car for the same price. as I tried out the bike at the back of Sams shop it were on a cobbled Street.. As I was about to ride away Sam shouted to me Oy dont forget your spare frame.. that was included in the price I had that bike about three years the traded it in at Rogersons in Orrell for a S/H Honda 50 price... £55.

Malc The chippy was called Birchalls just 3 three doors (or shops) further up was Lewis Milk bar on which many comments have appeared on here in the past.
The pub in the picture is the prince of wales, which as ledgend had it Wigan rugby used to get changed in it prior to the pavillion being built at central park.
I used to live threequarters of the way up on the left in Turner street.

Does anyone emember the ice cream and sweet shop. probably around the furthest point you can see in this photo, on the left. In summer you could get served through a window that opened onto the street.

In the late 50s, opposite Sam Melling's, there was a newspaper shop. Mrs Dickinson, had it. She used to open between 05.00h'rs and 05.30h'rs. Her daughter was nearly always in with her. That part of Greenough Street was more, or less the finish, after working round the Scholes beat. Mrs Dickinson always had a lovely cuppa ready for the night duty bobby,very welcome, especially on a cold winter's day. No cars to ride around in, in those days. All the bobby had was Shank's Pony. At least he was always visible, on the streets.

albert - you will remember the police box in Jackson Square then and the flashing light ouside McCurdys to attract the duty bobby

The barber,s shop was Dicky Mears.He was my dad,s cousin.Used to go to the barber,s with my dad.Dicky moved into Withnall house,when greenough street was being demolished.

Great photo - my Grandad Harold Buckley (b1908) lived on Greenough Street until he married in the late '30's - my Great Grandad John Buckley (b1881) was here until he died in 1958. How things change - i'd rather have it like in the photo than now.

Next to the Princess of Wales was Laycocks timber yard and beyond that Sutcliffes tripe shop. If I remember rightly The Princess of Wales was on the corner of Greenough St and Orchard St. and just into Orchard St. there was a place you could buy petrol. I seem to remember there was just one pump and it was manually operated. Anyone else remember this or is my memory acting up again?

yes derek I remember it. Didn,t they sell parrafin as well?

Scholes Malc. The one I remember is the one at the top of Greenough Street, near to Veronica Almonds dress shop. I wish I had a Quid,for every message I wrote down in that box. What an advancement in telecommunications since those days.

derekb the name of the garage was mossis in orchard st then two houses then a shop called nellie skimmis she had a parrot when you went in the shop the parrot shouted shop nellie

took shelter from the rain and snow many a time in the phone box which was to the left of the street light in the late sixties whilst waiting for my girl from Whelley ,worth the wait been together 40 odd years

The picture says a lot about how things have changed in just fifty years or so.There's more push-bikes than cars - and more pedestrians than push-bikes!
Life was more leisurely then, and, as the picture shows, the street was a community, full of amenities, features and character.Nowadays Greenough Street is basically devoid of houses, shops or people, and has been reduced to a nondescript highway, with an endless stream of motorised traffic zooming through.

Thanks tony k for confirming my memory of the petrol pump. I lived in Whelley but, since I went to St Georges school, a lot of my school mates lived in and around the Greenough St. area and an Uncle and Auntie lived in Russell St. (Off Orchard St) He was Jack Rigby and he had a window cleaning round. Referring back to Greenough St, beyond Sam Melling's and going towards the 'duggie' there was a furniture shop (Formby's?) and a jewellers whose name Icannot remember.

