Wigan Album

i cant get my head round where it is please (help)

centre of photo is belle green school over to your left is what used be called storage network warehouse. an you can see whelley loop. keep em coming harry.

This photo is taken looking towards lower ince & manchester road,belle green lane runs from the top right hand bit of the photo & crosses the course of the old whelley loop railway line (old line running from L to R) at a point near the bush pub,at the junction of battersby street (& wallys chippy),to what was the end of belle green lane at an old public house at the bottom of the photo & a primary school,(sorry i cant remember the name of the old pub or school)but by the late 80s the pub was a residental house.

Roughly navigationwise,North is at 3 0clock on this photo.(lower ince to the top,whelley to the right,aspull to the bottom,& hindley to the left.
This shot is kind of looking towards ince bar,down belle green lane.
Out of the picture on the top left is Morrisons supermarket & makerfield way & to the right out of the picture are the rabbit rocks & canal locks.

still cant see it ?

That is an excellent photograph. It did throw me for a section... I was wondering what the hell had happened to the estate houses on Battersby Street, then I realized the planes wing was covering them.

the pub was the Belle Vue, the building is still there, but was split into 2 houses many years ago, one of the members on here lived in the first one, her hubby was Bob Atherton, sadly no longer with us.

If you look on wigan streets, Belle Green lane the pub/house can be seen in the last couple of pictures

to the left of photo you can see were prince of wales pub was.the site is fenced of now.does anyone know why nothing has been built on it.

sorry i ment right of photo

dave, i know someone who wanted to buy the land to put two bungalows there but the owners wouldnt sell i went up there a few weeks ago and its a disgrace the mess its in i wouldnt be very pleased if i was living near it,i used to live up there in the 50s my grandma lived a couple of doors from the prince all gone now though.

If you could take the same photo today Harry, not much as changed since 1989. Bottom, Belle Green school now demolished and it was only built in 1965, I could never understand that but then I should, Once property developers flash their cheque books at Councils, then the inevitable happens...it's now a housing estate. The old Whelley railway line now a cycle path can be seen that runs along Battersby street, today over-grown with trees and untidy. I drove passed the Bush pub the other day and that's now closed and boarded up. Does anyone remember a small bakery, it was on the right as you turn into Hemfield road (not shown in the photo). Great memories, many thanks Harry.

Hi Colin i remember the bakery it was Gregorys, beltin pies nearly as good as Cains at the bottom of Belle Green Lane, if i remember right i think Gregorys moved over Rose Bridge somewhere from Hemfield Road.

That's it Marlene, Gregorys. Couldn't for the life of me think of it!
Now you've got me, forgive me but I can't seem to remember Cains bakery? was/are they related to you? I can remember a small bakers at the bottom left side of Belle Green lane, (opposite a shop) but they were called Ashurst Bakers, but after saying that, in could have changed hands to Cains later. Do you remember the year?

Pie-eaters cant remember wher pie shop was????????

Colin, the pie shop at 10, Belle Green Lane was Ashurst's in our childhood, but was Cains previously, and a lot of people, my mam included, still called it Cain's. My friend Neil is the grandson of Jimmy Cain who had the shop.

Thanks for that Irene, local knowledge is a key issue, you could even remember the door number...incredible.
We would never find that info in a book.

I knew the door number because my friend Neil knew it, but it is also on the 1925 electoral roll for Ince, (under "stuff"), although a Mrs. Elizabeth Davies was the owner then. I remember the shop vividly, and also Boardman's and Annie Capper's nearby, but I don't recall any futher up as we lived in Ince Green Lane and shopped there and on Ince Bar mainly.I had an Auntie in West Street, but we used to go up Careless Lane past the caravans to visit her. When I went to Hindley Grammar School, I had a friend who lived in Reservoir Street, so went up Belle Green Lane quite often then.

Why would you really want to find that sort of information anyway am puzzled

Just interest, Joe, that's all. The old shops and houses of Ince hold a fascination for me. I think the memory plays tricks as you get older. You forget who lived where and what shops there were, and I enjoy looking back over the old directories and electoral rolls, especially showing people's jobs, some of which no longer exist since the mines and cotton mills went. Some people think it silly to look back to the past but I believe that to refuse the backward glance would be to have lived for nothing, although I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with me. Each to his own.

