Wigan Album

Powder works? Power Station, surely?

What was the powder works?

Brilliant picture Sandra - thanks for putting it on. How ya doin' ?

Colliery Explosives, that used to be at the bottom of Carr Lane, Sandra?

i was told ici owned the works

There was a factory called Hawkite Gradely (I think) it was around that area, it known as the "powder works" that dealt with explosives ie TNT etc. This was around the 1940s-50s.
I think Sandra's right, it was located by the flash somewhere.

i think it was owned by The British Nobel Company. Our next door neighbour, Harry Bolton used to drive for them , delivering explosives to quarries etc all over the country.

Yes, we called it the Powder Works too. I think it was called Cookes Explosives, its entrance being in what is now Carr Lane, near to where the Coop is now. Hawkley Hall would be about 100 metres from the entrance to the Powder Works.

Apologies, Sandra and everyone. I didn't know of the powderworks; a new one on me.

Hello John We are doing ok ... thought you would enjoy seeing this picture ... another bit of our childhood playground ... Happy days ...

Jim it was always called the powder works when we were growing up and there was no carr lane then or any Hawkley Hall estate just what we called Hawkley pad ... but you are right to say that the entrance was probably were the co-op is now ...

Hawkley Hall Colliery Explosives. It was owned by the Jordan brothers, one of whom lived in 'Redwood', the house on Orrell Rd, opposite Shelley Drive.
ICI took the company over in 1958, and it closed a couple of years later.
My mother worked in the office there for most of the 1950s.

I remember the explosion when the "Powder Works" blew up . It would have been around 1956. It was the day we moved out of out terraced house in Chapel Lane and into our brand new Council house in Worsley Mesnes, not far from the junction of Carr Lane and Poolstock Lane. We heard the blast in Wigan and watched all the Fire Engines turning out from what was then the Fire Station, opposite where we lived in a Chapel Lane and when we arrived at Worsley Mesnes the whole area was swarming with Police and Firemen. Does anyone have any more info on this event ?

See album,places, Hawkley Hall, photos 21 to 39.

This powder magazine was still in existence in the late fifties, and very early sixties. It had to be checked by the P.C. on that beat, on the night duty. It was before you reached the canal, from Poolstock Lane. There was also one up towards Kitt Green. That also had to be checked. I recollect one night, another P.C. and myself, were checking, (I think it was a Labour Club)further along Poolstock lane, towards, Wigan, on the same side as Hawkley Hall. We found it broken into, and the safe blown. The place was still full of cordite fumes. It is so long ago, I cannot remember, as to whether, or not the explosives had come from the magazine in that vicinity.

dear sandra ,hawkley pad was carr lane ,just no one in worsley mesnes knew its formal name.

hello baker boy ... I did know that Hawkley pad was Carr lane was just saying that is what most people called it at the time ... and it was Carrs lane on the old maps before Hawkley Hall estate was built ...

lots of locals used to walk round it when it closed making good use of the derelict huts for a bit of courting

I did a lot of my courting with my ex in the buildings in the powder works we called the hut the tin lizzie xx

Our house is built on the site where the powder works was and when we started to re do our back garden we came upon some of the foundations of that building. Needless to say we had to leave them where they were