Post Office on left halfway up with electrical wholesalers opposite. Across from Lewises was another chippy Mac somthing ? next door to Mclouds butchers, whos son played stand off for wigan. All demolished and Morris st workers built, soon to demolished itself

The jewellers and fashion shop was named Pearsons opposite Dicconsons newsagents near Duggie bridge. from a Greenhough st LAD?

derekb did jack live in little russell st our entry came out in russell st

tonyk, never heard of it being called litle Russell St but I think it is the one you are referring to.(Did Russell St run either side of Orchard St.?) Where my uncle Jack lived was a short street of probably four/five houses either side, a dead end backing onto Water Heyes. Jack lived in the second on the right as you looked down the street from Orchard St. The only other thing I can remember is that the people living in the first house had two girls, not very far apart in age.

there was two houses on left first walter rushtons second pat bromley i think the two girls was called hiltons

Would this photograph have the most amount of comments entered on any previous photograph depicted on "Wigan World Album"?. It goes to show, the high amount of interest in this photograph.

first left and you would be facing the scrapyard which is always the way we went, to cross the small bridge to CP
Further up also was Mortons where my elder brother became 'order boy' - remember those bikes which could take a large box, complete with groceries, front and back? - imagine the outcry today!

memories i had two paper rounds i got one pound fifty for mornings and one twenty five for evenings it all went to sam plonks for my new orange chopper bike i wish i stil had it but not the paper rounds they were heavy

tonyk, you've jogged my memory. Th family who lived next to my uncle Jack were called Hilton. I've just thought of something else. Wasn't there a Santus motor body works at the top of of Greenough St where it met Water St? Did they make coach bodies?

derekb ithink the place you are talking about runs from just past the bridge on the left to water st but that is in powell st the gate was at the end it was always empty except for the TA transport i cant remember body parts

thanks tonyk. I had forgotten that Greenough St ran into Powell St at that point. Maybe the TA used the works when the bodyworks business closed. I am fairly certain that a firm called Santus had a motor body works there. I seem to remember walking past the open doors onto Powell St and seeing the sparks from the welders equipment. Could very well be wrong though.

Santus motor body was in greenough street.
My Dad worked there. I remember going there down by St Georges church

I remember taking the accumulator for the radio to be charged up at Lenegans, it was near the top of Greenough Street, near Doctor Johnson's surgery. The shop with the open window selling ice cream was Lewis's milk bar. I used to go with a dish on Sunday afternoon and get it filled and run all the way home so it wouldn't melt. There was was a cafe inside. Happy days!

This picture holds a lot of memoties for me. Mrs Dickenson did have the newspaper shop, second from corner shop on the left (a printers shop) My wife had a cafe next door to Mrs Dickonsons, called Central Park Cafe, for a short while before that we had it as a Wallpaper and Paint shop, this didn't do well, so we opened the Cafe, before that it was a Fish and Chip shop, the shop had been empty for 12 months before we moved in. Coming back from the Print shop you had the Toilets, the River Douglas Bridge, The Lancashire Evening Post, The Labour Club, and then the Street going down to the Rugby Ground, there was a Sweet shop on the corner. Further back on the other side of Powell Street, was the Drill Hall where I was in The Army Cadet Force. I worked at The Lancashire Evening Post for three year, then moved on to the Daily Express Manchester for the next 30 years. My first job on leaving school at 14 was for S & S motors, a car repair garage situated on the same ground that The Evening Post was on all those years later. I now live in Australia. Thanks for the picture.

hello everybody ive only just joined wiganworld and just seen from SCHOLES MAC that my uncle DICKIE MEARS used to tidy and even shave dead men [HE DID BUT HE DID NOT LIKE IT A BIT]

I do believe Johnny Green the butcher married the daughter of the Pearson Family. He used to wait outside the shop for her in his smart car just showing off.

Up the street on the right, opposite Lewis's ice cream shop, was Mac's Chippy, which was owned by my parents, Mabel and Don. When the shop was busy I had to help out and cook the chips while my mum cooked the fish and did the serving. When the pubs closed, it was packed. The best times were when Wigan rugby players came in for fish and chips after training. I lived there until I was 13 or 14 when the council demolished our shop and we moved to Gidlow Lane after my dad turned down the offer of a council flat.

next to birchalls chippy there was a toffee shop called ryders i think