Produced by Wigan Heritage Service Issue No. 64 August-November 2013

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Picture the Past

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Welcome to PAST Forward Issue 64. This issue brings readers the usual mix of family and local history articles, as ever written by local researchers with an interest in the Borough’s history.We are always keen to include articles by new writers and with this in mind are pleased to beable to promote the Wigan Borough Environment and Heritage Network 2013 Local HistoryEssay Writing Competition – see page nine for more information. History is everywhere, nomatter where you live or work around the Borough and articles in PAST Forward take manydifferent forms. We all have a history, whether a first day at work, a famous relative or the oldhouse you pass everyday on your way to the shops, so if you’re passionate about local historyand preserving it…Get Writing!

Our history is certainly not just for adults, so PAST Forward is running a competition forchildren and asking them to produce a work of art based on our local history – you can findmore details on pages 18-19; or have a look at the front cover if you’re in need of inspiration!

Readers may well have noticed that we have increased the cover price of PAST Forward to £2 per issue. We have made this change in order to maintain the high quality design and printof the publication at a time when our costs in producing the magazine are increasing. We verymuch hope that as readers you will continue to support PAST Forward and enjoy reading it asmuch as ever.

Excitingly, we are now able to offer a new digital subscription to the magazine, perfect forWiganers scattered overseas. The cost of this new subcription is £6 per year with none of thepostage costs of the paper version and will be emailed straight to your inbox three times a year.

Letter from the

Editorial Team

HERITAGESERVICE

Contents2-3 Heritage Service

4-5 The Duo-decimalSociety

6-7 Edward Hall

8-9 Archives News

10-11 A German PorkButcher in Wigan

12 Leigh and Wigan Local Studies

14-15 Coccium and its origins

16-17 Health, Sanitation and the GovernmentLoan 1891

18 Kids Competition

20-21 Signs of a Vanished Past

22-23 My First Day at Work

24-25 Captain Edwin Kerfoot

26-27 Pennington Flash

28-29 The Glow Upon theHeavens

30 Your Letters

31-33 Society News

34-35 Events Calendar

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FRONT COVER Illustration courtesy of EmmaBrown for the “Picture thePast” children’s competition.

As we mentioned in the last issue, several familiar faceshave now left the Museum and Archive, but we aredelighted to welcome three new members to the team.

Lynda Jackson is our new Community History Managerand is responsible for the management of the Museum ofWigan Life. Lynda joins us from her post as CuratorialManager at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, havingpreviously worked at the Museum of Liverpool and thePeople’s History Museum.

Rita Musa is joining us from the Library Servicereference team as our Local Studies Officer for Wigan,returning to work on the very collection where shebegan her career in Wigan. Having worked on the new‘Made In Wigan’ exhibition, Joan Livesey is moving overfrom the Archives to the Museum to work full time asExhibitions Officer.

If you see them about at any of our venues, please feelfree to say hello!

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Pictured left to right: Lynda Jackson, Rita Musa and Joan Livesey.

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Putting the Duo-decimals in context

Leigh, around the turn of thetwentieth century, had a thrivingamateur dramatics and literaryculture. For a considerablesection of the population, varioussocieties provided outlets fortheir intellectual and artistictalents.

In 1901, Dr Wynne gatheredtwelve friends and associates andforged them into the Duo-decimal Society. The Duo-decimals were a tight groupdrawn from Leigh’s wealthy, highstatus and influential individuals.Within the group there were anumber of councillors, aldermenand mayors; eminent medicalmen, some with leadership rolesat Leigh Infirmary; Leigh’sDirector of Education; LeighGrammar School’s Head; localindustrialists, solicitors andbankers. These men, socially aswell as professionally, enjoyedoverlapping spheres of interestand some, the ‘Penningtonians’,were close neighbours.

The Duo-decimals met monthlyduring the winter in each other’shomes. Meetings were designedto indulge their thespian andliterary interests whilst being anopportunity to enjoy goodcompany. They performedreadings from sixteenth andseventeenth century playwrights,

notably Shakespeare, Marloweand Jonson, whilst relaxing in the convivial atmospherefacilitated by copious amounts of food and drink.

The Minutes

Each host was required to writeminutes of ‘his’ meeting, and atthe following meeting, read themaloud. This led to good naturedcompetition as to who could writethe most entertaining or humorousaccount. The Minutes, whilstidiosyncratic, had a distinctpattern. They began conventionallyenough, noting date, venue, playread and cast list, after whichmuch of the formality disappeared.In the second part of the minuteswe find, among the humour,valuable insights into individualmembers, the group, its dynamics,attitudes and practices.Interestingly, they reveal that aunifying ethos of the groupseemed to be a shared contemptfor certain social expectations,expectations they were,paradoxically, obliged to conformto in their public lives.

Within their capabilities the co-duos rose to the challenge ofentertaining. Some hijackedcommon fictional themes. Withintheir ‘stories’, members were theprotagonists, ‘characters’performing deeds of ‘derring do’.Other members based their writingon ‘reviews’ of their peers’

dramatic (or not so) performances.Through the comment that Co-duo Wynne, ‘went to sleep’during one reading, we get a hintof the pressures some of the menwere under.

There was much light-heartedbanter and duos were not afraid tomock themselves. Hence, Co-duo(Alderman) Smith stated he wasdue to, ‘spout at the town pump’.Dr Jones was mocked frequentlybecause of the ‘impossibility ofdeciphering his hopelessly illegiblehand-writing’ and converselyhappily played the stooge. Hejoined the badinage surroundingthe necessity, and difficulty, of duohosts in providing him withsuitable breeches so he couldattend their meetings!

There are ambiguous entries. The entry where Co-duo Unsworth‘regaled the assembly’, with anaccount of his duties as a PoorLaw Guardian is left to speak foritself. He reported how that nightwhen he had attended ‘for hisannual visit to qualify him for thepost… he had been entrapped bya deputation of the unemployedbut with his usual idle urbanity hehad succeeded in escaping’. DuoWard used the minutes to criticisethe group’s other-worldness. Hewrote, ‘We live aloft, in realms ofpure delight, calm, serene,contemplating, philosophising,discussing literary themes, wisdomseeking, studying’. They were ‘sodetached…from the common

The Duo-decimalSociety: Leigh’s First Creative

Writing Group?

BY YVONNE ECKERSLEY

5

happenings of our village life’, thatthey failed to acknowledge the‘bloodshed at Hall House’, duringa coal strike.

It is clear the Minutes were writtenwith care by educated men. Manyliterary devices used can beidentified as component parts of agenre, collectively known as ‘TheComedy of Manners’, a styleexperiencing a renaissance at thetime. As the ethos of the genre isto satirise the manners andaffectations of actual and aspiring,middle and upper echelons ofcontemporary society, it suitedtheir purpose admirably.

Duo-decimals used irony, satireand caricatures competently; butthey used parody with aplomb.Periodically, one or other of thewealthier (or a new member),hosted a Dinner at home or footedthe bill for a Dinner and a trip tothe Theatre. These evenings oftenaped the rituals and customs of‘polite’ society. Formal, ornate andprinted invitations were issued,Co-duos stylised themselves astitled gentlemen, ‘LordBeechwood, of Beechwood’ forexample. ‘Menus’ offeringgastronomic feasts were notalways what they seemed. One,ostentatiously written in French,offers ’Jouer of Boules’ and‘Billiards’ as ‘courses’. After thesefeasts, they indulged themselves infanciful and verbose toasts to theirHost, some given in Latin or

French. One has to imagine theMinute taker, relating thesespeeches back at the nextmeeting.

However, not everything wastreated frivolously. Compassionwas expressed when Co-duoWard’s infant son died, then later,when another son was ‘Killed inAction’ in France. Dr Ross and DrWynne’s absence (serving with theMedical Corps’ in Wartime France)was noted with praise and respect.At the same time some inferredcriticism can be discernedconcerning Co-duo Speakman’sabsences. Minutes record that hehad no time for frivolity, he foundhis wartime duties too arduous, or‘the war being still in duration’ hecould not come.

The Duo-decimals were not totallyinsular. The Minutes record anumber of Cycle Runs and picnicsin Cheshire, where their closeconnection with Leigh Infirmarybecomes obvious. They werejoined by 17 ‘Medicos’. They alsoreached out into the community.They sponsored the Leigh schoolchildren on visits to the AnchorCable Music Society’s Gilbert andSullivan Operetta productions,instigating and judging thechildren’s resultant entries in PrizeEssay Competitions.

On a more general note, theywere men of their time. Formalreplies to the votes of thanks

offered to wives (their Duennas),for providing the refreshments,were given by the husbands. Thefamiliar rivalry between Wigan andLeigh was aired on more than oneoccasion and there was somebanter centred round the merits ofthe Manchester Guardian againstthe Daily Mail and vice versa.

And finally on a lighter note…One particular minute, written incomic verse, gently mocked onemember’s lesson, that pride oftengoes before a fall. Co-duoHorrocks wrote:

Twas our newly sworn in brother Who maintained his Yankee CarBetter was than any other Bus or thing vehicular.

Setting up the inevitable, Horrockspresents the fatal boast,

She was tame as any bunnyWhen he wanted her to start.

Of course, after the meeting thecar would not start, and Co-duosgathered and theorised thatperhaps the car was ‘short of juice’.

Meanwhile John had pushed the buttonPushed in long and pushed in wellPushed again, but dead as muttonLay the liquid in its shell.

And the writer maintained the theme and style for forty four verses!

Woodlands Meeting, Menu Card

Duodecimals and 17 ‘Medicos’ in Cheshire.

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We continue to tell thestory of the life of EdwardHall, Wigan’s famous diarycollector with an accountof the lives of Edward andhis wife, Em, in the 1930s.Even after selling theirhouse and moving intorented accomodationEdward and Em foundthey were still havingdifficulty making endsmeet. Edward was nothappy working at thefamily foundry and hissocialist views put him atodds with his uncles whomanaged the business. Hedecided it was time tomake a fresh start and inSeptember 1926 hebought a booksellersbusiness in Surbiton,Surrey, for £375.

Edward funded his purchase bycashing in his life insurance policesand selling his shares in thefoundry – a move that damnedhim in the eyes of his father. Themove proved to be a disaster. Bythe time he had settled all hisdebts he had no capital left toreplenish and improve the bookstock, which he found to bemainly cheap fiction and not theantiquarian books in which he wasinterested. The shop was in a sidestreet away from any passingtrade and the living

accommodation was a bug-ridden,dark and dingy basement. Insteadof ‘living over the shop’, they hadto rent a flat.

