starting at sovereign rd,gas works yard,river douglas,macandlish cake shop,hiltons grocers,burroughs electrical shop,nellie athertons fruit and veg shop,gpo yard,hurst butchers,where i used to go for loose dripping for me mam.cromptons chippy,toffee shop,english cake shop on corner of fairclough st.smiths haberdashery,rigbys butchers,jolly mills shoe shop,television repair shop,post office,witworths furniture shop,isherwoods picture shop,vartys tripe shop,later a chippy i think,tommy cotams floor covering,police garage,walt browns barbers,derby arms on corner of chapel lane.accross the road wood shop,waddingtons paper shop,womens clothes shop,dont know the next one,callands toy shop,3 houses,preston arms pub on the corner of harrogate st,cockburns grocers,2 houses,duddys pet shop,2 shops together dont know,sunbeam baby clothes,union office,entwistles chippy,barbers shop wich was later indian resteraunt,3 shops together one was a builders,norman leathers music shop,slaters chemist,pendletons toffee shop,demins book shop,hursts grocers at side of river douglas.to the best of my hubbys memory.

Borrowed from a Photograph submitted by Marguerite Isherwood






It says, Corner of Darlington St and Brookhouse Street.

I don't recall those places but that was fascinating! When would they have been demolished?

irene they started demolishing fairclough st. ellen st.in 60,61.darlington st.about 1966 onwards.harrogate st.foy st.atherton st.shelmerdine st.and douglas st.i think was very early sixties,because douglas house was built in 1961or 1962.

In the early sixties Wm Leyland had a music shop in Darlington Street. I bought a couple of guitars and amps there.

Thanks everyone. I was born in 1952 so probably passed those shops on the bus into Wigan from Ince with my Mam as a young child but don't remember them. I remember Kaye's though, (probably along with most Wiganers!). I remember William Leyland from my Hindley Monaco days. Thankyou again for your info and friendliness.

My Uncle was a Tailer and had a shop on Darlington Street in the 50's.He later turned it into Post Ofice which eventually moved accross the street. His name was Richard Smith.

I travelled to school on the bus to wigan through that part of the town 1961-66 nd then to work 1966-73.Over that period I watched practically everything go.

I used to live at 30 Darlington Street back in the 50s, between Roy Simpson's Gents' Outfitters, and the Post Office.

> Mac, that shop is still there, on the corner of Brookhouse St/Darlington St East Passed it not long ago! Obviously not the same proprietor! But the building hadn't changed! Passed it not long ago? Hadn't changed? Need to get checked over for Dementia! Passed it earlier today, and the shop has been bricked up, and converted into a private house! Very nicely done, to, but that doesn't excuse my gaffe and missing couple O' years

The photo that Mac put on regarding Brookhouse Street is not Darlington Street, but Darlington Street East.

Flossy, you have an excellent memory. Ours was the TV shop you've remembered, but you missed out Calland's bike shop across the road.

The pie/cake shop was called Schofield's. I knew folk who lived on Harrogate Street, Foy Street, Atherton Street and Shelmerdine Street. Do you remember the Richardsons at No 1 Shelmerdine Street, the Myers, the Masseys?

I had a friend who lived on Douglas Street, which was right next to the Duggie.

I so wish I could see a photo of Darlington Street from the 50s, but I don't think one was ever taken. It would be so lovely to see a photo of our old shop from the 50s.

Wow, this topic has transported me back in time 50 years - er, 55 years!

On the same side of the courthouse going back towards the duggie
I went to a motoring school called Wigan school of motoring
I think it was a ford cortina mk 1 that the the guy used

MOLLIE M I remmber the Richardson .I worked with Eric at itex yarns he had a sister i think was called Ilene the masseys used to live in no 9 foy st my sister used to live next door.I dont know any myrers sorry.The cake shop at the corner of fairclough st i always knew as English and on the other corner of the st was Evans.

Flossy,do you remember a family by the name of Mitchinson that lived in Foy Street.

momac Sorry i didnt know the Mitchinsons but my great grandparents used to live in Foy st at no 9 the masseys used to live at no 11 not no 9 which i said before.

Thank you Flossy.

mac/the photo of shop on corner of brookhouse st was later isherwoods shoe shop

I remember Kays, known to us as "Mucky Mary's". Used to buy gas masks there for about a shilling to scare the neighbours!. Still have an ex war department iron tool box off a tank in the garage - built like a tank it is too.

Sweaty Betty had an Indian "Restraunt" here, before moving to Market St. There was one across the road also, bit earlier I think, around 1970 or so, Koh-i-noor ?.

Called in Mc Candlishes many times working at the Gasworks - a Ham barmcake for 10 pence (or two bob before metrication)
Their pies where crap though - I went up to Mayburys in Scholes for proper pies !!!! (In a gas van with a big box - side door - ""gasworks order"" - about 20 odd of 'em )

Gas

By eck, I can still smell the gas works as I read flossy's glossary of what used to be in Darlington Street. There were enough characters in those shops for a long-running soap opera.
Those were the days

The Koh-in-Noor opened up much earlier than the 70s. We still lived in the TV sales and repair shop up until around 1961 and it was there then, but newly opened.

Flossy, I think Evans' was a lady's outfitters or something of the sort, but do you remember Ernie's shop on the corner of Darlington Stret and Harrogate Street? It was a shop much like old Arkright's in Open All Hours. It had a wooden floor and a chair for old ladies to sit down on.

Then there was Miss Lamb's shop in Harrogate Street. Do you remember that?

i remember the Gas Works AS A YOUNG LAD i WOULD DO A PAPER ROUND FOR MRS FORSHAW IN WHELLEY THEN TAKE AN OLD PRAM AND QUEUE AT THE GASWORKS GATE FOR HALF HUNDRED WEIGHT OF COKE * my mother checked on me on her way to the factory to make sure i was ok the forman came out ay 8am and counted the number in the queue When he had counted a certain number the rest of us had to go home without any coke I would cry all the way home cos my mum would be so disapointed and the house would be cold I then had to go to school St Mary,s standishgate and at 5 pm do a paper round for mrs forshaw she paid 17 shillings and 6 pence a week which i gave to my mum this continued each day except sat /sun

OHH those were the days

JJ

Does anyone recall Collins pet shop on the corner of Darlington and Harrogate Street in the seventies...we lived in Warrington Lane at the time..there was mum Mary,dad Danny who was Irish and daughter Claire.

Kays, back in my Punk Rock days, was a goldmine. You could get Tex Sac jeans, baseball boots and some of the weirdest army surplus stuff going.

I had my heart set on a air crew suit completed with various tubes for oxygen and a mask to die for but somebody got there first.

I remember some sort of art shop just a bit further up on the way into Wigan. And was there a Supermarket just after Brocol House?

Orlando,it was Lennons.

The supermarket was Lennons which opened up on the siye of the old Wigan Hippodrome, which partially burned down during some sort of striptease extravaganza in the late 1950's. Lennons were very prudent, as the whole top tier was demolished, but they repaired the ground floor and opened it up as Wigan's first supermarket. I remember my old boss, at Dawson's TV shop, in Darlington Street calling me a silly bugger when I told him that they were about to turn the "Hipp" into a grocer's shop. He, and the majority of people, then, had no concept of anyhing other than small grocers shops in those days.