Wigan Album

Would that be Ince Forge,in the distance(Gullicks)? Seems to be far more central to be the Empress cotton mill.

the door facing is 55 leader st teddy ashcroft used to live there

Fantastic photograph. I used to live just behind and to the left of where the gentleman is walking (Frederick Street). Absolutely loved living there.

great photo.i might be wrong but i dont think its in the 60s.they didnt have dusk to dawn switches on street lighting

That's what you call a proper street and houses!

Did my courting down there
Theres an entry just to the right which led to whitehouse youth club
I played football for them for a spell
My wife lived in birkett street before we married

What a great picture, I wonder if he got his Hovis ???

My Aunt and uncle, Enid and Jim Bishop, lived at number 5 Birkett Street.We were visiting them on Sunday 9th. of January 1949 when on the 9pm news on the BBC it was announced that Tommy Handley had died.His programme on the radio, ITMA, was was the leading comedy show of the time.

just to the right of this shot live Mary and Joe Grady and their family, Bernard, Bernadette, and Mary they also had an adopted son Julien

Peter, I lived at Birkett Bank Terrace - till they pulled it down in 1958. The road (dirt track carried on to Birkett Street) and next door to us was a white house which was a lodinging house when I lived there - is this the white house you say was a youth club - when was it a Youth Club and who ran it. I have not seen a photo of this house - does anyone know why this double fronted detached house was built there and who lived in it?

Thank you for posting - I lived at the Crispin 1950-1956. I was interested in Maggie K mentioning a "boarding house" - never knew where it was but "Long John" one of our old and intriguing customers lodged there. Other families I recall, the Derbyshires, the Ashcrofts, the Winstanleys and the Bithells but not sure if the Wains lived in Birkett Street if not they lived close by.

Knew the Ashcrofts weel, belonged to St Catharine's like me. Mated with Alan in sixties and early seventies we were in the 5th Co Boy's Brigade together. Alan sadly died quite young as did his older sister Barbara. They lived in the bottom house on the right going down Birkett St from memory.

Just to pick up on something which Keith mentioned - Wains (or Waines, not sure what the spelling was) did live in Birkett Street and there was another Wain family which lived in Cecil Street which adjoined the top of Birkett St. The Wain family who lived in Birkett St had a builders yard which was adjacent to Birkett Bank Terrace. New houses have now been built where the yard once was.

(I was born and brought up at number 13 Birkett St)

Just to continue the thread a little, sad to hear of Barbara Ashcroft's early passing, she was in the same class as myself at St Catharines and my memory is of a very happy smiling vivacious girl, although I never knew her brother. John's point about the Wain(e)s is also of interest since Gwen Wain(e), she of the long blond braided plaits, was also in the same class. I've often wondered if the Wain building company had anything to do with this family.

Keith - the Gwen Wain your refer to lived on Cecil St. She had an older brother called Norman. I think her father was the brother of the builder who lived on Birkett St. The Wains on Birkett St had a son called Phillip.

Through an alley on the right was a big old house, does anyone know what it was, we used it as The White House Youth Club in the late 60's. Mr and Mrs Parkinson ran it I think, he was a bobby.

The large house on Birkett Bank Terrace used to be known as the "Lodging House". In the 1950's, it was occupied by men (lodgers) who usually had the appearance of being poor. I don't recall it being a night club - perhaps that is what it became after I left the area.

Thanks for the reply John. Yes I now remember the name Phillip Wain (it is Wain without the e, I googled it and moved on). Inexplicably I still have a photo of Phillip Wain, aged about 5, he simply must have been wondering within camera shot in Birkett Strreet when I had the old box Brownie.

Alan and Barbara ashcroft lived at number 1 birkett street
I knew both of them quite well
Thre was a malcolm wain further up the street
There was also a miss topping and here brother peter
Next door to the ashcrofts were the corless's at number 3

I cannot verify this story since it was something I heard many years ago and so those who told it are long gone. The lodging house was the "home" during WW1 to a man who perished in that War, apparently he had a number, quite a few was the impression I was left with, gold sovereigns. On leaving for the front he carefully stashed these away inside the brickwork of the chimney. Now he must have told at least one person since again I was told that they were recovered and spent some time after his sad demise.

With all these contributions a picture of Birkett Street residents of yesteryear is appearing, even though half of it no longer exists.

behind the man top house left side anybody know the mame of accupants.where you can see the side few of house

Keith,,
was "long John"always in a rush and used to wear a white silk scarf?...a relation of mine used to tell the sovereign story in the of "Thowd Lodging House"in as much it was long john who found them after seeing a ghost which used to to dissappear up the chimmny.Having seen this happen a few times he the started to poke around and he found a bag of sovereigns.Was going to post this story last night but didnt havetime,,,.You beat me to it.My relative name was Harry Pomfret who lived in Forge St but was a regular in the Crispin ,,indeed am sure he appears on one of your customes pic that you have posted.
We have conversed before I used to live at Clarington Brook next to Bibbys Office,,,and have spent many happy snowy winters night sledging down Birkett St often going straight across bottom of Birkett Bank but then again there was scarcly any traffic about then.