The next few years were a battleto keep the business going.Edward tried various schemes toboost turnover – a lending library,selling to the trade and settingup a typing and duplicatingservice. He had to swallow hispride and seek help from hisfather who’s low opinion ofEdward’s abilities was notimproved by his son’s increasinglyleft wing views. This led to a totalbreakdown in their relations andthe hope of any further financialhelp from that quarter. At aroundthis time Edward joined theCommunist Party but soonbecame disillusioned with thelocal party meetings andresigned. In 1928, Em had givenbirth to a son, christened GeorgeHarry after Edward’s father,possibly in an effort to improvefamily relations, a ploy that doesnot seem to have worked sinceGeorge was never addressed byhis given name but always knownas “Bunk” or “Bunkie“.

In 1932, both Edward and Emsuffered bouts of ill health andthey were forced to dispose ofthe shop at a considerable loss.They had to vacate their livingaccommodation and would havebeen homeless but for thekindness of their neighbourswho offered them rooms. As he

had been self employed Edwardwas not eligible for the dole andthey existed on his duplicatingservice and a door-to-doorcirculating library that he ranwith some of his remainingbooks. The day was saved by Emwho spotted an empty housenearby and which at hersuggestion they rented to payingguests with Em doing thecooking. She also spotted anadvert in the local paper for amotor-cycle courier whichEdward successfully applied for.Although he was once againgainfully employed his wage wasnot enough to cover theirexpenses and they resorted toother means to make ends meet.

‘The Communist’, Edward Hall, c.1930

Edward Hall: The Hungry Thirties by Bill

Melling

7

These are described in a dailydiary that he started to keep inDecember 1934. As well asworking as a courier for Poldens(optical frame makers) and theWalton Photographic Company,he operated a number ofsidelines to boost his income,namely a typing and duplicatingservice and selling on secondhand books in magazines andprovincial papers. His motorcycle round covered a wide areaof country and he used it toscour the second hand bookshops for bargains.

Although Edward hadabandoned conventional religionhe still believed there was somekind of divine providencelooking after him. He found thathowever dire his financialsituation might get, somethingalways seemed to turn up tosave the situation. This led himto read extensively on a widerange of subjects, seeking ameaning to life. His other

interests were natural historyand classical music on thewireless. He was a keen walkerand cyclist and his diary containsdescriptions of expeditionsranging all over Surrey andHampshire which were the mainleisure activity for Edward andthe children. Em’s mainrelaxation was going to thecinema with her friends,sometimes accompanied byEdward when he could afford it.To their credit, Edward and hiswife managed to give theirchildren – Joan, John and Bunk –a good education and ensured that they all went toGrammar Schools.

By the end of March 1935 thecourier work had dried up and inApril, Edward signed on thedole. The family were now insevere financial straits. Added tothe dole payment, the only othersteady income was from Em’sboarders. The family wasconstantly in debt as they triedto keep ahead of their creditors.At one stage Edward even triedhis hand as a pavement artist,not with the object of makingmoney but to try to get a job.With his war medals, includinghis Air Force Cross, prominentlydisplayed on his chest, he set uphis pitch outside the Royal AirForce Headquarters at Uxbridgein the hope that some highranking officer would take pityon a comrade down on his luckand offer him a job. Although hedid get sixpences rather thanpennies, there were no job offersand he gave up in disgust.

Whilst on the dole in 1935, inreviewing his book collection forpossible items to sell, he cameacross the Journal of MissWeeton, a Regency-periodLancashire governess, which he

had discovered way back in1925 in Wigan and had boughtfor 9d. He had started to editthe Journal in 1926, with a viewto publication and hadcompleted a considerable part ofthe task. During his time on thedole he completed the editingand approached the OxfordUniversity Press who agreed topublish the journals in twovolumes and gave him anadvance of £20. Volume 1 ofMiss Weeton’s Journal waspublished by OUP in 1936 andhe began receiving royalties, awelcome but small addition tohis dole money. Volume 2 waspublished in 1939.

One of Edward’s moonlightingjobs was at Books Unlimited, alocal bookshop where theowner’s father was librarian atthe London School ofEconomics. He went so far as torecommend Edward for a jobworking on a British Academybibliography of Economics. Tohis surprise Edward got the job,cataloguing books at theGoldsmiths’ Hall Library in South Kensington. The expenseof travelling into London everyday left him little better off than before, but it meant that in his lunch hour he couldexplore the various museums inSouth Kensington, an activitythat gave him a great deal ofpleasure. Work on thebibliography continuedthroughout 1937 but by thesummer of 1938 the work wascompleted and Edward onceagain had to sign on the dole.

For more on this periodin Edward’s life, look onthe Wigan Archiveswebpages for Hall’s, ‘The Life & Times of aSuperfluous Man’.

‘The Bookseller’, Edward Hall, c.1930

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ARCHIVES NEWS

Your ArchivesLook out for events on the Town Square as part of theHeritage Open Weekend on Saturday 14 September.The annual Leigh For All event will have a rugbytheme, but will include all the usual Heritage tours ofLeigh Town Hall (including the Archives) and LeighParish Church.

And goodbye from her…as regular visitors to theArchives will know, Joan Livesey has recently movedon to a new post within the Heritage Service, asExhibitions Officer, working primarily at the Museumof Wigan Life. I would like to add my voice to all themessages of good luck that Joan has received andwould like to thank her for all her hard work whilstwith us at the Archives; Joan, you will be missed, butremember, ‘Every day’s a school day’!

Recent AcquisitionsNew listings continue thanks to the work of Archivestaff and volunteers. Collections accepted or listed inthe last few months include:

• Image of Wigan General Post Office Staff, 1898(Acc. 2013/14)

• Bill of quantities for the proposed cable works atBedford, Leigh, 1901 (Acc. 2013/16)

• Records concerning Sutcliffe Speakman & Co. Ltd.,1950-1970 (Acc. 2013/21)

• Records of unions operating at the Heinz factorysite, Kitt Green, Wigan, including the Unite UnionNW299 (Heinz) Branch (Acc. 2013/22)

• Parkside Colliery Images, 1970s (Acc. 2013/28)• Images of Wigan Town Centre redevelopment,including the Galleries Shopping Centre and NewMarket Hall, 1990s (Acc. 2013/37)

• Additional records of the Abram, St. John theEvangelist (Acc. 2013/38)

• Wigan Area Land Reclamation Photographs, 1950s-1980s (Acc. 2013/45)

• Records of Ince-in-Makerfield, Christ Church(DP/15)

Thank you to all recent donors and depositors ofrecords to the Archives.

Details of the collections listed above are availablefrom the Archives Service, as is further information onother recent acquisitions. A full list of acquisitionsmade by the Archives in 2012 is available on theArchives Service – Collections webpage.

Collections Corner:First World War RecordsNext year will mark the hundredth anniversary of thestart of the First World War. Many local individuals andorganisations will be looking to mark the event in waysboth private and public as we remember the sacrificesmade by men and women who served during theconflict and the millions who lost their lives as a result ofthe war.

To mark the anniversary at the Archives, staff andvolunteers are gathering together resources in thecollections that relate to the war as it was fought bothin the trenches of France and Belgium and on the homefront. We plan to have hundreds of newly cataloguedrecords and registers, thousands of digitised records andphotographs and hundreds of thousands of transcribedentries from war related records. Some of these will bemade available online, and all will be available to localgroups, schools or individuals interested in learningmore about their past.

These records include those of the Leigh Military ServiceTribunals for Voluntarily Attested Men. The Tribunals,operating in the years after conscription began in 1916,heard the cases of men seeking exemption fromcompulsory military service. The records surviving forLeigh include both the files for each application and thesummary register of decisions made. The reasons givenin the applications are varied, including those made onfamily, medical or economic grounds, as well as those ofmen such as John Cook, who appealed for exemption onmoral grounds as a conscientious objector.

The records that survivefor Leigh are that muchmore interesting andnationally important as inthe years after the war,the Government orderedthat all such records bedestroyed – save forsample series retained asa case study in the eventof future use. Theseinstructions were given asthe documents wereviewed as potentiallydivisive. Withincommunities the lengthand breadth of the

Application by John Cook

9

country men who often had no choice but to fight losttheir lives in the cause of King and Country. Of thosethat remained and were granted exemption by theTribunal, questions might be asked as a countrystruggled to overcome the grief and loss of the waryears. Similar questions might be put to those sittingon the Tribunals who held the decision of life or deathin their hands.

We do not know why or how the Leigh recordssurvived, but whether clerical error or a clerk with aneye for the historical record, the insight they offer isclear. We are now working to transcribe each casefile and register, and to digitise the record series infull to make these fascinating records as widelyaccessible as possible.

For more information about First World War records inthe Archives and Local Studies, please get in touch.

Winners from the WiganBorough Environment &

Heritage Network Awards, 2012

Write 1000 words - Win £100!Do you have a passion forlocal history? Is there a localhistory topic that you wouldlove to see featured in Past Forward? Then why nottake part in Wigan BoroughEnvironment and HeritageNetwork’s Local HistoryWriting Competition?

Local History WritingCompetition

1st Prize - £1002nd Prize - £753rd Prize - £50

Criteria• Articles must be a maximum of1000 words.

• Articles must focus on a localhistory topic within thegeographical boundaries ofWigan Borough.

• By entering the competition youagree to your work beingpublished in Past Forward. Thewinning article will be published

in Past Forward Issue 65. Othersubmissions may also bepublished in Issue 65 or held onfile for publication in a futureedition. If selected for publicationthe Past Forward Editorial Teammay edit your submission.

How to enter• Articles must be received by e-mail or post by Friday 11 October 2013.

• Electronic submissions arepreferred although handwrittenones will be accepted.

• You must state clearly that yourarticle is an entry into the LocalHistory Writing Competition.

• You must include your name,address, telephone number and e-mail address (if applicable). We will not pass your details onto anyone.

• It will not be possible for articlesto be returned.

• You are welcome to includephotographs or images howeverthey cannot be returned.

Submit topastforward@wlct.org ORLocal History Writing Competition, Past Forward, Museum of Wigan Life, Library Street, Wigan WN1 1NU

Atherton Land Girls, c.1917

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A German Pork Butcherin Wigan

Recently looking through a filecontaining old newspaper cuttings I came across the following:A Shevington reader has answered the question posed by John Street of Appley Bridge – ‘does anyone remembera pork butchers shop by the name of Mynekymes?’

