Wigan Album

Someone will have fun naming those cars, third one down is a beauty and exudes luxury and have plenty of leg room, even though it will be a gas guzzler.

Yes Cyril, The cars are, Ford Cortina, Austin A35, and an Austin
Princess Limousine, if my memory serves me well. Cheers, Ray.

First one a Mark One Cortina, Second one A30 or A35, Third one unsure, but possibly an Austin Westminster.

I stand corrected by Ray....it's an Austin Princess!

Austin Princess Limo, very nice and I'd imagine that it would have been a head turner going through town in the early 1960s, what do you think Ray and Irene? and according to the internet they're now hired by a bride as her car on her wedding day or hired by students going to their school proms.

Also the Bobby on point duty further up may well have waved it through whilst saluting, and me, I was always on shanks' pony going along there.

I agree Cyril. I prefer old cars....they have more character than their modern counterparts. We had a ride round Wrightington and Parbold recently on a beautiful sunny day in our Hillman Minx, "Dororthy", and she attracted a lot of attention, even from young children who think she is Harry Potter's car! (Harry's is an Anglia but is the same era and same colour as Dorothy, and one little lad shouted, "I like yer car Mister!") Dorothy even SMELLS like 1959.....and I don't mean musty, just a smell of "age", and has no seatbelts to wear going down Parbold Hill!!

Hi Irene and Cyril, Austin Princess limousines were seen regularly in the
1960s and 1970s. We had an Austin Princess for our wedding in 1966.
They were also seen very often, sometimes more than one Princess at
funerals. I seem to remember the main Taxi firm in Wigan which I think
was called Hursts, They had Austin Cambridge, Austin Westminster, and
Austin Princess cars.

Wallgate railway bridge advertising Williams of Wigan Ford car dealers. On the other side of the bridge advertised Magees Ales that was still there until the mid 1980s. The Wheatsheaf pub is also visible.

Irene, as a passenger and when going down Parbold Hill are your feet pressing down on the floor and feeling for an imaginary brake pedal, it's done subconsciously I suppose.

Ray, I do remember some of those big cars that funeral directors had, at one funeral of a relative my cousins and I got to ride in one and we all liked how comfortable it was, I remember commenting too about a dial on the dashboard that was showing the outside temperature which ordinary cars then didn't have, well we didn't need to know the outside temperature, to us it was either cowd, clement, hot or boilin hot.

Mr X, also the original Victorian station buildings which were in a bad condition can still be seen, though by the late 1960s buildings began to get demolished and a new station got to be built, also those request bus stops from across the way of Wallgate station was moved to the left of the photo in front of North West station. A great pity that the Wheatsheaf got to be demolished as it was a great pub building with plenty of character.

I've just been having a look at photos of Hillman Minx Irene, I'd pretty much forgotten what they looked like and I can see the resemblance to an Anglia, I'd imagine the children were made up on seeing it especially with being a similar colour. My father had an Anglia which had no seatbelts and my brother would act daft when driving it, especially when going down Parbold Hill and Gathurst Hill and he'd laugh when I was subconsciously feeling for the brake with my foot on approaching the steep bend at Parbold or the bridge at Gathurst, though I suppose it depends on who is driving, it is far better to drive as the conditions allow and enjoy the scenery and the drive and arrive in one piece and not at all like you've just come off a rollercoaster.

There's a Hillman Minx for sale on ebay for £1.99 - though not a car, it's a picture card. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134343117328?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338364430&toolid=11000&_ul=UK&customid=Cj0KCQjwtO-kBhDIARIsAL6LorcLYFTi3GKneQIjdYmfYT-RjRFfFIwGtYIBnHjTl6shtIYMIQQgngAaAm6_EALw_wcB&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtO-kBhDIARIsAL6LorcLYFTi3GKneQIjdYmfYT-RjRFfFIwGtYIBnHjTl6shtIYMIQQgngAaAm6_EALw_wcB

There used to be a taxi firm in Wallgate called GreyCabs in the 70s,ran by Basil & Betty who operated austin cambridge & morris oxfords,they also had a couple of princess which were used for weddings,because i did a few for them.

Williams of Wigan had a connection with a Ford Dealership in Leeds called Tate of Leeds. My brother married in to the Worswick family that ran Williams.