Wigan Album

The wide bottom trousers 49/11 initially left me a tad puzzled, until I remembered 49/11 could well have been the price. Though surely it should it have read 49/-11?

I always remember a political TV advert of those days with someone saying "If you vote for (whoever it was) you'll end up with a 10 bob pound."

Cyril How old are you??? the price is written correctly i.e. 49 shillings and 11 pence It also could have been written as £2/9/11

49s/11d if I remember

I , don’t remember .

I don't remember the old money that well either, probably due to the fact I didn't have a lot of it ! Was Reg Sutton's the one at the top of Greenhough St, opposite the ' top long pull ' ?

You are right about Reg Sutton's location WN1 Standisher. Although you could buy cheaper 49s/11d alsoseemed to be a popular price for a decent pair of men's shoes from Timpson's in the 60s.

Scaramouche, one ? is acceptable, three ??? is not, go do the Fandango!

exactly £2/9/11d or has Veronica says 49s/11d which are evident, if someone hasn't seen prices written like 49/11 for 50 odd years they do tend to forget, especially as other things are now written that way that wasn't then, eg. a date 30/12 or time 24/7 or when dividing in maths using the solidus or forward slash /, eg. 49/11= 4.5.

Derek, I'd be wary of getting a pair of shoes from Timpson's. Take a look on the link. https://youtu.be/nYd1WK7mJk0

Old Money. New Money. My dad was one of the beat bobbies at Pemberton at the time of decimalisation. He told the story of one lady stallholder at Lamberhead Green who 3 months after that date still had not changed from £, s and p. When he asked her why, her response was. " Nay Jackie, I won't bother. I don't think it'll catch on up here!!!"

Reg Suttons was the round fronted shop on the left corner at the top of Greenhough Street.

When the schoolroom was active at Wigan Pier (Orwell Centre), it needed quite a bit of concentration to do the addition, multiplication, subtraction, relating to pounds shillings, and pence on the chalk board, the school mistress had given you.

Albert the kids today would have no chance doing it without use of a calculator. A few years ago I went into a Post Office for 2 second class stamps I can't remember the exact cost of second class postage was? but was probably around 34p. I was amazed when the young girl behind the counter used a calculator to work the cost out..

My dad always bought his flat caps from Reg Sutton
Reg's brother Harry helped in the shop as did Derek Gaskell & Roy Hurst
Reg's father Methuselah was the clogger at the corner of Crawford Terrace

do you remember getting a Groat for pocket money Scaramouche ;¬) thank goodness we through Ted Heath regained our senses and ditched the Carolingian currency system in 1971, though the Russian Tsar Peter the Great had even more sense with ditching it 267 years earlier.

https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/2020/11/how-many-groats-are-in-a-noble/

Many was the occasion that I used the police box around the corner, into Scholes. I seem to recollect, by the ladies, a well viewed ladies dress shop, close by, in Scholes.

In 1926 when my Father moved up to Wigan from Maidstone with employment 1st at Northern Counties then after 2 months moved over to Massey Bros, he explored the town and surrounding areas mainly on foot. He also went to the various Chapels and Churches on a Sunday. One of them was the Wesleyan Chapel where he met Mr. Sutton. Mr. Sutton invited father to his house, which was 148 Scholes , one evening and then both of them went to the YMCA Gym. During the conversation, Father learnt that Mr. Sutton ran a "foot and drapery" shop close by. All this info I've gleaned from Father's diary. I guess the Reg Sutton could be a son. What I would like to know is a) where was the WMCA gym that include a billiard and games room as Father became a member to use the gym & b) where was the Wesleyan Chapel? At the time Father was lodging in Upper Dicconson Street and often on a Sunday would go to St Paul's or Hope St and sometimes a church/chapel on King St.