Our helpful reader writes: “There was a shop by thisunusual name in Wallgate during the 1920s and early1930s. It was next door to the ‘sixpenny doctor’ and apub called ‘The Machine House’ where B&Q were (now Go Outdoors). All Wallgate people will rememberit. We’d buy pork pies, brawn (pig’s head) and a specialtreat for me – two pennyworth of dripping with plentyof brawn on top. We took our own basin for it andspread it on toast. Delicious!

Mr. Mynekymes was a German. At the start of the war a brick was thrown through his shop window and hehad to close for a while. When it reopened it was called ‘Marsden’s Pork Shop’ – another well knownname for Wiganers.

Mr. Mynekymes never appeared in the shop again. Therealso used to be a Marsdens in Standishgate which laterbecame Mark Williams. Maybe Mr. Mynekymes hadanother shop there.”’

The cutting appears to be taken from an undated WiganLeader. As it was my name in the cutting I decided toresearch the ‘Mynekyme’ story further. The first referencefound was in the 1881 census in Warrington and showsthree brothers, John, Louis and Albert, all butchers andtheir mother Magdelina from Germany.

In the London Gazette there is a notice dated 14 January1884. It seems that Albert and Louis were in partnershipas butchers and makers of sausages at 76 ButtermarketStreet, Warrington.

BY GERALD MARSDEN

Advertisement for L Mynekymes.

11

The notice was to state that the partnership had beendissolved by mutual consent.

Louis is recorded as being born in Inglefingen, Germany.Free BMD shows a Louie Mynekyme’s marriage to CarolineOberbach in 1884 in Nottingham. The following year theirfirst child, Emma, was born in Wigan and later they hadthree more children, John, who died aged three monthsand was buried in a paupers grave at Wigan Cemetery,Albert and Nellie. All the children were shown to have amother’s maiden name of ‘Oberbach’. Emma wasbaptised at All Saints, Wigan Parish Church, 22 March1885 and lived at 21 Great George Street. Louis must haveowned two businesses. Firstly, from the 1891 census and avacancy notice, it appears he was living at 45Standishgate, had two domestic servants and twoboarders, their occupation being butchers. The vacancynotice published later in 1891 was from The ManchesterCourier and Lancashire General Advertiser. It reads:

September 26, 1891 To Pork Butchers, -- WANTED, at once, a respectableYoung Man as Pork Butcher, must be good at his trade;single preferred -Apply to L.MYNEKYME, 45 Standishgate, Wigan

The second business appears in the court record in theWigan Observer, 24 October 1914, where Louis is chargedto have ‘travelled beyond five mile radius without apermit’, and gives his address as 93 Wallgate. He ismentioned in Sue Gibbons’ book, ‘German Pork Butchersin Britain’ which records that on 29 October 1914 he wasfined forty pound or three months imprisonment fortravelling outside the five mile radius without a permit.The defendant, who had lived in Wigan for forty yearswithout becoming naturalised, was seventeen years ago amember of a local Yeomanry Corps. On 5th November1914 Louis Mynekyme is reported to have, ‘not paid thefine, and is now serving the three months imprisonmentin default’.

In the Wigan Directory (1909-1910), the occupier of 93Wallgate is known as Arthur Lowe, pork butcher and Louisis living at 10 Douglas Street. In Kelly’s Directory (1924)the business at 93 Wallgate is shown as being used byLouis’s son Albert Marsden, pork butcher and still appearsunder this name in the 1971 Wigan Directory.

A notice in the London Gazette of February 1918 reads:

‘Notice is hereby given that ALBERT MARSDEN, of 123Victoria Street, Park View, Newtown, Pemberton, Wigan inthe county of Lancaster, pork butcher, now serving in HisMajesty’s forces hereto known as Albert Mynekyme, beinga – British subject, has by deedpoll dated 26 day ofDecember 1917, duly enrolled in the Central Office of theSupreme Court of Juricature, on the 9 day of February1918, renounced and abandoned his surname Mynekyme,

and has assumed and adopted the surname Marsden, andintends upon all occasions hereafter, and in all deeds,documents, actions and proceedings, matters and things,to use and subscribe the name ‘Marsden’ in lieu of hisformer name ‘Mynekyme.’

In 1917, Albert married Alice Kearsley at Christ Church,Millgate and Ellen (Nellie) married William Robert Baxter in1922 at Queens Hall Mission.

However, in January 1912 the elder daughter Emma diedand is buried in Wigan Cemetery. Louis, Leonard, Carolineand Nellie are also buried in the same grave with theirreligion shown as non-conformist. These members of thefamily didn’t change their surname to Marsden as they areall buried with the name Mynekyme.

The picture above of the Marsden Shop is taken from the Wigan World website and was submitted by Derek Marsden. His note, included with the picture, isshown below.

PICTURE NOTE It was taken in 1950 by my father. It was one of our threeshops, it was situated on the corner of Caroline Street inWallgate, we had a slaughter house at the back and abakery upstairs. The local Bobbies used to sit upstairs andhave a sly cup of tea and a pie whilst they watched thepedestrian crossing outside the shop. We were quitefamous butchers in Wigan and used to supply all the localclubs and pubs as well as Wigan Casino. We also hadanother shop in Market Street in Wigan opposite OliverSummers toy shop. When my father closed down thebusiness in 1972 we sold our Market St shop to Shannonspet food. I used to be a good friend of Paul Shannonwhose father owned the shop. Our third shop was inWesthoughton on the corner of Marsden Street.

Marsden’s shop on Wallgate.

Leigh Local Studies Donations

Leigh Local Studies has received severaldonations in the past few months includingseveral articles written by a former employee atSutcliffe Speakman Carbons Ltd.

We have received a publication called ‘AmericanCivil War: Gravesites of Great Britain andIreland’, which will be of interest to those whohave an interest in the conflict or who may haveAmerican Civil War veterans in their family tree.The Turnpike Community Theatre programmefor the play Marsh Fever has also been donated.The play is about the Leigh philanthropist MaryMatilda Susan Marsh.

Excitingly, we have been offered and haveaccepted a bequest from the James HiltonSociety who have agreed to donate theirvolumes of James’s work and other Hiltoniana.

Wigan Local Studies Donations

To mark Wigan Athletic Football Club’s victoryWigan Local Studies now has in the collectionthe FA Cup Final 2013 match-day programmeand tickets. A beautiful publication, ‘Men ofMilk’, by Zuzka Repakova has been donated andaccepted. The publication contains somewonderful images of Kay’s Dairy in Pemberton.Neina Woodward has collated First and SecondWorld War experiences of servicemen fromAshton. Both Wigan and Leigh Local Studieshave received the Lancashire Parish RegisterSociety Volume 177 of the Registers of theParish of Dalton, 1692-1812.

Local Studies News

As mentioned in the last issue of Past Forward,2014 marks the centenary of the First WorldWar and many people will be looking toresearch their ancestor’s military past. To mark

the centenary two volunteers at the Museum of Wigan Life, Les Norburn and Kate Irvine, have searched and indexed the Wigan Observerand the Leigh Journal for articles about localmen who fought during the First World War.The indexes are now also available online on the Local and Family History page of the WLCT website.

The oral history project Telling Tales has beensuccessful in persuading local people to recordthe stories of their working lives. We haverecorded and are in the process of transcribinginterviews from former employees of PTHBrooks Printers, Parsonage Colliery and Sutcliffe Speakman Carbons Ltd. If you would like to have one of the local studies team record your working story please contactus on 01942 404559.

Munitions workers from Coops clothingfactory during the First World War. Taken in

Mesnes Park, c. 1917.

LEIGH AND WIGAN LOCAL STUDIES

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Are you interested in history? Are you interested in promoting the history of Haigh Hall?Haigh Hall has a wonderful and colourful historycovering Anglo-Saxon times through to the 21st Century.A history that we promote as part of our very popularwalking history tours of the Hall and the Estate.

If you have a passion for local history, high standards of customer care and the confidence and enthusiasm to lead a history tour, then contact us.

Volunteers will receive training as well as expenses and subsistence.

For an information pack email Keith:k.bergman@wlct.org

Come join the fun at Wigan’s most historic venue

www.haighhall.info

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The Museum is gearing up to celebrate the Rugby League World Cup.Events in July included a rugby fun day, a public talk by Professor TonyCollins and the display of the Rugby League World Cup trophy at theMuseum. Visitors to these events explored the history of the great splitand Wigan and Leigh’s role in the founding of the Northern Union.

So what’s next? In October we launch a special Rugby League exhibition. Come along to the Museum to discover more about thehistory of the game, the truths behind the myths and the giants of thesport. Discover how things have changed over the years for players,managers and fans alike. Bring the whole family to see original

memorabilia and rugby-themed activities!

Do you have match tickets, scarves, caps, medals, rosettes or other Rugby League memorabilia for display? Get in touch with the

Museum by calling 01942 828128.

We are also working with Wigan Libraries on the TRY ReadingCampaign. Keep an eye out for upcoming events including:• Tom Palmer family fun events (August)• An evening with Ray French (September)

• Rugby-themed Poetry Competition (September)• Rugby League Panel (October)

For up-to-date event information on Try Reading events please see:www.TryReading.org or call in to your local library.

For up-to-date event information on the RugbyLeague exhibition, please contact 01942 828128 or

email heritage@wlct.org

Rugby League World Cup

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The root ‘Coccio' (derivativeCoccium) translates from Italianto English as ‘Earthenware'. Giventhis association through theItalian language to Latin, theinference is that a pottery makingindustry could possibly have beenexpedited by the Romans inWigan during their occupationperiod in the north of Britain?

This premise is significantlybolstered when considering localhistory and geologicalcircumstances in the early 1600s,when the King appointed threeLaw Lords to resolve a disputebetween the burgesses of WiganBorough – those granted rightsby way of Royal Charter – and theRector, who was then Lord of theManor of Wigan.

The Rector had acted to opposethe burgesses extracting potter'sclay from the parish waste landsand for many of them it hadundoubtedly been their mainincome for many generations, asindicated by the old tradition toadopt surnames according tofamily trade, which reveals thepresence of pottery artisans inWigan during the 1300s. The

judiciary, in due course, foundmostly in the burgesses' favourand clay extraction was allowedto continue indefinitely.

