Your thoughts, Wigan Market Hall..1962

First topic message reminder :

Do you remember this Market Hall in the early sixties???

I do..I worked there as a butcher's apprentice..

My God, It was amazing...the people were the best...Sorry, but not seen today....Sadly....

What say you though...????

The Market Hall had such character. I remember the fruit market and fish market which were separate from the main Hall. The big Bull's Head on the wall by the butcher's, and the sparrows chirping in the roof space. Adams's stall where you could still buy dolly- blues and donkey-stones right up until it closed. Harold Bradshaw's Menswear stall and Mr. Ali Khan's jeans stall, and his surprising Lancashire accent!

My favourite stall was the haberdashery one. I used to buy embroidery threads and buttons for my needlework. I used to love sewing both by hand and machine, not so much now as I can 't see very well..

I can see those Dinky toys now.

One stall (end of row) had a cabinet on the end wall.

I think there were at least two toy stalls.


Imagine that happening today.

There was a balcony or service platform over the stalls that were on the inside walls in the Market Hall and there was a ladder and trapdoor to gain access  just inside the Woodcock St entrance to the left.There would be hundreds of sparrows chirping as Irene said,but they were also allegedly crapping on the cold meats and whatever else was being sold.
When we were working up there we used to open up the traps left by the market guys to trap the birds, and the spadgers got a new lease of life.

The tripe stall little café. You went through the swing doors next to the café to get to the fruit and veg stalls. My mam wasn't very tall and could barely reach to pay for her veg. Them stall holders must have been giants Lol

I would have done the same, Fossil. Not their fault.

Noun spadger ‎(plural spadgers) (dialectal or colloquial) A sparrow

Not a Wiganism then