Wigan Album

This is where my brother met his wife, dancing when she was 16. They have just had their 64th wedding anniversary. Thank you Ron for photo.

The Abbey Lakes hotel is on the boundary between Wigan and Lancashire and used to be a bus terminus for Wigan Corporation and later GMT while the Ribble buses continued to Ormskirk and Southport.

Abbey lakes could be accessed Wigan Corporation Trams between around 1906 and 1931 when the bus service took over. The pleasure grounds once had a small zoo, tennis courts and boating lake amongst other attractions. the dance hall was built in the 1920's and is now a Keep Fit Gym establishment. In the early 20th C. the Oranges Lodges of Liverpool would travel out to Abbey Lakes en masse for a day out. After a few pints some of the rowdier elements would go to UpHolland College, a priest training college at the time and cause trouble.

Edna. May your brother, and his wife progress to their platinum wedding. God bless each of them.

Thank you so much Albert.They are waiting for the arrival of their Great Grandchild next month.x

i remember my mum telling me that there was a small zoo in there and someone killed the monkeys by throwing a box of laxatives in the cage dont know if it was true

Susan I heard the story about the monkeys and the laxatives, I was told it they were a particularly strong type of laxative lozenge made and sold from a house in Wigan, they were called "Dawson's Squares". Not sure if they actually killed the monkeys but I was told they were swinging round the cage ejecting large quantities of diarrhea.

I spent many Saturday nights dancing there,it was a grand place..one night I went with a group of friends..it was Winter time,when we were ready for home discovered that all buses were cancelled because of a heavy downfall of snow..so off we trudged all the way home,to Wallgate as my friends were staying for the night..I will never forget that night as long as I live..we were froze to death.