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Photos of Wigan
Photos of Wigan



Wigan Album

Market Place, Wigan

16 Comments

"Old Queen's Head", Market Place.
Photo: Ron Hunt
Views: 3,104
Item #: 1348
"Old Queen's Head", Market Place, Wigan. Scanned from an old postcard.

Comment by: RON HUNT on 13th February 2010 at 20:44

I would loved to have gone in there for a pint.

Comment by: Roy on 20th February 2010 at 15:17

Any idea where this was situated Ron?

Comment by: Gem on 30th May 2010 at 23:14

from the directory:
WHITESMITHS.
Barnes Richd. sen. (scale beams)
Bishopgate

Comment by: Gem on 30th May 2010 at 23:19

1869 directory places W Barnes at 22 Standishgate

Comment by: Gem on 31st May 2010 at 01:11

This has got my interest, Prescot Corless was the landlord in 1825, the directory for 1869 has no record of this Pub, so it seems to me that that the picture was taken before 1869. Also judging from the dress and hat of the man in front which seems to be of the Abe Lincoln style, this must be an early photograph,

Comment by: Kenee on 29th October 2010 at 13:43

If it was pre 1869 this must be one of the oldest photographs in the world. I wonder how long the exposure was ?
Look at the ghostlike quality of the young woman.

Comment by: josie pennington nee beckett on 9th December 2010 at 23:20

how fantastic, i love this pic and it says market place on it but where abouts ?

Comment by: GeorgeB on 20th November 2011 at 15:07

Not the oldest photo in the world, photography got under way in the 1830's but portraiture studios were fairly "widespread" in the 1850's. Nevertheless a fascinating photo and it would be of great interest to know the year. J Cooper certainly seems to have been an early photographer, lucky for us he seems to have used Wigan as a base. I would guess he was operating in the 1850's and 1860's.

Comment by: Colin Traynor on 8th March 2024 at 10:31

Another fascinating picture from the past. I cannot place it but the style of the building with those long low windows look late Elizabethan.
The to hat the man is wearing looks to be what they called in America a ‘Stove Pipe’. It was the fashion for top hats to get taller and taller, a bit like platform shoes for me in the 1970’s. I’ve still got mine!

Comment by: Colin Traynor on 8th March 2024 at 13:34

For what it is worth I just took a closer look at the sign at the side, it reads:
W Barnes
Whitesmith
Bellhanger and what looks like, & Gas-Fitter.
A Whitesmith is a metalworker who does finishing work on iron and steel such as filing, lathing, burnishing and polishing. The term also refers to a person who works with 'white' or light coloured metal.
What a treat it would be to read those signs over the windows of the Old Queens Head and more importantly which Queen could that have been as the Inn I assume was long in existence before Victoria..

Comment by: Ian on 8th March 2024 at 18:59

Colin, it could be Queen Mary of Scotland, hence the name of the pub.

Comment by: Colin Traynor on 9th March 2024 at 11:40

Ian, I very much doubt that, more likely to have been Queen Ann or Queen Mary, William of Orange's wife or one of the Consorts of the George's. If any at all.

Comment by: Veronica on 10th March 2024 at 12:51

Queen Mary Tudor? Or is that too early!
Daughter of Henry V111 and sister of Edward who died very young and inherited the throne when Henry died.

Comment by: Veronica on 10th March 2024 at 14:04

The building looks at least 200 or more years old by the time of the photo taken in the 1800’s. Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded in 1587 at Fotheringay Northamptonshire.
Really interesting and historical photograph. Might it have been a ‘nod’ to that tragedy?.

Comment by: Colin Traynor on 11th March 2024 at 09:03

You never know Veronica and perhaps we never will.

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