Wigan Album

The houses in the bottom right hand corner were always very smart looking. A few looking a bit worse for wear nowadays. It’s a shame really they always looked well maintained and the word even ‘posh’ springs to mind.

These aerial photos are superb Phil. A lot of those houses along with the long standing communities all gone - seemingly in a whim, I doubt there was much seriously wrong with the majority of the houses that modernisation couldn't have put right, which the remaining houses later had done, but as we know the flat cap and Whippet image had to go, even the local Royal Mail sorting office franking mark at the time was worded 'Modern Wigan Has No Peer'

Cyril. I grew up off Darlington Street East and knew this area very well especially around Hardybutts. The problem with the houses round there was complicated. Some of the housing - especially along and around Darlington St and to the south of Hardybutts was redbrick and quite sound and still stands today. However a lot of the housing to the north of Hardybutts up to Scholefield Lane and beyond was built of a different brick and many were simply crumbling away. I know quite a few of my friends lived in them.

Having said that I still think its so sad that so much of that community and spirit was lost in the redevelopment. Personally I also think it was also a mistake when new housing etc went in to put so much green open space in / I know this sounds odd but whenever I went back to see my parents I found the amount of open land around Scholes. Manchester Road etc quiet alien to a townscape. I would have much rather they had built (higher quality new terraces of houses and shops along these streets - including Greenhough Street, rather than the high rise which went in.

From the age of 8 until I was 14 I lived in the Crispin Arms, 1950 to 1956. I agree with a lot of what Carolaen mentioned. I recognise much of what is in the photo. The bottom road on the photo, leading in from the right, is Birkett Bank which feeds directly into Manchester Road and the two bottom streets leading off Birkett Bank are Birkett Street and Kirkless Street.
The photo gives an interesting view of how Clarington Forge is completely encircled by high density housing. I loved living in the area and its people.