Hi Jim, sorry to have "stolen your thunder" so to speak. Strange how our paths never crossed despite living so close by. "Long John" did indeed wear a silk scarf but I could never imagine him rushing anywhere, he was quite the opposite, languid and laid back with a fine white moustache, invariably smoking a pipe and usually wore a flat cap. I mentioned he was "intriguing" perhaps a better word would have been mysterious since I certainly can never remember hear him speak, just one of life's curiosities that stay with you I suppose.

Gullicks - where I started my first "real job" in 1961 as a Clerk in the Draughtsmens' Office - names I remember,George Best, Jim? Green, Alan Ormerod, Geoff Seddon (one of the "chiefs"), ? Sullivan. There were also two Gaskells, one of whom was Head of a Division the other working as a Draughtsman whose first name I think was Ray. There was also a "photocopying" facility but not one we'd recognise today because it was a large machine capable of copying large drawings for the hydraulic chocks, it was operated by an "elderly" man and a young boy. Had to get those names down while there are still some grey cells left.

The old grey cells have just conjured up another name from my Gullick era, Welshman Brian Shillinglaw who was a Wigan RL player, a gentleman.

Sad to say JohnB your old grey cells aren't working quite as well as you'd hoped, I think you meant to say Brian Scrivens, close but not quite close enough I'm afraid, however I think the rest is right.

Back in 50,s Eric Foster who was in my class in St Catherines lived in the house in the pic also Irene Waine who lived in the house with the builders yard in Birkett St was also in my class.Eric can be seen on class pic in St Catherines school section.

Two of the people I've mentioned can be seen at http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/album/photo.php?opt=2&id=344&gallery=St+Catharine%27s%2C+Wigan&offset=0
Barbara Ashcroft and Gwen(eth) Wain, although Gwen, as John Gormally said did not live in Birkett Street but close by in Cecil Street. Barbara and Gwen were in the same class as myself at St Catharines in the early 50's.

i lived at 8 birkett st.across from the ashcroft family and the crispin, great photo brings back lots of memories.

hello Pauline,,

a long time no see o speak to you,,ref the sledging down Birkett St was going to mention that i well rmemember you mother coming out and throwing ashes across the "slidepath" much to our dismay,,,was your house next to entry wher you could go through into Kirkless St,,also didnt have an older brother??? because am sure he lives close to me in Marus Bridge..

Another classmate at St Catherines,Stephen Critchley also used to live in Birket St,,about 4th house down on left,, tho not seen him in 50 plus years he does contibute to Wigan World form time to time.Stephen moved to Gathurst in mid 50,s.
Keith our paths did cross but you were so much older (3 yrs) i think and it was an age gap to far ,Though I do remember going to Coronation Party in the Crispin in 1953,, was held in upstairs room.
Think your sister Anne was more my age,,maybe 12 months older than me

yes it was next to the entry and it wasnt me mam who spoiled your slide it was mrs.bithel or mrs.waters who lived further up.yes i do have an older brother but dont see much of him these days as i now live in australia and he lives in whelley.

Hi Pauline, it was a long time ago and but I do have some memory recall. I can remember your brother, was he called James or Jim? he was I think a year or two older than me, the entry is also firmly etched in my mind. I lived at the Crispin and Jim you're quite right, my sister is 18 months younger than me and I remember clearly the Coronation event on tv in the clubroom, it went on forever. Amazing that we can "meet up" this way via the internet and wiganworld after so long.

Re the Ashcrofts Alan and Barbara had a brother Norman who was I think the middle child. Norman was also in St Catharine's BB but moved down to Hampshire working for De Havillands in the mid 1960s and lived there for the rest of his life. Sadly Norman died earlier this year aged 65 or 66 years. He was a lovely person.

Hi, the ascrofts (teddy, terry, tony,) lived in the corner house of florence st and leader st.

We. Lived at number. 1 ,,catherine. Terrace,the big house on.t corner next to Burkett bank. Terrace,,,,memories,, I remember. The Kings. From leader. Street, we used the corner shop in leader street,, the bithels. ,I think. Owed. Our. House,, rent was 50pence a week,,yes I remember the lodging house,,

hi.bill.(chatterley)?we did live at 55 leader st. the corner house in the picture was in leader st but further up.i remember the mans name i think was peter who lived there.my dad ted ascroft worked at gullicks for many years.has anyone any old photos of leader st .well st florence st.

Hello
My father was Norman Ashcroft, lovely to see all the comments about the family.