This historical evidence stronglysuggests there was an history ofsustainable pottery skills andmanufacture in Wigan survivingfrom well into the medievalperiod. There remains areasonable probability this hadearlier persisted with theRomano-British, long after theRomans left in the early fifthcentury, as other elements of theRoman trade culture were oftenalso retained for manygenerations. Perhaps the practicewas carried out on a somewhatsmaller scale, with the localBritish tribal elite availingthemselves of the trade benefitsof the earthenware industry?

The pottery output may thushave endured into the mid-sixteenth century, then partly re-aligned to meet the hugedemand of clay tobacco pipeusage and by 1850 local goodquality clay deposits werepossibly depleted. Or otherfactors such as cotton processing

and coal extraction intervenedand this important feature ofWigan's ancient history may havefinally been obscured?

Consequently, there may bearchaeological evidence of aparticular type of earthenwaremade, perhaps recycled anddistributed in the Douglas Valleyregion (ref: Severn Valley ware, awell-known Roman pottery type)that has yet to be identified andclassified through a formalarcheological publication?

There is only one known site of aRoman pottery kiln west of theRoman Road between theManchester and Ribchester Fortsto the Irish Sea coast. This wasfound at Walton-Le-Dale, but atsimilar latitudes east there is aproliferation of over twentyknown kilns and it is thereforeplausible that given the scarcityof known kilns near Coccium, thissettlement could have served theneeds of the population north ofthe nearest other kilns atWilderspool and west ofManchester and Ribchesterpottery kilns and south ofWalton-Le-Dale.

‘Coccium’

and its Origins

By Brian Parr

These pieces of red-orange pottery have been recovered from various digs of Roman Roads in the Wigan area and areof a typical fabric and colour perhaps indicative of a potential ‘Douglas Valley’ ware, now being progressed for

microscopic examination to detect their location of origin.

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Ivan D. Margary suggested theRoman Road from Wigan toWalton-Le-Dale was aligned with Bridgeman Terrace andconstructed across the Mesnes,then over to Brimlow Farm, inGidlow, where it was eventuallyfound during the 1980s. TheMesnes area is close to the towncentre and practical for mineralextraction purposes. Recordsshow that sand, gravel and coalhave been removed from thislocation during the last 200 years and potter's clay was located nearby in thecenturies before that.

There are similar indications innearby small settlements withclay deposits, so extractionduring the medieval period, orearlier, for pottery use would notbe entirely unprecedented closeto Wigan in the North West. Inthis scenario, there was perhapsan appreciable dispersion ofpottery kilns centred around themain urban area of Coccium,advantageously sited on severalRoman thoroughfares and servedby a River heading north towardsthe Ribble estuary.

I therefore raise the hypothesisthat the Roman name Coccium is

derived from and signifies asettlement of local earthenwareproduction, of a once notablescale, located on the primarywest coast Roman Road fromWilderspool to Lancaster. This pottery, to date, is of anarchaeologically unclassifiedtype and variation. This isplausible since the pottery findsin Wigan from the Roman-occupation era have mostlybeen unearthed during the last40 years and much remains tobe learned about Coccium,given the limited quantity ofarchaeological investigations inand around the town centreover the last century.

By greater measure, morearchaeological evidence hasbeen inadvertently lost due tomining and industrial eventssince the industrial revolutionand the growth of town centrebuildings with deep cellarsthereafter. These are compellingreasons why Wigan potterymaking locations possiblyoriginating in the first to thirdcenturies A.D. may have beendestroyed and remainedunnoticed, such that only smallsherds of this local earthenwaremay still exist underground.

However, absence of currentand known archaeologicalevidence does not necessarilymean evidence of the absenceof some sizeable potteryfacilities in ancient Coccium. It is therefore perhaps only bydetailed investigation of localpottery finds that these can beshown to have originated fromWigan district.

In conclusion, this nameassociation is perhaps the firstever of a firmly evidencednature, with respect to knownlocal history, geology andevents dating back at least tothe medieval period, thatendeavours to approach adefinite etymological linkbetween Roman Wigan andpottery manufacture.Consequently, it is currently theonly credible and fact-basedderivation to clearly explain thepotential origins of thesettlement name given in Route10 of the Antonine Itinerary as‘Coccium’. Thus, it shouldtentatively suffice until suchtime that future excavations canconfirm this, or conclusivelyprove otherwise, by way of athorough and professionalarchaeological publication.

Recent appraisal by a renowned pottery expert has identified these clay shapes as ‘bobs’ used to support potsbeing fired in kilns. Dating is provisionally late fifteenth century. Further analysis is in progress and may date themcloser. They were unearthed in close proximity to both a known Roman Road and suspected location of a Roman

Fort near Wigan (ref. Rev. Edmund Sibson). They are considered as direct archaeological evidence of potter’simplements found in an area of clay pit abundance that possibly substantiates the theory of pottery production

workshops in the immediate area of Coccium.

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Health, Sanitationand the Government

Loan 1891

BY BOB EVANS

Railway Street,Atherton, 2013

In 1891 the Atherton Local Boardreceived letters from the LocalGovernment Board, expressingconcern about reports of ScarletFever in the district andrecommending that the provisionof an isolation hospital was themost effective means ofpreventing serious epidemics. Aswell as accepting this advice theLocal Board was equallyconcerned to replace thetraditional method of waste andsewage disposal which was asignificant reason for the spreadof this and other diseases.

A report on conditions in thetownship noted that most of thehouses had a privy and cesspit inwhich ‘dry town refuse was mixedwith human excreta’. Traditionally

‘night soil workers’ had collectedthis and taken it for use by farmersbut with an increasing populationthe amount was becoming morethan they could use. Based onadvice gathered fromneighbouring authorities, theBoard made severalrecommendations. Sufficienthorses and carts were to beemployed to collect waste fromboth the streets and housepremises and any that wasunacceptable to farmers formanure should be burnt in whatwas termed a ‘refuse destructor’.All new houses and eventuallyexisting ones were to be providedwith slop-water closets, locallyknown as tipplers where acontainer on a pivot collected useddomestic water to flush deposits

into sewers connected totreatment works.

Sites for both a destructor and anisolation hospital were identifiedeither side of Railway Street at thefar end of Bag Lane on land whichlocal businessmen had obtainedon relatively short-term leasesfrom Lord Lilford for industrialdevelopment. The Albion SpinningCompany purchased these leasesin 1873 but their mill was burntdown in 1889 and financialproblems prevented the companyrenegotiating a longer lease anderecting a replacement. As theAtherton Board initiallyunderstood that Lord Lilford’sagent would accept a request for a999 year lease at a rent of nomore than £120 per year, the

opportunity was taken to buy theexisting leases and the derelict millbuildings from the Albionliquidators for £600.

With this assurance the Boardproduced plans and applied to theLocal Government Board for twoloans of £2,500 to build thehospital and refuse destructor. A petition against these uses wassigned by several prominent localbusinessmen. Their objections weresupported by Lord Lilford’s landagent who argued that a restrictionin the existing leases included: ‘notto carry on any noxious trades orpermit to be done anything whichmight be injurious to theneighbourhood.’ Other conditionsrequired that any property on theland which had suffered damageshould be repaired. The LocalBoard was ordered ‘to rebuild thesaid cotton Mill and buildingsforthwith and to pay him Onethousand pounds as compensationfor such breach of Covenant’. TheLocal Board refused to acceptconditions in a lease which wouldrestrict their future use of the land.After four years of negotiation,accompanied by additional legalexpenses and under the threat ofcompulsory purchase, the land waseventually bought in August 1895for £6685 by what by then hadbecome the Urban District Council.

Four years had passed since thesubmission of the original plansduring which time agreement withLeigh had resulted in the provisionof an isolation hospital at Astley. Asa result an alternative plan wasproduced showing a recreationarea on the land north of RailwayStreet originally intended for thehospital. One Board membersuggested the inclusion of aswimming pool. The LocalGovernment Board, after firstperhaps reluctantly sanctioning theland purchase, questioned if thisjustified the loan of public moneyand recommended that the Urban

District Council should sell the land.In reply it was argued that landwas difficult to obtain for publicpurposes as nearly the whole ofAtherton was in the hands of one landowner. There would be no cost to the ratepayers as income from sub-letting wouldrepay the loan charges.

Initially the council appears to haveattempted to justify retainingownership. An additional file ofdocuments includes the contractwhich satisfied the original desirefor an incinerator. Land adjacent tothe railway was ideal for thestorage of road building materials.Two agreements exist for rentalpayments to tenants renting land,buildings and sidings for themanufacture and repair of railwaywagons. Council minutes showthat there was some investment inthe area set aside for recreation.Other records however suggestthat the council was prepared tosell land. After first being given anopportunity to rent a site the ZebrilFood Company made an offer tobuy the whole area south ofRailway Street. This wasunsuccessful as the company wentbankrupt. In contrast with thenumber of records explaining thepurchase of the land, there are onlythe legal documents recording its

eventual sale. In 1912 Alfred StClair Jackson paid £600 for theland he had previously leased for alaundry. Finally four agreements inthe 1930s completed the sale ofthe remainder of the land south ofRailway Street together with thearea to the north to the StaveleyEngineering Company.

Engineering businesses still occupy the land south of Railway Street in contrast to theresidential property which has been built to the north and alongthe line of the railway.

Sources and AcknowledgementsThis account is based on WiganArchive records, indexed asUD/Ath/A5/3/1-31 (1834-1939) andA5/4/1-18 (other papers concerningAlbion 1870 -1939). These include theoriginal legal documents which provedthe Local Board’s ownership of theland and then the succeeding UrbanDistrict Council’s right to sell it. Thereare detailed reports on the township’shealth and sewage problems andletters and summaries relating to thenegotiations between the localauthority and the land owners for thelease or sale of the land and with theGovernment Board for funding loans.Documents in box UD/Ath/C3/1together with council minutesprovided additional information about the destructor.

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Plan of land for the proposed isolation hospital.

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Calling all children! Past Forward isholding a ‘Picture the Past’competition and we need you to getinvolved. The competition is for thoseof you aged between 7 and 14. Wewould like you to produce a work ofart based on a piece of local history.

The newspaper article about the ‘Welch-Hill Wakes’which Emma based her work of art on

To show you what we mean, Emma Brown,illustrator and art director, has made anexciting mural based on an old newspaperadvert – have a look at the front cover to see itin colour! The mural shows local peopleenjoying the ‘Welch Hill Wakes’ at theOddfellows’ Arms in 1858. Emma has put a lotof research and detail into this artwork andhas included some lovely links to the local area

such as the ‘GeorgeShaw Brewery’ sign,the cobbled streetsand old-fashionedstreetlights. She haseven pictured someof the prizes to bewon for the running anddancingcompetitions.

