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Wigan's abandoned street, what happened here? Why does this once thriving main street now lie empty?
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- čas přidán 13. 03. 2024
- Wigan's abandoned street, what happened here? Why does this once thriving main street now lie empty? Join me for my trip to Wigan, in the old county of Lancashire, in the North West of England. Home of Wigan Warriors RLFC, George Formby, Uncle Joe's Mintballs, Wigan Pier, The road to Wigan Pier (the George Orwell book), Richard Ashcroft, Rick Astley and Wigan Casino to name but a few. I check out Wigan's King Street, Library Street, Wigan Civic Centre, Haigh hall country park and plantations!
#wigan #haighhall #wiganpier #wigancasino #georgeorwell #wiganathletic #lancashire #townwalk #england #foodcourt #uk #englishcoffeeshop #britain
Subscribe for more adventures: / @andrewemmerson
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Born and bred in Wigan I remember back in 98 on wards when I got out the taxi at the top and looked down you couldn’t see the street it was that busy no joke the night life was amazing I came back home at Christmas for the first time in 7 yrs and I was disgusted it was absolutely dead on a Friday night those good old days are well and truly gone if your reading this who remembers the coach that used to take you kudos aswell what a place
Also born and bred! I remember it in the 80's, so very shocking that it's gone downhill so much. I still hope that it can be turned around.
I cant believe you just walked past the town hall - which is probably the grandest and most attractivie building in the town centre lol
I just about noticed it 👍
I'm Wigan born and bred, but I left in 2005, seeing this actually made me cry. What on earth has gone on!! King Street used to be full of bars and takeaways.
Wigan was a place people came from other areas for a night out!! Boxing night, you couldn't get through the doors of every bar, let alone get to the bar for a drink,!! I'm so glad I was doing my clubbing in the mid 80s onwards.
Saturday and Sunday afternoon's around Wigan were fab, Bank holidays were so much fun too.... my friend group, we did Friday evening, Saturday afternoon/evening, Sunday afternoon, Monday afternoon, if we could manage it, it was sometimes a lime & soda day on Sunday for a break lol but we could also do the day and night lol
20 million on a building in the middle of nowhere, yes we all love Haigh Hall, but come on, your video speaks volumes, as to where that money SHOULD be spent......
It’s a really mixed picture in Wigan at the moment, most of it not great. I really hope this is the low point and the town gets built back up from here on in, a lot of talk about a lot of projects, one in particular in king street arcade, let’s wait and see what happens, 🤞🏻
Worst thing is most of them are still bars and clubs, I live in Wigan and I've not had a drink up king street in about 5 years and it was bad then, it's like there's no investment in the town yet there spending a fortune on flattening the galleries and market to build an cinema and whatever else there doing, ive just lost interest there ruining the town. What's the point in building a cinema when we already had one, wasting money yet king street now like a slum
@@ryanmcguinness7898 Some very good points there, I wouldn't disagree.
I’m from Wigan, and the town centre is a shadow of what it was, king street was party central years ago. As said people came from all around the uk for a night out in Wigan, i used to work in an office on market street until around 10 yrs ago, and the streets were juts full of drunken tramps all day every day. The market hall has gone, been demolished recently. Most of the shops are boarded up etc. but never mind as long as the immigrant invaders are ok it’s all good.
@nez9751 focus on the cause not the problem. Focus on who is allowing these immigrants into this country.
😢😮 Thriving in the 1970s 😢 ☹️🙁 It just shows how caring and well Britain was doing. Theatre, music, pubs and bars ... All about British culture! 😢
What happened that we are supposed to accept this?
“Needs investment.” No! Needs flattening and starting over again…blame Amazon.
At least save what’s left of the old buildings 🙏😃
So sad. I studied at night school classes at Wigan Tech in the mid-70s and after the class we would go for a few drinks and chat in the pubs and then mad dash to catch the last bus home to Chorley. The place had such a great buzz about it back then. Great market and shops.
Very sad, I hope Wigan can make a comeback with the new regeneration, however I don’t know what will happen to king street 😕
@@andrewemmerson I left the UK for Australia in 1987 and only went back for the 1st time in 2022. All of those Lancs towns are in a sad state; Bolton, Blackburn etc, Preston seems to have managed a little better. My home town Chorley is all betting shops, charity shops and takeaway food shops. Southport is a hollow shell of its former self, Lord Street used to be so swish back in the day, now it is like a ghost town.
Lord street in particular has suffered, the shops are mostly converting to bars, or the ones left are just cheap shops, the quality seems to have been lost, it's sad.
I still remember going to the Ritz cinema when i was little. Nothing like it anymore.
I remember the ritz in Saturday mornings! 😃
@@andrewemmerson I worked there until closure in 1983.
Wiganer born n bred. Used to go round town in the mid to late 80s. Used to walk through Haigh Hall Plantations from Aspull with a few mates and cans, and come out at the top of Wigan Lane at the Bowling Green, work our way down then on to Maxims {rock night} John Bull, Angels, Market Tavern. Very rare I go to Wigan anymore. Shame seeing it in the state its in.
Good times, I remember maxims rock night and the John Bull! Also have not been out in Wigan for many decades!
@@andrewemmerson You]re not missing owt
The jumping jacks building, is an old masonic building. You can see the masonic emblems on the outside.
Well spotted👍
bought a few guitars from the old Dawsons store in late 70s. Saw Diamonds are Forever at the Court cinema
I remember Dawsons, was a really good shop, also Harker and Howarth (library st)! I don't remember the Court cinema as a cinema though as it closed in 73, just before my time!
