Wigan Album

I would say taking the old logo off the British', and putting on the new BHS, well beofore its closure.

The green stall is whealan & Taylor.

BHS was there till they moved to the Grand Arcade in 2007

BHS did change a few years ago to a store called Piers, selling mainly clothing. Did it go back to BHS before The Grand Arcade?

Irene, after Piers the store did revert back to British Home Stores and stayed open on that site until it moved to the Grand Arcade

That green stall was the start of the Dave whealan empire.

The shop did not become Piers till after BHS left, Piers later moved further up Standishgate in the Tiffany's building and I think it has closed now. BHS is still going in the Grand Arcade.

There is a plaque at rear of bhs building stating,this wall is the property of british home stores.

I thought Dave Whelan had a shop facing the old bus station and a coffee shop next door well before they started to pull the old market down. I was fourteen in 1971 and can remember shopping with my mum and auntie in Whelans. Am I wrong?

You are right, Christine.

Morrisons took over Dave Whelan's shop. There is a glimpse of the shop on the Wigan DVD

If I remember correctly the row of shops /stalls selling wet fish was at the bottom the hall just to the left of the man in the brown suit. I also remember ver well the stalls set up by farmers selling eggs. Several of these stall used to sell double yolked eggs and my mum would always buy these when making custard tarts. Talking of tarts does anyone remember rice tarts /cakes.Thses were like cutard tarts except the filling was basically rice pudding sometimes with raisins in and always with a "skin" on top. Nealy every baker in Wigan used to sell these but they seem to have disappeared without trace and I cannot find any reference to them on the internet. Another "Wigan" speciality were what we called crumpets, which were thin (like what some people call pikelets but these are usually still quite small) and the size of dinner plates and had to be toasted under the grill. The ones from Laces were fantastic. My dad used to have them with toasted cheese and onion on - a Wigan Pizza. Its sad when such distinct, indeed unique in my experience of living around the UK, have vanished especially when we go overboard for trendy cakes such as poruguese custard tarts (nice as they are) when the Wigan rice tarts were just as good. On last trip down foody nostalgia lane. When at WGS in the 1960's we often used to go to the Scotch Bakers in Mesnes St for the potato pies. Note I sad potato pie not meat and potato. The potato pies had no meat and were very savoury with i suspect lots of onion and the top of the hot pie usually had butter oozing out of the crust. They were fantastic and although I am definitely not a vegetarian they were one of the best things I have ever eaten in the world. Again simple things well done and which seem to have vanished.