Emma has alsoagreed to be ourguest judge. There are two categories, one for ages 7-10, and one for ages 11–14. Prizes from the Museumof Wigan Life shop will be given to the winnerand runner-up from each category.

Entry Criteria• Hand your artwork into either Wigan

or Leigh Local Studies by Friday 18 October 2013

• Entrants must be aged between 7 and 14• One artwork per entrant• Artwork must be based on a local history

topic within the borough• By entering you agree to your work being

published in Past Forward and the winningartwork will be published in Past ForwardIssue 65

• State clearly that your entry is for the‘Picture the Past’ competition and Includeyour name, address and age

• Submit to either Leigh Local Studies, LeighLibrary, Turnpike Centre, Civic Square, Leigh,01942 404559 or Wigan Local Studies,Museum of Wigan Life, Library Street,Wigan, 01942 828020.

For more information about Emma Brown and her work please see:http://www.emmabrownowl.com/index.php?/about-me/

CompetitionFOR KIDS!

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We have provided some facts andimages to get you started. If youwould like to research your own local history fact Leigh and WiganLocal Studies can offer helpful tipsand advice!

• Did you know that Leigh had a theatrecalled the Theatre Royal? Many peopleperformed at the theatre and performerswould appear in adverts in the localnewspaper. One artist was Chung Ling Soo,a famous Chinese magician (who was reallyfrom New York!). He was famous for hisamazing bullet trick, catching bullets withhis hands or even his mouth and droppingthem onto a plate.

• Did you know that Leigh had a GermanPrisoner of War Camp during the First WorldWar? Some of the men formed a theatregroup inside the camp. But there were nowomen, so some of the men had to play theparts of the girls!

The German Prisoners of War, theatre group.

Annie Bates, a scavenger employed at theHowe Bridge Spinning Company in Atherton.

• Did you know that children used to work inmills and often did some of the mostdangerous jobs? The little girl in this pictureis Annie Bates, a scavenger from Atherton.Scavengers had to pick up scraps of cottonfrom under the machinery while themachines were working. Scavengers were indanger of getting their arms, legs or haircaught in the machines.

• Did you know that during the English CivilWar a Royalist called Sir Thomas Tyldesleywas killed during the Battle of Wigan Lane?The Tyldesley Monument on Wigan Lane issupposed to mark where Sir Thomas waskilled in Wigan but no one knows where heis buried...

• Did you know a local colliery owner calledJames Diggle once lowered a whole herd ofcattle into a coal mine in 1866? Jameswanted to protect the cattle from a terribledisease called foot and mouth.

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If someone who hadn’t visitedWigan for decades came backtoday he would hardly recognisethe town. Many buildings havebeen demolished and new onesbuilt, narrow roads have beenwidened, and open spaces builton. But amongst all this changestreet names have usuallyremained the same – often forcenturies. They can act as awindow on the past, showing uswhat our district was like informer times.

Researching the origin of streetnames can be an interestingpastime, and research tools arereadily available in the Museumof Wigan Life, Leigh Library andWigan Archives.

The most obvious changes haveoccurred where a street is namedafter a building which no longerexists, or whose function haschanged. School Lane, Haigh, aquiet country lane near HaighHall, was named after a littleschool, situated next to thepresent disused quarry, whichwas founded in the seventeenthcentury. Chapel Lane, now partof the dual carriageway belowthe Grand Arcade complex inWigan, was named after aPresbyterian chapel built there in 1769.

Sometimes a building is onlyhinted at in a street name. An‘avenue’ was formerly a privateroad lined with trees leading to a

mansion. The Avenue, Leigh,follows the route of a privatedrive that connected Leigh towncentre with the long-lostAtherton Hall, once described as,‘A noble mansion, erected atgreat expense, and which took along time in finishing’.

In former centuries the clergyoccupied houses on a par withthe manorial lords. In the twelfthcentury a parson of Leigh Parishhad a hall assigned to him which

became known as the kirk hall(i.e. the church hall), and thelane in which it was situatedbecame known as Kirkhall Lane.The Church was a majorlandowner for centuries and landbelonging to it was known as‘glebe’. Glebe Street, Leigh, andGlebe End Street, Wigan, indicateits location.

The Church also received goodsin the form of a tax called the‘tithe’, which consisted of a tenth

The statue of Wigan's former MP, Sir Francis Sharp Powell in Mesnes Park.

Signs of a Vanished Past

by Bob Blakeman

If you are interested in finding out more a few basictools for researching your street

name might include:

• Old estate and OrdnanceSurvey maps

• Indexed back runs of localnewspapers

• Old local directories

• Dialect dictionaries

• Photographic archives suchas Wigan Images Online

• Victoria County History of Lancashire

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of the annual produce of alandholding. Grain received astithe was stored in huge barnssuch as those at Rivington. Mostof these have been demolishedand only names such asTithebarn Road, Garswood,indicate their former existence.

Lanes and other byways weresometimes named after familiesthat held land there.Bradshawgate, Leigh (‘gate’ heremeans ‘road’), is named afterthe Bradshaw family whoacquired land here in 1293.Gidlow Lane, Wigan is namedafter the Gidlow family who hadheld land in the district since thereign of Henry VII.

Small-scale industries wereimportant in the past, andstreet names can sometimesindicate what they were. Theusual dialect word for a quarrywas ‘delph’, as in DawberDelph, Appley Bridge; but therewas probably a quarry in NelPan Lane, Leigh. ‘Nel’ was atype of high quality sandstoneused for building, and a ‘pan’was a hollow in the ground. InTan House Lane, Winstanley,was the site of a tannery,

where animal skins wereconverted into leather.

During the nineteenth centurythe population expanded rapidly,and names had to be found forthe many new streets that werebeing laid out. The family namesof important persons in thecommunity were a favouritesource. Powell Street, Wigan, onwhich the Mercure Hotel nowstands, was named after SirFrancis Sharp Powell, who wasthe Conservative M.P. for Wiganfrom 1885 to 1910. TippingStreet, Poolstock, was namedafter William Tipping, the cottonmagnate who owned the nearbyPoolstock Cotton Mill. TheStanley family, Earls of Derby,whose seat is Knowsley Hall,gave their names to the manyStanley Streets and Derby Streetsin South Lancashire.

The origins of street names arenot always what they appear,however. It is true that thereonce was a barracks in BarracksRoad, Bickershaw. This wasduring the 1840s when most ofthe population was sufferingfrom extreme poverty and troopswere used to quell social unrest.

However, there never was abarracks in Barracks Yard, Wigan(lately the site of the Officers’Club). There was however theOld Cloth Hall. This long, low building was a place ofbusiness for people in the textiletrade. It was replaced by theCommmercial Hall, on the site ofthe present Marketgate, andconverted into rudimentary livingquarters described in the localpress as ‘miserable hovels’.‘Barracks’ was almost certainly anickname for these.

The latter part of the twentiethcentury saw a fashion forpseudo-historical street namesthat have no connection withtheir location. An extremeexample is Falconwood Chase inWorsley, where a chase was anextensive estate reserved forhunting by the medieval nobilityamong whom falconry was afavourite sport.

And very recently, by populardemand, the new by-pass at theSaddle Junction in Wigan hasbeen named Southgate, using aform of street name that has itsorigins in the Viking era.

Chapel Lane, Wigan, was named after this modest building, erected in 1769

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I leave home in a very nervous state. I've beenawake half the night wondering what the daywould bring? Would the men be nice? Would I be able to come home at dinner(lunch for southern cousins)? My Mother madethe morning more anxious, ‘Have you got aclean handkerchief?’; ‘Have you cleaned yourshoes?’; ‘Have you got your dinner money?(...interpretation time again…).

’Mam’, I yell back, ’Stop fussing I'll be alright ifyou'll just stop fussing, please. I'm notbothered at all about going to work. It's justyou keep going on,’ which of course is acomplete lie. I don't think I have ever felt soscared in my life.

I start my journey into the world. I had secured a job at Lowe’s – a very posh department store –a week before. I would be an apprentice carpetfitter, considered a very good trade in thosedays. I felt very fortunate to have landed aposition in such a prestigious establishment.

I think this sentiment was shared by most of myfamily and all of my teachers. I hadn't performedwell at school – spelling being my biggestdrawback – so thank goodness for modern spell-check. In those unenlightened times poorspelling consigned you to the scrap heap.

As I near the emporium I start to wish I hadn'tbeen so fortunate. I think a less posh place ofwork would have suited me better. I'm from amining family but from my earliest days it hadbeen drilled into me, ‘You’re not going downthe pit’. My Dad had been hurt in a pit fall and my Grandfather had lost a leg in similarcircumstances. But if not there, where? Theworld certainly wasn't my oyster. In the mile orso walk from home to shop I convince myselfonce again that I am indeed fortuitous.

On reaching the Market Square, I look up atthe imposing edifice that was Lowe's VictoriaHouse, a cathedral to poshness. Even though I caught the bus to school outside it every day

My First Day at Work

By Tom Walsh

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for four years I never dared enter; until I went for an interview. Mr Lowe said my well written letter had impressed him. I hadenough nous not say my sister helped me. In truth she had written it and I merely copiedthe missive. My Mother likewise had neverentered the hallowed halls, nor I expect thevast majority of my extended family; far toogrand for the likes of us! As I gaze up,summoning courage to enter, I start to worryagain. But here goes.

At the interview I was told my start timewould be eight in the morning but on the firstday I would be met by Mr Marshall, FurnishingWorkroom Manager, and he would introduceme to the staff. I enter the building just as theParish Church clock chimes. A tall distinguishedlooking man approaches me, ‘Are you our newrecruit’, he asks in a decidedly officer-typeaccent. ‘Yes, Sir’, I mumble, trying to keep myvoice as low as possible. It rises three octavesin a stressful situation. ‘No need for sir, you’renot at school now. Mr Marshall will do nicely’,he says in a firm way. We take the lift to thetop floor, I relived that we don't use the stairsas I imagine everybody is looking at me andwondering how I'II fit in. Worse still, if I'II fit in.