I couldnt agree with you more Irene and your spot on about Cains pie shop and Colin i dont know what year it changed hands but the owner Jimmy Cain was my dads cousin.

The past made the modern world of today!
In the London Science Museum of technology, it reads "If it wasn't for the past there's no tomorrow".

My friend Neil thinks Ashursts took over the cake shop around 1939 when his Grandad reached retiring age. Edna Ashurst had worked for Cains for many years.

Correction.....that should have been 1948.....was thinking of something else!

must be an age thing....

You're right, Joe.....but I'm not that old.....must be losing the plot! Irene.

The pub was called Prince of Wales that was right at the top a big white building, I think and the school was only there for a few years my cousin went there.

omg what a good photo. Ive just found out that in 1911 my ancestors kept the Belle Vue hotel and thought the building had long gone, i know now which building it is at the top of belle green lane and had no idea that it used to be a pub so thanks for that. I wonder if any of you incers on here can help me to solve another mystery.Im trying to locate a street in Ince that my Grt Grt grandparents lived in for about 30 years from about 1871...Broom st, ive looked on directories and maps but cant find itif anyoneon here knows that would be great thankyou.

Hello Vicky. Broom Street was once known as Bolton Street and was situated off Manchester Road between Rose Bridge and Darlington Street, on the left -hand side , rougly opposite Rose Bridge School, perhaps a little further on towards Birkett Bank. I have a friend who knows the exact location and will put a further comment when I can tell you more.

Back again, Vicky. Yes, Bolton Street, (formerly Broome Street), stood roughly where Rose Bridge Way, leading to the little industrial estate, now stands. It was Broome St. certainly in the 1840s, and my friend thinks it probably changed to Bolton Street in the 1880s, when it was re-named after Emmanuel Bolton, a local councillor.

And once again, Vicky!...(you'll be getting fed up of me!). On re-reading your post, I mentioned to my friend that your grandparents lived in Broome Street for many years, and he says he was just guessing when the name changed due to the years in which Emmanuel Boton was active as a councillor. It could have changed to Bolton Street much later than the 1880s. But anyway, if you see Bolton Street on an old Ince map, that is where your grandparents lived. An ancestor of mine once lived there too.

Thanks Irene for the information, that makes sense they lived in Broom st and/or back Broom st between 1871 and 1901 and by the time of the 1911 census it had changed to Bolton street but with the same door number, i just thought they had moved, thanks again, another piece of the family puzzle solved.

omg just found my ancestors listed on the ince directory on here living in bolton street, number 51 which ties in with the census, but i didnt know that his brother lived next door at 49, thanks again Irene.

You're welcome Vicky.....I find it magical that our relatives may have known each other, and here we are, carrying on where they left off; wouldn't they have been amazed by all this?!

See what you've started here Harry.

Yes, see what you've started, Harry.....people making friends and helping each other out. Well done Harry and thankyou for a photo that sparked such interest and brought back happy memories to so many people. Not much wrong there!

Great photo brings back lots of memories i started school at Belle Green mission school but later went to what was then the new Belle Green school , my sister used to live next door to the school and what used to be the Belle Vue pub later two houses Rita and Bob Atherton lived in one and Roy and Cynthia Burron the other and to the left corner of the school playing field you can see Burrons farm house just off Emfield road, and on the Belle Green Lane end was Lilys shop she was a character, lovely memories thanks Harry.

There was another pub called the Furnace Inn originally. A chap called Phil Nelson ran it and it had a pigeon loft for fantails

oooooh neil the furnace pub please where was it situated please,we had a disscution on here ages ago as to where it was and i think it was irene that may have found it in the directory ?.

Josie
Have you sussed out what's what

does anyone remember hall st and mrs sullivan.pi factry on cut gud

shovel and broom pub was at the top of Bolton street

My Grandmother, Annie Bushell, lived at Belle Green Farm which I believe was on the site of the school in the photo. Does anyone have a photo of the farm or any other information?