Wigan Album

Well, the Ford Transit van was first produced in 1965.
I'm almost certain the photo was taken by Wigan Observer photographer Arnold Hall from the top of the Raven pub.
Great photo and top quality.

The cars are from later than the 50’s.The No3 bus heading to Library St heading to Hindley also looks from later.I’m sure Ray and Garry can tell us.

The Ford cortina est 1962, the Morris or Austin 1962 or 3. The transit 1964.
I must say Rev, what a lovely set of pics you've sent in.

The cars are all 1960s. These photos are fantastic. Hard to belive in colour too.

More research to this great photo, the Ford Transit is almost new back then, D reg 1966.

What a brilliant photo of Wigan. I can see Commercial Yard where my husband worked back then, in a butcher's shop. He was only a young lad. I remember all those shops and the lovely feeling of "going round Wigan" on a Saturday afternoon with my friends. Happy days back in the 1960s.

The Ford Thames van came out in
1957 until 1963. Could well be late 1950s.

This is what Wigan World is all about, great pictures from our very own Wigan Observer back then.
Many thanks Rev David.

Now that's the Wigan that I remember!

Stan, The Ford van is a Ford Transit. Cheers, Ray.

It's just a damn pity it is not like that today ,because Wigan has ,is a ghost town it is a complete DUMP well done Wigan Council .

Please forgive me and I'm not being rude. But if you drive/walk up Wigan Town today it's just a filthy mess. It's light years away from the photo. Most of the quality shops have gone, junk food outlets have taken over and homeless people are sat outside door ways scavenging for bits of food and money.
Its indeed a far cry from 1967.
To be fair Wigan is just one of many towns thats seen better days.
Fantastic photo of great times, cheers Rev.

Jackson’s the tailors, waiting for the Standish bus my boyfriend and I used to stand in that doorway stealing a few last kisses. Memories.

What are those black patches on top of the bus rooves ?

I was thinking same thing poet, maybe they are vents for the smokers upstairs.

This is the very centre of Wigan and until about 1970 there was always a policeman there on point duty controlling the traffic. There used to be underground toilets that were the until the mid 1980s. The white car is an early Austin or Morris 1100 with a Mk1 Ford Cortina estate behind. And also the Ford Transit van. The prominent bus has a Northern Counties body with a DJP registration, will be DJP754-759 from 1958, the last short PD2s with rear entrance, the next EJP501-510 batch switched to front entrance and long PD3s. If it is DJP754 that one became a driver training bus from 1971 to 1980, and survives in preservation at Manchester transport museum. The other buses are much older, possibly full height JP8300-8329 or AEK501-512 of 1950/53 on the left, and 1946/47 lowbridge JP5500-5537 6000-6036 on the right.

Me to Phred !!
We left Wigan abt 1954 & thats just how I remember it.

Linma. If you had caught the last bus on Market Street at 11 o’clock you would have heard the whistle blown that told all bus drivers to depart.

PS.
Ask yourself, who has ruined a what was a good Lancashire market town in the name of progress ??

Could they be air vents for smookers?

The black patches as you put it poet, are air vents. ( plenty smokers then).

Fresh air vents. The black roof.

I remember those underground toilets well....you went down some damp steps and there was always the smell of disinfectant. The wooden doors to the toilets were unbelievably heavy and took some real pushing to open them once you had dropped your big pre-decimal penny in the highly-polished brass box on the door. Then they shut with a resounding CLAAAANG! Wigan was alive then with shoppers and a whole array of different shops, including stores such as Lowe's, Pendlebury's, Oxley's, Woolworth's, Marks and Spencer's and The British Home Stores. Helen is absolutely right about the so-called "progress"....we have lost a lot more than we have gained.

I wondered who'd be first to mention the toilets, Irene - every other pic in the Album in which they appear has a comment about them. I'm amazed it took a whole day before it happened here.

I had to be home by 11.0 pm and we wouldn’t have heard the whistle anyway we were too busy kissing!