Wigan Album

A nice one! I get on the Greenway Cyclepath at that point during summer on my way home. Tis a pity they removed the bridge, it would be handy for the cyclepath these days, but hindsight is always 20/20.

Just a thought... was the pub not called 'The Harlequin'?

Definitely the Lanky Union, My wife and I were probably the first and only people to have had their wedding reception in there, in 1966, Edna and Ken Walker were mine hosts and said they would do the catering for us, as we were good customers and friends of theirs, sadly it didnt pan out for them to carry it on as a sideline, so they didnt do any more, but we continued going in the pub until we started our famil, still happy memories of that place.

Aitch, lets give it it's proper name Lancashire Union and then it became The Minstral which is probably the name that Dennis meant.

Bye the way Dennis, did you live in Ince Green Lane as a boy in the houses between Amy's outdoor and Jimmy Eccleston's grocery shop

This was the bridge on the Wigan avoiding line from De trafford junction south of Hindley. It passed behind Gullicks and carried on through Worsley Mesnes and rejoined the Wigan Liverpool Line south of Pemberton Station.
This line was mainly used for freight to and from Liverpool avoiding the bottleneck around Wigan wallgate.It has been used on the occcasional passenger service such as specials etc.

Not the Pemberton line Carl - this went from the west coast main line at Bamfurlong up to Standish through Haigh hall avoiding Wigan North Western Station

I beg to differ there Carl, that was the banking line which was as you say used to bypass Wigan but I have fired many a train on that line, starting from the sidings at Bamfurlong South end sidings and crossing warrington lane near the Spring View cricket ground over the bridge you see in the picture and past the rabbit rocks at the top of Belle Green Lane and through the Plantations and rejoined the main line at Standish.

Evelyn< in all the years I went in there, it was only ever called the Lanky union, and do you remember the old man who lived in the cottage added on to the pub, you can make it out as the whiter building, Joe Hamer was his name he spent nearly every night in there and no beer was wasted when Joe was in, he supped everything, and even ate the flowers if you let him.

I think you're a bit confused too, Aitch.... Two loop lines crossed Warrington Road (not Lane)- the Pemberton Loop on the Liverpool-Kirkby-Manchester line, which provided a by-pass for Wallgate - which crossed just north of the present St Mary's Church, near Westwood Lane, and the Whelley Loop line, which provided a by-pass to North Western on both the Liverpool-St Helens line (though that may have been only for coal traffic, by the map I have) and the London-Glasgow line. The former crossed Warrington Road by a bridge just north of 'Clinker Valley' (Dale Street), and the latter went under Warrington Road just a bit to the south, alongside the Cricket Club. They met up at Amberswood Junction. That line crossed Wigan Road as seen in the pic, on its way north through Whelley to rejoin the main line, as you say, at Standish. The Pemberton Loop rejoined its main line at Hindley Junction, and crossed the same road, but now called Manchester Road, a hundred yards or so further north.

Evelyn wrote...

<<Bye the way Dennis, did you live in Ince Green Lane as a boy in the houses between Amy's outdoor and Jimmy Eccleston's grocery shop>>

Not me Evelyn, I am a Platt Bridger born and bred, although I do live in Ince now.

You are also right... I sat here for 5 minutes trying to remember that pub name, it WAS the Minstrel.

I do remember the pub being called the lancashire union, then being renamed the minstrel before it closed & falling into disuse for many years then reopening recently as an italian restaurant.
Apparantly the lancashire union pub originally got its name from the whelley loop line railway,that itself originally was part of the former lancashire union network(so im told).
There was also an early (& short lived) railway station on the whelley loop line at this point (the station closed in 1872)

I lived near this bridge and occasionally high vechicles hit it. One tall vechicle decided to turn around in the dark and a car smashed straight under the lorry as it turned, this was in the early hours too.

Harry - the line from St Helens was named the Lancashire Union Line according to the map I've been consulting.

It was called The Minstral with an a, not with an e. As far as I know there is no such word in the english language. Should it be Minstrel or Mistral or just a guitar player with bad wind.

That was definately the Lacashire Union - my parents were the tennants in about 1958 to 1959. I got to trot off to St Peters school in Wigan

Good old days at the Lancashire Union pub.Does anybody remember the football team that played in the sunday league in the late 70's.

it was the lancashire union my grandad was the landlord in the 1940's

My Dad was landlord at the time that photo was taken. Jack Round

My parents had the lancashire union pub around 1958,Bill and Jean Price. I so remember my sister and I growing up there. Happy days

My mum and dad, Dave and Joan Johnson, had the pub circa 1980 to 1983.
I spent many hours playing on the train track, getting up to no good!
I remember the football team...I think they won the league at some point whilst we were there.