Wigan Album

Great photo to bring back memories. Although you wouldn't get much shopping in the motorbike sidecar. If you didn't have a car, it wasn't far to walk to the bus as they were close to the shops, not across town at the bus station. Harder times not many people had cars but they were simpler times. No mobile phones to bother you and to keep looking for, not lost remote controls. But that's progress.

I remember it was the biggest fire I had ever seen when this shop burned down.I think it was about the time C&A took over in the 50's.When the night lights turned on, all the window displays burst into flames,and the store burned down.The only piece left standing was the booze shop on the corner and in the window they put a sign saying "We are safe thanks to the men of our fire brigade"

The shop on the corner not affected by the fire, was Maltby's wine shop.
Mr Maltby refused to sell out to Pendlebury's(it was already in the hands of Debenhams) consequently they had rebuild the new store around Maltby's
Debenhams did eventually acquire the site many years latter.

Pendlebury's actually belonged to Debenhams in 1948. The name Pendlebury's was kept because everyone was used to it under that name.

street parking what an advance, and there's some spaces yippee,which town is this in,a forward thinking council.

Was Ellor's - the shop next to Pendlebury's - an outfitters, and did they later have premises near the top of the Old Arcade?
I seem to remember being dragged there to get a tie for the walking day, about 50 years ago.

Yes, my friend Neil's uncle used to work at Ellor's at the top of the arcade.

The old Pendlebury's burnt down in the late summer of 1953. My cousin and myself had been to stay with relatives in Doncaster and got off the train at the old Central Station on (I think)a Sunday night. There were firemen and fire hoses everywhere and we had to step over them to get to our bus stop. (The whole area would be cordoned off for a radius of a mile nowadays). The rebuilt store (now Wilkinsons) didn't open until early 1957.

Mick, Ellors was a man's outfitter. I think they specialised in men's hats. Don't remember them moving anywhere else but they very well could have.

Thanks Irene, and Derek B.
I remember it caused me no end of confusion as a small child. My paretns were chunnering about getting my tie at Ellors, and I thought they meant Hellers, on the corner of Wallgate and King St West. I wondered why in the name of sanity we were going to a furniture shop to buy a tie.

Who remembers the Christmas lights Pendlebury's used to put up on the front of the shop in the 60s? It was something of a rarity in those days.

I remember living on Worsley Hall when Pendleburys caught fire and we were all out in the street watching it blazing.

Who remembers the Crawford Lounge overlooking Crompton St, with its cake-trolleys, red leather seating and yellow crockery with raised red dots?

Sounds very posh, Michael. When was that? I don't recall it. (We only went in Gorner's)!

My mother used to take me there for an occasional treat in the mid-sixties, but more often, like you, Irene, we went to Gorner's. Apart from the excellent potato pie, they did a "Businessman's Lunch" for half a crown, I seem to remember.

I worked in Pendleburys as my first job at 15 in 1970. I remember having to work the lift so the other girl could have her tea break.I worked on the clothing and millinery. When we took payments off customers we had to send it up a shute and it would come back down with the change.I lived in Blackrod at the time and now live in Llandudno.

Anyone know the name of the three wheeler car

We were living in Beech Hill when Pendleburys burnt down and we could see the glow in the sky. As a boy of 8, I walked with my dad down Gidlow Lane for some distance and could see the actual flames on the horizon. The day after, we took a bus to the old bus station and watched the tidying up. Firemen and cops everywhere. And the Observer was full of conspiracy theories for weeks afterwards. Made an impression that lasted for years.

I left Wigan over 40 years ago but went onto Wigan World to find out the date of the Pendlebury’s fire. (23rd August 1953). It was so interesting to read all the comments about the fire and about Ellor’s, the Gent’s outfitters shop next door. I was the third generation in Ellor’s and Company. We had two shops, one in Market Place at the top of the Makinson’s Arcade and the other next door to Pendlebury’s. My grandfather came from Cheshire to take over as manager and buyer for Ellor’s and bought the shops after Mr Ellor died. The shops were both gent’s outfitters but served a different clientele. There was a large gent’s hat department in Market place and many a dozen caps were sold on a wet Wigan at home rugby day! The boys department supplied all the caps.ties and shirts for the younger boys for all of the walking days where they were all dressed the same.
When my grandparents took over the Standishgate shop they rebuilt it (just before World War 2). They made two shops out of it and rented the other to Hilton’s shoe shop. The top floor of Ellor’s was used by Pendlebury’s as the counting house (as it was known). where as Pam above remembers the money given went in a type of tin can fastened to a wire and whooshed up to the Counting House and the change was sent back! When the building was being rebuilt the fire officer suggested that a strong fire door would be a good thing between the two buildings. This was done and when the firemen realised that they could do no more for Pendlebury’s they concentrated on this fire door. If it had not been put in the whole of the block up to Woolworths would have been ablaze. I was 14 at the time of the fire and my father took me with him when he rushed up to find out about it. My friend, Geoff Ashwin, and myself spent all of the following day brushing gallons of water down the stairs from each storey and out into Standishgate. Then there was all the stock to get ready for the fire damage sale. Pendlebury’s moved into Rushton’s Warehouse for several years whilst a new shop was built. I worked in Ellor’s until I was 26 and my father retired a few years later. The shop was then bought by Bradley’s who also had a shop in Market street.

Only just read these comments today. Thank you Neville for a very interesting and illuminating piece.

Jim Leyland:
the "3 wheeled car" is a bike and sidecar.

I also worked in Pendleburys as my first job in 1970, or perhaps a year or two earlier. I remember working with a girl called Enid, and another blonde one, maybe Sue, whom I dated briefly. She lived out towards Southport. I loved the old store, especially at Christmas. Cute Santa's grotto. The kids all wanted guns! A long time ago now.

My Nanna and Auntie both worked there and later under the Debenhams name, in Ladies fashions. Mrs Alice 'Nancy' Hughes and Joyce Talbot