Wigan Album

I thought this building had gone by then, but I didn't live in Wigan at that time. And to quote Mr Churchill - " Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning". - for so many fine buildings , holding many memories for a so many! ;o)

To think of all the stories, all the goings on,
The characters who made it ,
now sadly left and gone .All the tales and gossip,
The friends you made and lost ,
Now boarded up with timber ,
Last orders at what cost ?

The Park Hotel, as shownin the picture, wasn't on the Market Square. It was in Hope Street.

I was in this pub celebrating my eighteenth birthday with my mates when in walked the 'Bobbies' checking for underage drinkers, as they did back then in the fifties, I did so want them to pick on me to be interrogated, but that didn't happen, they picked out some other young shaver.
As I remember the pub had some of those great long framed photos of past rugby league And international teams in the lobby, and around the pub.
I think at the time the landlord was a former rugby player.

Well put e,what a place.....

A regular haunt of mine back in the day when I worked at John England's They used to have a folk club meeting on the very top floor which I went to a couple of times. Waitress service who were "summoned" by buzzers which were all around the pub. Tom Brown and Mrs Brown. land lord and land lady. A Proper pub. Young ones today don't know what a PROPER PUB is. In all the times I went in. I never saw any kind of trouble. It had a great atmosphere. Barley wine in small bottles, only served around Christmas time. You didn't need many of them to get a SWAY ON..

Graham N. Tom Brown was a director of Wigan RLFC.

The Park Hotel closed on a Friday in March 1985.
I remember going in for the final Friday lunchtime session, much against the wishes of my girlfriend, who wanted me to go shopping with her instead, for our holiday in Cornwall the following week.
I told her I could go to Cornwall any time, but this was my last chance to sup Mrs Brown's superlative Draught Bass.

We used to meet here on Friday night Triangle Valve stag do's. About 7 o'clock as the coaches used to leave the Gas Showrooms at about 8 o'clock for either Bolton or Blackburn. Great times they were. Young lads going drinking on a Friday night without a care in the world.

Bring it all back...ALL of it.

The Town Planners of Wigan over the years, have a lot to answer for... The problem being the people who made the decisions to demolish the town centre didn't even come from, or live in, Wigan.. They've probably moved onto high paid jobs, in other towns, and done the same thing there.