We reach the workroom and it’s all veryformal, as was everything at Lowe’s. I shakehands with all the seven carpet fitters and thefour lady seamstresses. The ladies are all lovelyand do everything to make me feel at ease.One in particular seems to take a shine to me,Betty, who I discover lives near to me. We walkhome together every day and she becomes aconfidant and trusted adviser on workroompolitics. We are great friends to this day; a fewyears latter we are to share the same surnamewhen she marries my cousin Jim. What a smallworld Wigan is! All the men seem very friendlyand welcoming apart from one who seemedless than pleased to see me. I shan't name himin case he still roams the planet. I learn laterthat it was nothing personal; he drinks heavilyevery weekend and is in a foul mood onMonday mornings.

That first day seemed everlasting. My firstduty was to go for toast at The UCP (UnitedCattle Products); they had a cafeteria at the

back of the shop, a strange combination withtripe at the front and tea and toast at the rear.But that’s how it was and I was to become afrequent customer, going for morning snacksfor colleagues. On this first visit I gotflummoxed and the biggest mix-up was withthe fitter with the hangover who seemed inan even more aggressive mood as the daywent on. He threatens to thump me if I everget his order wrong again. ‘He's only joking –he's as soft as my pocket underneath’, saysBetty trying to reassure me. I am not socertain. He has a mean look and I imaginethat a smile has never visited his thin angrylips. I remember thinking I hope he doesn'tfrequent his local this week and that hisdisposition changes with sobriety. Whilst heappeared slightly more approachable later he was always disagreeable and once carriedout his threat to punch me when I got hisorder wrong from the Millgate Chippy. I'venever seen him since leaving Lowe’s and I feel I would prefer a meeting with Lucifer than an encounter with him. Please forgivethe hyperbole.

Mr Marshall greets me as I enter the shopbang on one o’clock. On my first day I haddecided to go home for lunch – the poshnessis rubbing off already. Mr Marshall tells me inno uncertain terms that a one o'clock startmeans just that, ‘Sorry sir, I mean Mr Marshall’, I utter in a pitch as high as aviolin, nerves doing their best to make melook and sound ridiculous. ‘Don't let it happen again or you'll be looking for anotherjob’, he says in the brusque manner that was his way. I half expected him to follow it upwith, ‘And you'll leave without references’, so Victorian did he and the whole store seemon that first day.

So much for the formality of the first day, and my time at The Cathedral has stayed with me for the rest of my life, even down to the handshakes – nothing like a modernhigh-five by way of greeting! But it was thatvery attitude that later I came to accept and I actually came to like – and traces of this old fashioned way of doing things are withme to this day!

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Edwin Kerfoot was the third son ofAbraham Kerfoot, grocer, andyounger brother to Councillor A. A.Kerfoot (died 1904). Born inBradshawgate, next to the FirstWorld War recruiting office, he waseducated at the Leigh Parish ChurchSchool and Leigh Grammar Schoolunder Ralph Pass. He became apupil teacher and then served anapprenticeship as a grocer with Mr T. Darwell. During this time he took an active part in theformation of the Leigh ShopAssistants Union. He also helped to establish the first AmbulanceClass in Leigh which was held in the Leigh Church Schools.

In 1891 he married Sarah Helena(Lena) Calland, daughter of Samuel Calland and opened agrocer's shop on his own account atthe corner of Market Street andSugar Street. To make way for roadwidening, shops on the west side ofMarket Street were pulled down soKerfoot, like many shopkeepers,received compensation for loss oftheir business premises. With thismoney he was able to emigrate toBritish Columbia where hecommenced business.

Whilst there he helped to form anorganisation called 'The Sons of St. George' as well as joining 'The Sons of the British Empire'.Both were patriotic associations for the banding together ofemigrants from the old country inthe cause of Imperialism.

By 1898 he had returned to Leigh.However, this was the year that thegold rush began in the Klondyke, sohe decided to travel there. He leftLiverpool in June of that year andtravelled via New York, NiagaraFalls, Chicago, Detroit and over theRocky Mountains to Vancouverwhere he opened a store not farfrom the Klondyke.

When the second Boer War brokeout in 1899 he volunteered hisservices and went over to SouthAfrica with the Second CanadianMounted Rifles. After the war hereturned home but soon tired ofinaction and consequently acceptedan appointment as residentsuperintendent of the cateringdepartment for the CapeGovernment Railways and wasstationed at various towns in theCape Colony. He was also acceptedby the St. John Ambulance Brigadein Cape Colony for service in theBombata Rebellion in Natal.

Once again he returned to Leighbut he was soon abroad again, thistime in India where he was acaterer for the East India Railways.Here he was stationed at Allahabadand Mokaimah. Later he wastransferred to Calcutta where hejoined the East India RailwayVolunteer Rifles. After remaining inIndia for about two and a halfyears, he once again returned toEngland. Initially he was appointedmanager of the Swan Hotel, York,before becoming licensee of the

Castle Hotel, Bangor. Later hereturned to his home town of Leighwhere he organised the Boy Scouts,becoming District Scoutmaster.

At the outbreak of the First WorldWar, his former experiences enabledhim to become recruiting agent atLeigh and Atherton. Although aged46, Edwin enlisted in the Colonialand Overseas Infantry, which waslater merged into the 22ndBattalion of the Royal Fusiliers, Cityof London Regiment. He was rapidlypromoted to corporal and then tosergeant before returning to Leighin 1915 on a recruiting campaign.On 17 August 1915 his serviceswere recognised and hiscommission granted in the 3/5thManchester Regiment. After hiscatering experiences became knownhe was made a captain and wasappointed Inspector of Cateringunder the Northern Commandbased at York. Later he was draftedto Aldershot where he was put incharge of the School of Cookery.

Edwin Kerfoot died on 8 March1920, aged 52 years, in theCambridge Hospital, Aldershot aftercatching a chill following hisattendance at an officer's funeralthe previous week. His body wasbrought back to Leigh. The funeralcortege started from his brother,Frank's house in Twist Lane for aservice at Leigh Parish Churchbefore interment at Leigh Cemetery.Leading the cortege was theBedford Church Brass Band.

Captain EdwinKerfoot (1868-1920)

By Tony Ashcroft

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Unfortunately, at his time of deathhis widow was in Canada.

During his life, Edwin Kerfoot wasinvolved with freemasonry. He hadbeen a member of the Lodge ofLights (Warrington), and theAldershot Camp Lodge, 1331.Whilst in British Columbia he was amember of the Greenwood Lodgeand in India, the Prinsep Lodge,Calcutta. He also belonged to theShaw Lodge (Leigh) of the RoyalAntediluvian Order of Buffaloes.

In June 1902 the Leigh Chronicleprinted his series of long lettersreporting his experiences as atrooper with the 2nd CanadianMounted Rifles in South Africa.

During his travels in South Africa,India and Canada Kerfoot collecteda wide range of curios includingnatural history specimens, relics andmementos including horns, stuffedcrocodiles, coral, pebbles, axes,clogs. In total there were at least124 artefacts which were given tothe Leigh Technical School and FreeLibrary to form the nucleus of aLeigh Museum. Edwin Kerfoot

Your Museum Needs You!Do you want to try something different? Always been interested in the Borough’s heritage? What about volunteering with the Museum Collection?

The Museum of Wigan Life is looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help work on our museum collection and exhibitions. The museum collections have recently been re-housed at a new store and we are in the process of improving the care and documentation of all objects. We are also increasing the number of special exhibitions for our visitors and are looking for help to research and install our exhibitions.

This represents an opportunity to help behind the scenes at the museum and to work in our new heritage store. Volunteers will receive appropriate training in: Documentation and Data Input; Research Skills; Object Cleaning Techniques; Basic Conservation and Environmental Monitoring; Object Handlingand Photographing; Object Labelling, Packing and Storage.

The long term aim is to make the museum’s collections more accessible to the public through exhibitions and toimprove their care and documentation in the new storage facility. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn new skillsand develop confidence.

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact theMuseum of Wigan Life on 01942 828128 or heritage@wlct.org

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Pennington FlashA Floral History By Tony BondPennington Flash formed around 100 yearsago, caused by mining subsidence from theworkings underground. Before that time itwas agricultural land. The value of the Flashto wildlife, particularly birds, was recognisedbefore the Second World War thanks to twolocal naturalists, Tom Edmondson and FrankHorrocks (see Past Forward, Edition 59). Thiswas a time when there were few peopleinterested in recording wildlife and bothpioneers are recognised with hides namedafter them at the present day Flash. Now theFlash is known to birders all over the countryand home to many species of birds andother wildlife.

For many years the Plank Lane end wasdominated by Bickershaw Colliery. Now all thatremains are the rucks which are beingreclaimed by nature. In the 1970s and 1980s the Wigan and District Field Club, which sadly no longer exists, did a lot ofresearch into the wild orchids often found on industrial sites so it is no surprise to findthem at the Flash. They are easy to find at theWigan Flashes and although people think oforchids as rare they are among the mostabundant flowers on Earth. One characteristicof orchids is that they do not like competitionfrom rank vegetation so the sparse cover of the rucks suits them – although they can alsobe found at the Lowton end.

The commonest orchids of the rucks are theso-called marsh orchids, the common spotted,northern marsh, southern marsh and earlymarsh. These hybridise very readily and manyof the Bickershaw orchids show hybrid vigour.If the leaves are spotted you can be certainthat the common spotted orchid is one parent.It takes an experienced botanist to determinethe full parentage.

A few years ago I was intrigued to find thedune form of the early marsh orchid, var.coccinea, near the canal. This is an uncommonvariety which is a distinctive bright red colourand easily found in June on the Sefton coast.Nearby it is also possible to find the harebell,another flower of that area. The question washow they came to be in Leigh? The answer iscontained in Past Forward, Edition 63 whichdescribes the concern expressed in 1941 thatthe blazing rucks could act as a marker forGerman bombers attacking Manchester and

A Bee Orchid at Pennington Flash.

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Liverpool. We know that the flames wereextinguished by the fire brigade but Southportsand was brought in by canal, probably toexclude air from the source of the fire and soquench the flames. This must have containedthe seeds of these specialised plants which insubsequent years took root.

The other end of the Flash was the locallandfill site for many years. Most winterswould see the water spill over the roads atboth ends causing major inconvenience, notleast to myself, as Atherleigh Way did notexist. The decision taken in 1985 to close thelandfill site and create the Country Park weknow now is commemorated by a stone atthe pedestrian entrance at the junction of St.Helens Road and Atherleigh Way. Topsoil wasbrought in to cover the former landfill. Manytrees were planted and wildflower meadowscreated. Several of these now support thedelightful cowslip which is under pressurenationally due to the disappearance oftraditional meadows and grassy places. I associate this flower with the limestone

areas of Cumbria and Derbyshire but do notknow where the topsoil originated.

