The butchers Mark Williams

Anybody remember them and any family names....any stories ?

Well .......

Mark Williams had depot type place, opposite the Magistrates Court on Darlington Street, from where their meat stuffs would be prepared, and then sent out to their shops, the building is still there on Ellen Street, however the building is derelict now, and a long time ago in I think it was the 1980s that building was inspected by as it was known back then the 'Health Inspector' and the building and facilities were in a shocking state, there were maggots on the floor and inside the walls, and it was apparently stomach wrenching stuff, and the council immediately had the place closed down by court order, and I think the shops closed too, and as far as I know that building opposite the Magistrates Court has never been used for anything else since ....

Tommy:

Don't want to sound pedantic, but the original Magistrates Court were in the same building as the Police Station and other government offices on King Street, which is still an extension of Darlington Street.

John B:

You wanted stories.

Mark Williams had a butcher shop on Standishgate, then there was a little alleyway then a couple more shops, one of which became the first McDonald's in the mid-60s, but had originally been a Chemists.

Mark Williams' slaughter house was at the bottom of Marsh Lane where we moved to after Darlington Street. The trucks which brought the cattle was heart-breaking, but one day, a cow got loose and started running up and down the street. It then ran into our next door neighbour's house and ran up her stairs. She was a little old Welsh woman and she chased after it.

The poor thing was terrified and ran back out into the street, but by then, one of the slaughter-men had saddled up a horse and threw a noose over its neck and roped it in.

I swear that's a true story which I saw with my own eyes. Some will find that amusing, which I suppose it is, but I was horrified as I was only about 10 years old at the time.

Mark Williams on Standishgate where McDonalds is now. Me and my Dad loved cooked pigs tails in jelly from there. Don’t know where the trotters and pigs tails in jelly are now.

Mollie

I remember that chemist where McDonalds is now, because when I was little me mam would take me into that chemist, and then next door into Mark Williams, which always had a load of sawdust on the floor, and before going there I was dragged all over Wigan, inclooding going into Pendleburys.

On about the old Magistrates Court, I actually mean the new one, and when Mark Williams was operating out of there, Pepper Mill would have been across the road back then

Mark Williams pork butchers (a Wigan firm) was amalgamated with Yates Greer (a Culcheth firm) due to marriage, yearss ago. They are the same firm.

I remember the Yates Greer pork pie factory in Leigh

My husband used to deliver oil to the slaughter house to mark Williams’s and after the stories he told me about that place we never went there ever again for meat.
I think it was behind C&A

Speaking of butchers i am trying to trace anybody who knew about a butcher's shop down frog lane number 136 it was in the row after /THE GUARDIANS INN (in the 1960s POLLY WAS LANDLADY) but my main interest is the shop and any photo's would be excellent ,it was owned by 2 brothers COLIN& BRIAN MORRIS, Besides the shop they had 2 mobile butchers vans 1 served all over MARSH GREEN/WORSLEY HALL/NORLEY/WORSLEY MESNES THE OTHER was all around Springfield/BEECH HILL/STANDISG LOWER GROUND/SHEVINGTON/APPLEY BRIDGE/WRIGHTINGTON JUST love to find someone .

I think a Mark Williams married a lady Elaine Hall and lived fore a time near the Water Tower as was in Wigan Lane is that correct ?
She was at my 21st !!

The owner of Mark Williams pork butchers now lives HERE.
And he says, "many thanks to all you Wiganers for eating so much pig over the last century or so"!

the owner of mark williams would,nt have made much money from the wiganers, because according to you ,wigan is only a small place.

Indeed, Wigan is a small town. But, that business has operated in Wigan for a very long time and was very popular in the day and pork butchery was only the start of it, it seems. That house he lives in is worth $millions!

A lad came to work with us who had been a butler at Mark Williams he told that there were 3 of of themworking on a bench and spiderswould çome down on the Web and they would've who could chop the most down, they all went with the meat

Still no response to my request for any photos of FROG LANE from just before we re WALKERS FOUNDRY USED TO BE !!
g.b.

My birth cert states that I was born at 251 Wigan Lane which is the currently derelict property known as Brentwood. Someone advised me that this was Mark Williams house, and that he was married to a lady who was a Doctor, but I have no confirmation of this. If the lady of the house was a GP could that explain why I was born there. I suspect it may have been a difficult birth and my mother had problems as she could not have any further children!

Mark Williams did live at Brentwood in the 1970s but don't know whether
it was the first Mark Williams or son. Don't know when the shop first opened but it was there in the 30s.