Wigan Album

Can you send a bigger and higher resolution scan of just the photograph, not the white mount around it.

I remember this as "Nelsons" sweet shop in the 50's.They used to sell "Wigan pier " toffee rock at a time when Wigan was trying to get rid of the music hall joke image.When letters were posted from Wigan they had "The modern Wigan has no pier" printed across the top of them.A lot of people weren't very happy with Mr. Nelson

It was a play on words....it actually said "Modern Wigan has no PEER", meaning nowhere bettered it.

I seek further enlightenment Irene!

rolo69, Irene is correct it was spelled as Peer, another postmark I remember was Wigan The Hub Of The North West.

The sign on the window advertising Westminster Virginia Cigarettes, Plain, Cork Tipped, I remember being told that all cigarette brands had a cork tipped alternative, though the only one I remember having actual cork for the tip was Craven A, all the others had the imitation cork printed paper tips on them, and there were a lot of different brands too and with fancy names and bright colourful packaging to entice folks to buy them, such as Passing Clouds, Robin, Three Birds, Sweet Afton and May Dew to name a few, nowadays there only a few brands and with dull packaging, the supermarkets now have to keep these tobacco products out of sight and I suppose that will extend to shops soon, strange really how folks stopped smoking and lung cancer and heart attacks declined but now more and more folks are suffering from Diabetes, I wouldn't go back to smoking though.

My grandma used to booze next door to this shop in the Star. They used to have a crate of ale under the seat with a bottle opener so they didn't have to keep going to the bar.

Irene, Cyril,thanks for that.As a young lad I remember the family talking about Wigan trying to live down the old joke town image.At one point they started to pull down some of the buildings and were told to stop because they were listed,also Mr. Nelson started to sell his Wigan pier rock at the same time.Over the years when I have been asked where I came from and I said Wigan I always added "Yes we did have a pier" just to shut them up!

According to Stuart Maconie Wigan Council's official letterheads read "Modern Wigan has no peer!". I don't no whether Nelson' used the same. Somehow I connect the name "Ogilvie's" with Nelson's shop. I remember Malley's shoe and clog repairers next door, Harry William's Ford cars and Middleton and Wood's "Monumental Masons".

Panc Malley's son married one of the teachers from St Josephs, Miss McCarthy.

my great grandmother owned this shop when it was a fish and chip shop in 1910.she lived above the shop with her family and moved to Wigan from Fleetwood. Her name was Margaret Selby. Her daughter Hannah, my gran later moved to lowton

Ah there's a very fond memory of the New Star Inn on corner of Miry Lane,spent a small fortune in there when I worked at Taylor's,,Bond Worth's,Rivington Carpets all made carpets but oh the ale was damn good after afternoons&day's shift's , my where have those day's gone?

My grandparents owned a grocery shop at 150 Wallgate and I would love to have a photo of it. Alice Aspey and James Seal ran the shop. My mother bought the shop next door at 146 and opened a ladies dress shop, Ascot Fashions. Any more photos of Wallgate?