Later in the year the spectacular oxeye daisymakes a great display. A more elusive specialityis the bee orchid for which you need to getyour eye in before you can see it. Although it isfound near Appley Bridge at the other end ofthe Borough, I never thought that I would seeit in Leigh.

As with cowslips I associate the other twospecialities with calcareous soils. It is temptingto assume that the topsoil was fromsomewhere such as Derbyshire or southernCumbria and contained the seeds of thesethree specialities. I believed this until someonewho was a volunteer and later an employee atthe Flash told me that when the landscapingwas complete she was given a large bag ofwildflower seeds and told to scatter them inthe newly created meadows. No matter howthey got here they are most welcome andcontribute to the visual attraction of the Flashand its biodiversity.

Boys fishing at Pennington Flash, Leigh c. 1930.

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A bitter north wind moaned itsway through the streets of Ince,twisted down the entry andwound around the yard seekingany ill fitting window or doorthrough which to poke its icyfingers – and there were plentyto find.

A small boy lay awake, unableto sleep with all the excitementa Christmas not far off. A bookclutched in his arms showed apicture of a uniformedhorseman charging the Germanlines during the Great Warwhich was only a few yearsdistant and the scars of thathorror were still raw in virtuallyevery family. Perhaps tomorrowhe would lead his pals acrossthe setts and into the field atthe top of the street to rescuethe coalman’s horse from theevil Hun, but then again thelure of the signal box by theOak Tree crossing might be toostrong to resist if the kindlysignalman would let him intothe snug warmth of the box.

The mood of the small boy wasnot matched by his father, afurnace keeper at the nearbyironworks, who sat by the dyingembers of a small fire gazing ata sepia photograph of a brotherhe would never see again. Localmen returning from the fieldsof Flanders had been tightlipped about a place calledPasschendaele but they gave

clues to the dreadful carnagethat had claimed so many. Heprayed that his brother’s endhad been quick.

Back upstairs the gloom of thetiny bedroom was suddenlytransformed as the walls lit upwith a red and orange hazethat washed across the bed.‘The Glow Upon the Heavens’,as folk called it, told that thebell to one of the huge furnaceshad been opened to allow afurther stoking of the voracioustower by the canal. Theclanging and banging ofwagons on the high level linethat forked off at RoundhouseJunction to bring the rawmaterials over the bridgebeyond the ancient Kirkless Hallgave further evidence of whatwas happening.

The little boy imagined himselfdriving one of the locomotivesthat he saw scuttling abouteach day. Juno, Mars andLindsay, Hector and hisfavourite… the one the boyscalled ‘Atch-ill-ease’ (Achilles).Oh, how exciting that would beto be shunting around the hugesite to the flag works, or best ofall to haul the ladles of moltenslag high up onto the great tipthat overlooked Hemfield Road.

As the bell closed the roomreturned to darkness. A way offa trombone played a carol, thesound floating away graduallyon the crisp air. The prospect ofChristmas filled the boy’s headwith dreams of a football hehoped might come on the bigday; then he would be the starman for Bolton Wanderers.

The Glow Uponthe Heavens by Neil Cain

Kirkless Hall, Wigan, 1905.

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Uncle Albert might yet take himto see Ince All Blacks play too.One day he might run outproudly at Central Park and hisname be added to those heroeshis father spoke of – Leytham,Jenkins, Todd and Miller. Slowlysleep crept across the smallchild’s eyes and he becameunaware of the glow that againlit the room.

In the room downstairs, fathershivered, not from the cold butof fearful thoughts of hisbrother’s end; in a little housein Standish a widow wept andin the fields of Flanders a bodysank further into the mud. Hewould never more see the Glowupon the Heavens.

Written in memory of HanceCain 2/5th btn., Loyal NorthLancashire Regiment, killed atPaschendaele, October 1917.

Wigan Coal & Iron, Kirkless Works, New Springs, 1930

ARE YOU THEVOLUNTEERING TYPE?Here at the Archives Service we really can’t thank our volunteers enough for all their hard work, commitment and enthusiasm. Without them we would not be able to offer the service we do to researchers. They are so good in fact thatwe now have a large backlog of catalogues to be typed up. If you would like

to volunteer, especially as a typist, please do get in touch. You will behandsomely rewarded with tea, coffee and biscuits!

For more information, please contact Joan Livesey on

01942 404 430 or j.livesey@wlct.org

Image: Lancashire Evening Post & Chronicle, Brock Mill Office, Wigan

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Dear Editor

Here at Lowton St. Luke’s Church we are working hard on a project to commemoratethe start of the First World War.We are gathering information on local men listed on the war memorial and would bedelighted to hear from anyoneinterested in helping out or who has further details on thelives of the men recorded.

By way of an example, I enclosea short write-up on SecondLieutenant Alec F. E. Prescott,who died in 1916.

With thanks,Ann Glacki

Dear Editor

Can you help?

I have been researching my family for more than fifty years and have made several trips to Wigan LocalStudies where everyone is always so helpful.

Hettie Ascroft, daughter ofWilliam Ascroft and Alice Brindle,was born at the Step or StoneHouses at 147 Park Lane,Ashton-in-Makerfield in 1879.They were situated on the Wiganside of Park Lane Chapel and theCranberry Hotel. I can rememberseeing the row of cottages withseveral steps going up to eachfront door, when I was a littlegirl at Park Lane School. Theywere pulled down many yearsago. Now I would dearly like aphoto of the Step Houses, aswould another person whosegrandmother was born there.Can anyone help?

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Margaret Humphreys(Australia)

Dear Editor

Following your request in thelatest ‘Past Forward’ magazine, I thought you would beinterested in the attached. It isof my grandparents’ newsagentsshop in Pool Street, Poolstock,believed to be from the earlytwentieth century. Their namewas Mackenzie and the businesslater traded under the name ofBradley when my grandmotherinherited the business and hadmarried Herbert Bradley.

My great-grandparents (Johnand Elizabeth Ann Mackenzie)had the original businessdescribed in an early census asgeneral dealer. They are the onesin the photo at the back with mygrandmother as a young girl(Jane Ellen Mackenzie) on theright. We are not totally surewho the two youngsters are. As you can see John was ofunusual height and when hemarried Elizabeth Ann at Hindleyin 1891. It was reported in theWigan Observer.

If any readers want any furtherinformation please get in touchwith Past Forward magazine.

Marlene Bradley

YOUR LETTERS - CAN YOU HELP

Born in May 1894, Lieutenant Prescott was the eldest son of James Prescott, who was the manager of Bibby’s Printing Works inLiverpool, and was the organist at St. Luke’s. He lived at BrookCottage in Lowton. He was educated at Leigh Grammar School,and began his career as a mechanical engineer with the Lintotype and Machinery Company in Broadheath, but wasworking for the Liverpool Corporation at the time he joined up. He joined the Liverpool ‘Pals’ First Battalion, and was granted acommission six months later, serving as second in command of aMachine Gun Corps.

On 7 October 1916, Lieutenant Prescott was hit by enemy fire anddied some ten minutes after being shot. His commanding officerdescribed him as: ‘the most beloved officer in my company’.Lieutenant Prescott is buried at the Thiepval Memorial Cemetery.There is a memorial to him in St. Luke’s Church.

SecondLieutenantAlec F. E.Prescott

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SOCIETY NEWS

Hear the past come to life inAshton and BrynThe history of Ashton and Bryn has been given the twenty-first century treatment by a group of local people.

A £10,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund has meant that the local people who know about the history and culture of the area have been able to record their stories professionally and make them available to everyone – for free. There's even a plan to post QR codes in historic parts of the town so you can learn about the background of the place you're in while you're actually there.

Lynn Hankey of Wigan Council said: ‘Everybody's taken something from the project that they didn't previously know, froma snippet of information about the street in which they live to a historical revelation that they didn't know about a localbuilding they pass every day. To date the project has been a resounding success.’

Ken Barston, Secretary of Stubshaw Cross Residents Group, and a strong supporter of the project said:‘Local people rarely get an opportunity to take a look back in time at what life was like all those years ago in our town. We are confident that the project will appeal to all age groups in our community.’

Ashton and Bryn Community Network will be launching their audio stories at the Ashton Festival on 23 September 2013.The event will start at 1pm at Ashton Library.

For more information, please contact Anthony Smith on 0777 937 4921or at mobilemediapartnership@gmail.com

Music from the past, The Band of the Lord Gerrard’sLancashire Hussars, ‘The Ashton Regiment’, 1898

The Leigh & District Family History Society was founded in1981 as one of the six groups within the Liverpool & SWLancs FHS. The Society meets each month (except June,July and December) in the Derby Room of Leigh Library onthe third Tuesday at 7.30pm.

Members are also available from 1.30-3.30pm at the LocalStudies Service in Leigh Library to offer free help to anyoneinterested in doing their own family history research. Thereis no need to book – we just ask you to bring along asmuch information as you already have.

The Society’s evening meeting usually takes the form of aspeaker on various aspects of family and local historyresearch. There is usually time to ask a few queries andbrowse the Society’s library. The August meeting is alwaysdevoted to helping newcomers to get started with their

research or hear how members have found some cluesduring the summer break. Not all members have ancestorsliving in the area but all have gained many new ideasthrough attending the meetings.

Over the years the Society have carried out numerousprojects including transcribing the gravestones of Leigh Cemetery and various churchyards in thesurrounding district.

The Society has a webpage on the Liverpool & SW LancsFHS website at www.liverpool-genealogy.org.uk.Membership is £10 per annum and includes four journalsa year which are circulated worldwide. Members can alsouse the Society’s forum to post any queries relating totheir research.

A spotlight on…

Leigh & District Family History Society

32

Aspull and Haigh Historical Society

Meetings are held on the second Thursday of the monthat Our Lady’s RC Church Hall,Haigh Road, Aspull at 7.30pm.All are welcome, contactBarbara Rhodes for furtherdetails on 01942 222769.

Atherton Heritage Society

Monthly meetings held secondTuesday of each month in St. Richards Parish Centre,Mayfield St. Atherton at 7.30pmAdmission - Members - £1.00Non Members - £2.00, including refreshments.

