Wigan Album

The buildings on the right are stil recognisable, the old Pack Horse was made into a shop in th 60s and is now Tesco.

I think at one time the locals named this the ENGLISH CHANNEL With two butchers shops opposite each other English's one one side of the road. and French's on the other

Is this the section of Pemberton, that after a short distance converged into Orrell, after going through the bottle neck?.

I think that lamp post on the left is exactly where the Police Station used to be.

Albert yes it is it is still recognisable even today only the 'bottle neck' was demolished in the 1960's to widen the road Entrance to St.John's Church is on the right near the man.
I remember going to a fish shop in the bottle neck in the mid 50's to pick up some fish one Good Friday morning. I think the shop was Pollitts???

Ron. Where the large building is, on the left, at the start of the bottle neck, I seem to remember a fairly large area , with a pub, The Swan, or the White Swan. I may be mistaken.

You are correct Maureen. Worked from that police station, for nearly three years, prior to transferring to the Kent Police, in 1964. Prior to that I worked from the Central Police Station, in Wigan.

Albert the White Swan pub is still there it is at the top end of the Bottle Neck Now on the crossroads of White Street and Ormskirk Road. The pub at the bottom of the Bottle neck was the BLACK BULL

The Black Bull and a row of shops were demolished, and the White Swan rebuilt further back to make the road wider, now there is just the White Swan and Lamberhead Club on the piece of land.

Pems a dump, it all should have been knocked down.

Ron, yes - the fish shop in the bottle neck was Pollitt's.

And the Butchers was called Englands...I think it is still there ?

Beyond the bottle neck lay the fields leading to the L&Y railway line. You go down Brook Lane and into the Pingot Valley. Beyond that was, and still is, Winstanley Hall. The ancestral home of Captain Bankes. That area has hardly changed, but new developments have been built on farm land around Lamberhead. Pemberton centre is still busy on most days, but internet shopping and hypermarkets are taking their toll. Sad, but true.

Interesting map (1849) showing St John's, police station, bottle neck, Brook Lane (where I used to live), Pingot valley (well), before L&Y railway was built:-
http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/blog/?page_id=289
(at the bottom of the web page)