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Wigan Album

Millgate

30 Comments

Millgate
Millgate
Photo: Dennis Seddon
Views: 9,103
Item #: 20415
Corner of Millgate and Station Road 1950s

Comment by: Alan on 12th April 2012 at 09:14

It makes you sick now, a better Wigan then.

Comment by: henry7 on 12th April 2012 at 09:51

We must have been a posh town to have a Waring and Gillows furniture shop.

Comment by: aitch on 12th April 2012 at 10:18

good one of the yachting club

Comment by: Cyril on 12th April 2012 at 11:01

So true Alan, back then it was worth paying the bus fare to get into town, walking around the vast array of proper shops and market, even if just window shopping.

Comment by: Albert. on 12th April 2012 at 11:21

Am I correct in my memory,that the building,before you get to the lorry,and the open space,is the public house, "The Ship," and wasn't there somewhere in this location an entrance to the " Palias de Dance"(not sure of the spelling). It was an extention of "The Empress ballroom."

Comment by: RON HUNT on 12th April 2012 at 11:34

The shop after the lorry was the FAMOUS Millgate Chippy, then next to that was the entrance to the Palais.

Comment by: eric bulpitt on 12th April 2012 at 13:19

in between the ship & thechippy was the salvation army

Comment by: Ken Smith on 12th April 2012 at 14:14

I think this was the early 60's because there is a single yellow line on the corner and these came in about that time.

Comment by: Peter frost on 12th April 2012 at 16:32

Wow so much has changed since this pic was taken
Memories come flooding back

Comment by: Fred Cunliffe on 12th April 2012 at 17:00

Didn't the Ship Have the distinction of being the only pub in Wigan to have a "dirt"floor......upstairs!

Comment by: Colin Harlow on 12th April 2012 at 18:09

You could be right Ken, The first car on the right is a Triumph Herald first produced in 1959, so its late 50s early 60s. Thanks for sharing Dennis.

Comment by: Roy on 12th April 2012 at 19:27

It certainly had a 'Gentlemen Only' bar but i,m not sure how many 'gentlemen' went in there. Not too many 'ladies' went in the pub either, a few 'women'. I,ve seen one or two cat fights in the main bar. Maggie Muscle frequented the place among others.

Comment by: Don on 12th April 2012 at 19:59

Just to "confirm", I think it's probably early 1960's. Although not very clear that looks like a Jaguar Mk 2, parked next to the Triumph and they started production in 1959.

Comment by: irene roberts on 12th April 2012 at 21:22

When I worked as a barmaid in the pubs in Platt Bridge I heard many tales of The Ship in its former years. The "Ladies of the Night", including one "Red Bette", used to have their "prices" written in chalk on the soles of their shoes so they could be rubbed out and changed as necessary!

Comment by: Frank Orrell on 12th April 2012 at 23:20

I took this picture in 1967 just before I started work at the Post and Chronicle. I was working at Bradley's men's outfitters at the time who had shops on Market Street and at the top of the Makinson Arcade from whose upstairs window I took the picture.
The picture looks like it has been scanned from the Wigan Evening Post newspaper when we used to do a Then and Now feature.

Comment by: Art on 13th April 2012 at 01:23

The topmost figure on the left carrying a bag had just crossed the entry of the "Ship Yard", which ran down the side of the Palais-de-Dance & lower down the "Emp" on Station Rd.
Wareing & Gillows was Pooles, then Oxleys.
The shop on the right hand corner was The "Ring o' Bells"(Munro's) with a big figure of the OBJ (Oh Be Joyful) man, Later Dixons Camera electrical goods, etc shop, when it moved from Market Place, next door to the Black Horse pub

Comment by: she 44 on 13th April 2012 at 06:34

there used to be a cafe in millgate we whent in there a lot when we where teenagers in the 50-60

Comment by: Neil Rigby on 13th April 2012 at 07:31

Yes Albert, there was an entrance to the "Palais de Dance" up on the left. The Palais was an extension to the Empire Ballroon (at least they were linked.) Around the time of this photo (probably a little later) the Palais became "The Casino Club."

Comment by: Art on 13th April 2012 at 09:43

Neil.....Empress, not Empire ;o). Th' Empire was the cinema behind the Old Dog pub

Comment by: Albert. on 13th April 2012 at 10:50

Does my memory serve me right? Wasn't there a small brewery on the left,on the crest of the hill,as you went down Millgate, towards " The Horseshoe".

Comment by: Loz on 13th April 2012 at 19:11

Aye, Moorfield's Atlas Brewery. Moorfields supplied the club trade only.

Comment by: Neil Rigby on 13th April 2012 at 23:54

Yes Art, it was the Empress Ballroom not the Empire as you rightly say. I should have remembered properly because: 1) Of the many hours that I spent in the Empress (and Casino) and 2) that at one time, my father's uncle was a projectionist at the Empire. My father and I used to visit him at work and see the "behind the scenes" activity.

Comment by: Gerry on 14th April 2012 at 07:30

Frank do you remember s girl named Margaret Birchall from Standish working in Bradley's in 1968..between us we invented texting. I worked in Peter Pells next to maxims.. from the top Windows where we had a brew we would write messages on the windows to each other .of course we had to write backwards so the other person could read it.

Comment by: Albert. on 14th April 2012 at 10:39

Loz. The reason I asked, is, I can recollect that about 5am one dark morning, Detective George Manley arrested a chap pushing a barrel of beer down millgate,towards Station Road. He had stolen it from the brewery. George must have had a tip off as to what was occurring. This was in the late,1950s.

Comment by: Michael on 14th April 2012 at 13:46

My late father used to say, with a twinkle in his eye, that the floors in the Ship Hotel were painted green, "to make the old cows feel at home".

Comment by: Jeff B on 14th April 2012 at 13:58

Just past chippy was the famous Green Curtain, Up the steps after Ship - Salvation army, Small cafe opposite where teenagers went, they would sit in there forever with one cup of tea, plenty doleites sat in who would not work even when there where plenty of jobs,

Comment by: Frank Orrell on 14th April 2012 at 16:03

Gerry I don't remember Margaret Birchall at Bradleys. I worked mainly in the Market Street shop and only called in the other one occasionally.
I left Bradleys in September 1967 and the names that I recall from those days are manager, Mr. Wigan, (very appropriate) who I think was from Bamfurlong and his deputy, Miss Makin, from Springfield.

Comment by: christine.nee alker on 14th April 2012 at 17:19

1Remember mum telling me not to look at the ship inn .cos rude ladies. Went In there.of course I did look!!!!

Comment by: Paul Lange on 14th April 2012 at 19:02

Frank - Think one of my old school mates worked Bradleys at that time. Michael Chadwick .

Comment by: Susan Davies on 13th December 2016 at 13:45

Excellent photo Frank. I remember going in the 'Ship' as my dad called it. He went ballistic when he found out we'd been in for a drink....only it was called Raffles then in the 1980's. Remember being amazed as they had tellys everywhere with a new music channel called MTV on :-D

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