13 August: ‘The Boys who Smashed the Van’. Speaker - Mr. Alan Hayhurst

10 September: ‘King Canute, Cranford andCousin Jean’. Speaker - Margaret Curry

8 October: AGM (7.pm start) followed by, ‘Haunted Highways and Fairy Roads’. Speaker - Mr. P Watson

12 November: ‘The Chorley Pals’. Speaker - S Williams

Contact No. 01942 884893,Margaret Hodge

Billinge History andHeritage Society

Meetings are held on the secondTuesday of the month at BillingeChapel End Labour Club at7.30pm. There is a door chargeof £2. Committee includes: Mr Geoffrey Crank (Chairman),Dr Charles Mather (ViceChairman), Mrs Jennifer Budd(Secretary) and Mrs SusanMather (Treasurer).Contact us on 01695 624411 or 01744 892430.

Hindley & DistrictFamily History Society

Meetings are held on the secondMonday of the month at7.00pm at Tudor House,Liverpool Road, Hindley. Pleasecontact Mrs Joan Topping on01942 257361 for details.

Leigh & DistrictAntiques andCollectables Society

The new session of the societystarts on Monday 16 September2013 at 7.30pm in our newlocation at Leigh RUFC, BeechWalk, Leigh. New members arealways welcome and furtherdetails available from Mr CGaskell on 01942 673521.

Local History Federation Lancashire

The Federation holds severalmeetings each year, with avaried and interestingprogramme. For details visitwww.lancashirehistory.org orcall 01204 707885.

Skelmersdale &Upholland Family History Society

Meetings held at 7.30pm on thefourth Tuesday each month atHall Green Community Centre,Upholland. There are nomeetings in July or August. For more information contactSue Hesketh (Secretary) 01942 212940 or Suehesketh@blueyonder.co.uk or visitwww.liverpoolgenealogy.org.uk/SkemGrp/Skem

Wigan Civic Trust

If you have an interest in the standard of planning and architecture, and theconservation of buildings andstructures in our historic town,come along and meet us.Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 7.30pm. The venue is St George’s Church, Water Street, Wigan WN1 1XD.Contact Mr A Grimshaw on01942 245777 for furtherinformation.

9 September: Visit to St. Catherine’s Church,Wigan, 7.00pm at the Churchon Lorne Street, Scholes

14 October: The Wigan Pewterers and their Wares, 7.30pm at St. George’s

12 November: Annual Dinner

9 December:The Town Centre Unit, Mike Matthews (Wigan Council)and AGM

SOCIETY NEWS

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Wigan Family & Local History Society

Meetings are held at St. AndrewsParish Centre, 120 WoodhouseLane, Wigan WN6 7LZ. We meeton the second Wednesday ofeach month except July, Augustand December, 7.15-9.00pm. For more information see ourwebsite www.wiganworld.co.uk/familyhistory or telephone theSecretary on 01942 713146.Everyone welcome.

Wigan Archaeological Society

We meet on the first Wednesdayof the month, at 7.30pm, in the Standish Suite at the BrocketArms on Mesnes Road - on thefirst Wednesday of the month(except January and August).There is a car park adjacent onthe left. Admission is £2 formembers and £3 for guests. For more information call Bill Aldridge on 01257 402342. You can also visit the websitewww.wiganarchsoc.co.uk

Kids Summer ClubJoin us at the Museum of Wigan Life for a summer of fun activities. For children aged 4-11, take place every week until 22nd August.

• Junk Modelling – Every TuesdayTransform old junk into amazing art! Get creative with cardboard boxes and old cans. Different themes each week to get your imagination working.

• Fairground Fun – Every ThursdayEnjoy all the fun of the fair with our Victorian games. Try your hand at hoopla and tin can alley.

SESSIONS 1.00pm-2.30pm£2.50 PER CHILD

Museum of Wigan Life, Library Street, Wigan WN1 1NU.Book early to avoid disappointment – call 01942 828128.

WLCTrust/ WLCT/

wlct.org/heritage

Any Old Iron? Tony Ashcroft, former Leigh Local Studies Officer,is working with the Archives and Local Studiescollections on a book on the early history ofHarrison, McGregor and the Albion Ironworks.Tony is looking for any information readers haveon the works and advice on identifying thehundreds of machinery photographs in thearchives. Please let us know if you can help.

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SUMMER FUN – FROM JUNK MODELLINGTO ‘THE HOME FRONT’Stuck for places to take the kids or grandkids thissummer? Why not try the museum?

There are fun family activities on every Tuesday andThursday over the holidays. Look out for our Autumnprogramme too with specialist speakers on women’shistory, from mill workers to Pit Brow Lasses.Book your place soon by calling 01942 828128 oremail heritage@wlct.org.

ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIRTHURSDAY 1ST AUGUST; 8TH AUGUST; 15TH AUGUST; 22ND AUGUST 1.00-2.30pmMuseum of Wigan Life £2.50 per child

Have all the fun at the fair with our special Victorianfairground games. Try your hand at hoopla, tin canalley and Hook-a-Duck. All activities suitable forchildren aged 4-11 years. Please book early to savedisappointment. 01942 828128

FAMILY HISTORY WORKSHOPFROM 1ST AUGUST, THURSDAYS IN AUGUST,SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER10.30am-12.00pmLeigh Local Studies, Turnpike Centre£5.00

Start your family tree and discover the resourcesavailable in Leigh Local Studies. Use online sourcesincluding ancestry.com and meet the volunteers.Booking essential. 01942 404559

FAMILY HISTORY DROP-IN SATURDAY 3RD AUGUST 11.00am-3.00pm Museum of Wigan Life FREE

Join volunteer Andrew Meadows for drop-in adviceon starting your family tree or furthering yourresearch. Subject to availability. 01942 828128

PALAEOGRAPHY PRACTICE MONDAY 5TH AUGUST AND FIRST MONDAY OFEVERY MONTH 2.00-3.30pmMuseum of Wigan Life FREE

Medieval to Modern Handwriting for ExpertsInformal drop-in sessions for those with a basicunderstanding of palaeography styles over the ages,transcribing original documents from the archives ina group. 01942 828128

JUNK MODELLING! TUESDAY 6TH AUGUST; 13TH AUGUST; 20TH AUGUST 1.00-2.30pmMuseum of Wigan Life£2.50 per child

Transform old cans and cardboard boxes into yourown amazing junk sculpture. Be inspired and getcreative! Remember to come back for more, there’sa different theme each week from Toys to Aliens!All activities suitable for children aged 4-11 years.Please book early to save disappointment. 01942 828128

STEAMING SUNDAY SUNDAY 11TH AUGUST; 25TH AUGUST; 8THSEPTEMBER; 29TH SEPTEMBER; 13TH OCTOBER;27TH OCTOBER 1.00pm-2.00pm Trencherfield Mill, Heritage Way, Wigan Pier Quarter The Trencherfield Mill Steam Engine is one of thelargest and finest working examples of its type. VisitTrencherfield Mill on a ‘Steaming Sunday’ to awe atthis giant’s immense size and power, but moreimportantly, experience it working as it did all thoseyears ago - full steam ahead! Small charge foradmission. 01942 828128

CARRY ON CLEANING @ WIGAN ARCHIVES WEDNESDAY 28TH AUGUST; 25TH SEPTEMBER;30TH OCTOBER 10.00am-3.00pmWigan Archives Service, Leigh Town Hall FREE

If you've ever wondered how we preserve historicrecords, come along to Wigan Archives to join inwith our ongoing project to clean and documentthe records of Wigan's Victorian courts. Join our

HERITAGE & ARTS EVENTS CALENDAR

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team of volunteers in revealing the stories of crime and punishment in Wigan and learn how tohelp preserve the Borough's history.01942 404430

COFFEE CAKE & CULTURETUESDAY 3RD & 10TH SEPTEMBER; 15TH & 22ND OCTOBER 10.30am - 12 noonMuseum Of Wigan Life £3

Come and join us at the Museum of Wigan Life for our interactive heritage workshop. Learn,discuss, reminiscence and enjoy a slice of cake with tea or coffee.Booking essential, places limited so book early to avoid disappointment. 01942 828128

HERITAGE OPEN DAYSTHURSDAY 12TH-SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBERMuseum of Wigan LifeFREE

Visit the museum for tours of this Grade II listed building designed by Alfred Waterhouse and opened in 1878. This beautiful building was the former library in which George Orwellresearched his famous book ‘The Road to WiganPier’. Please call 01942 828128 for tour times and further information.

LEIGH FOR ALL: HERITAGE OPEN DAYS SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 11.00am-3.00pmCivic Square, Leigh

Family activities on the Civic Square in Leigh,including a vintage car rally, heritage tours and stalls and a taste of real Lancashire. Tours & entryfree, small charge for some activities.

THE PENNINGTON FAMILY OF MILL OWNERSTUESDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2013 12 noon-1.15pmMuseum of Wigan Life £2.50 including tea/coffee

Discover more about the Pennington family ofindustrialists in local historian Norma Branagan’s

illustrated talk. Find out how the Penningtons builttheir industrial empire around Hindley in theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries.01942 828128

RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP EXHIBITIONOPENS SATURDAY 5TH OCTOBER11.00am-3.00pm

Be the first to see our new interactive Rugby Leagueexhibition in celebration of the World Cup! Bringthe whole family to see original memorabilia andexperience Rugby-themed activities. Discover thehistory of this amazing sport and see how it haschanged over the years for players, managers andfans alike. Watch out for our special exhibitionevents programme as part of the Rugby Leagueexhibition. To find out more visitwww.wlct.org/heritage-services or call 01942 828128.

A WOMAN'S PLACE: WORKING WIVESAND MOTHERS IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRYTUESDAY 8TH OCTOBER 12.00 noon - 1.15pmMuseum of Wigan Life £2.50 including tea/coffee

Join author and historian Elizabeth Roberts for anillustrated talk about women’s experiences in theLancashire textile industry. Did your grandmother orgreat-grandmother work in the cotton mills? Whatwere their working lives like? How did they managework and family life? Find out more about theirexperiences, based on oral history interviews fromthe early twentieth century.01942 828128

READY FOR RUGBYTUESDAY 29TH OCTOBER 1.00-2.30pm Museum of Wigan Life £2.50 per child

Celebrate the Rugby League World Cup with ournew interactive exhibition. Explore the world cupnations, create and display your own Rugbymasterpiece and watch out for some uniquememorabilia on display. 01942 828128

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