Wigan Album

Presumably the fencing is alongside the London-Glasgow line, with William Street etc visible across the line - and Kays Houses off to the left.
I've heard that there were caravans in that area of open land between the railway, Kays Houses, and 'the cornfield', but this is the first time I've seen a pic of one - so many thanks.
If it's okay with you, I'll reprint it in the next St Mary's parish magazine, in the hope that someone who lived in Kays Houses might remember your story.

No problem with using the picture Rev.Someone may know who the young lady is.

Nothing about the girl has cropped up yet, after printing the pic in the magazine last weekend. However, Bill Johnson, whose family, plus his mother's family, the Kearsleys, came from Little Westwood remembers Bill Byers - mainly for an incident when he was about 12 when Byers threatened him with a knife by the signal box on the other side of the tunnel there. It might have been connected with some name-calling from the lads some days before....
Bill remembers him living alone, and also remembers a number of other caravans near Kays Houses - including one where kids could buy home-made dandelion and burdock from the occupant.
There are a number of references to caravans in St Mary's Registers. Most, sadly, record the Burials of children who died there, thus: 15/3/34, Rose Farnworth (8 months), 7a Caravan Little Westwood; 17/3/34, Elizabeth Wilson (24 hours), 7 Caravan; and 18/4/35, Janey Wilson, 7 Caravan. The earliest reference to a caravan there is in the Weddings - on 11/10/30 John Sinclair, of 44 Little Westwood married Harriet Calderbank of 3 Van Little Westwood - her father is listed as a Collier. Also on 30/12/30 the Burial of Mary Ellen Blears (6 months) is recorded, she died at 'Caravan, Arthur Street', which is nearby, off Warrington Road.
The fact that they were buried by the Vicar of St Mary's means that they were probably not Roman Catholics, as most Romany people are, points to the caravans probably being used as housing of last resort by local people, rather than by travellers who simply arrived there from elsewhere.
It would be interesting to hear whether any of the caravan dwellers moved into the new Council Houses which went up in Westwood in the early 30s.

The caravans were not all romany occupied.My mother's aunt Clara Halliwell lived in one before living at no.25 Kay's and my uncle lived in one before obtaining a council house at Beech Hill.In the early thirties my mother collected the rents for Mrs.Kay and remembers how neat most of them were inside.

Hiya

Been doing some more research on the 1911 census of Kay's, these are 2 of the vans I found round the area.

Caravan Lower Ince

Heley Lear Lovell Head 1864 47 Female Widowed Pedler Wiltshire, England

William Cartright Son-in-law 1867 44 Male Widowed Coal Miner Hewer Wiltshire,

Alfred Cartright Grandson 1902 9 Male Lancashire, England

Corlener Cartright Granddaughter 1906 5 Female Lancashire, England

Westwood Field Lower Ince

Edward Partington Head 1872 39 Male Marad Street Grinder Stockport, Lancashire, England

Heley Partington Daughter 1900 11 Female Single School Oldham, Lancashire, England

Victora Partington Daughter 1903 8 Female Single School Oldham, Lancashire, England

Eamy Partington Daughter 1901 10 Female Single School Hamlerwoodcom Wigan, Lancashire, England

From the birth places they do seemed to have traveled to Ince, guessing the idea of cheaper dwelling carried on into the 1920 and 1930

Cheers Margaret