@@andrewemmerson my friend Ian Sudworth worked at Harker and Howarth we used to pick him up before gigs
I just showed this to my wife of 42 years. We went on our 1st date (late 70s) to a bar (I think it was called Bluto's or Pluto's) in the cellar under a UCP tripe shop in Wigan. Oh the memories.
Back in the days when Wigan Casino was still going! There used to be a few underground bars in and around King Street 👍
@@andrewemmerson As a teenager I always wanted to go to the "All Nighter" at the Casino but parents never allowed it.
@@hwallen9316 Ah that would have been something to see!
It was Pluto's, it was "THE bar" , hard to get in, your face had to fit if you were a guy haha, fabulous place, I loved it!! I went from 85. 3 floors of different music or was it 2, I have brain issues lol X
@@red-inmy-50s-temper-dont-match Yikes I was/am an ugly bugger but they let me in, prob cos my girl looked a Million Dollars back then and still does today.
Levelling up going well, then?
Not that well in some places 😁
Unfortunately what happened is the same as hundreds of other town centres across the UK, started in 2020 with lockdowns and continues in 2024 with massive inflation. People got out of the habit of going into town and now can't really afford to, very sad. On a positive note, it's good to see Haigh Hall getting sorted.
It's a complicated picture, but I agree 2020 and 2024 had a negative effect in some place. Towns like Shrewsbury, Lincoln and York are not suffering, full of shops! So it appears to me the local economic conditions are wrong?
@@andrewemmerson To be fair, Lincoln and York are cities rather than towns, and both tourist spots to an extent - York more so, but Lincoln cathedral is a big draw too. Shrewsbury is a town, but is the county town of Shropshire. Wigan has Manchester and Liverpool to compete with for revellers, as well as dozens of other small towns and 'trendy' villages within easy reach.
That said, the town was booming as recently as the 2000's, when King Street was filled with bars and clubs, the Pier nightclub was still around, the football club was in the Premier League and you'd bump into people from all over the north of England (plus a few from further afield) on any given weekend night out. It's sad to see this decline, but we can rise again!
There are lots of good groups and individuals with enough passion for Wigan to fight back - we can't just sit back and moan and argue, like so many people on social media groups choose to do, whilst doing absolutely nothing at all themselves to help.
@@jam-nc8ut Both Lincoln and Shrewsbury are towns, (Lincoln City is the football club) I mentioned these as I have filmed a video on both. LIncoln population is about 100k and Shrewbury even less, where as Wigan is over 300k, (York admittedly not really a fair comparison). I think Wigan has other things to offer than Manchester or Liverpool, and a lot of people prefer to go to towns of this size. However I do agree with you, Wigan has so much potential and I hope this video wasn't too negative, I do genuinely believe like yourself that it will come up!
Labour Council for last hundred years, can’t blame Tories.
True
Reminds me of a Scottish town called Maryport which was once a major hotspot for the fishing industry now just a ghost town, really creepy
Not had the chance to visit Maryport, but would like to get up that way sometime!
Heads up for you (2:46) the Courts were on the otherside of the road, the only thing left is the restaurant and car park
Ah right, that’s good local knowledge thank you so much 🙏
There isn't a single modern building that will last as long as the Edwardian/ Victorian buildings. Because of the quick way they are thrown up/quality of materials and the flat roofs. Builders,councillor's, planning department's always think it is cheaper to neglect and demolish than maintain a older building with a pitched roof .
We should defiantly be preserving Wigan's great buildings, or after a certain point they won't be worth saving. Also makes the town unique.
Same thing in most towns, Nottingham is one where they have pulled some down just to be replaced by a modern monstrosity.
@@robincurwood Not been to Nottingham for a long time, but remember it as a nice town.
@@robincurwood The modern buildings today make me want to weep they are so depressing, probably slightly better than the 60s and 70s brutalist architecture but not much.
LIVED HERE ALL MY LIFE,, I,M 73,, AND ITS ONLY DUE TO SEVERAL BIG SUPERMARKETS THAT THE TOWN CENTRE IS SO BLEEK TO SAY THE LEAST,,, USED TO HAVE TO WALK SIDEWAYS ON THE PAVEMENTS BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE OUT SHOPPING NOW YOU CAN DRIVE A CAR ON THEM WITHOUT HITTING ANYBODY,,, PLZ DONT TRY IT.. JUST AN EXAMPLE,,
Thank you for your comment, no I won’t try that! 😂 in Wigans case the out of town shopping does have a huge impact the town centre, when you can get most things such as lunch etc from there.
Always lots of money for immigrants.just none for the British people.
Many problems in this country at the moment
@@andrewemmerson thank you for your feedback.its a mess .I can not think of one good thing at the moment.all things are going down hill .fast
King street used to be a great night out up until about 2010ish, always big queues for the main clubs. It was busy on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I saw a downturn when bars started to be allowed to stay open much later and when my generation got older, the new generation just don’t go out like we did anymore.
Good times, I remember those days!
“Looking a bit tired” - looks absolutely f**ked
He doesn't look that tired
Understatement of the year 😂
Cheers 😂🙏
Very sad to see this, I remember dancing to big bands in this street, and thriving bars and shops !
Like the birdhouse in my brain
Hopefully it will be back someday!
I’m from Wigan lived here for 33 years and it’s an absolute shithole now just druggies everywhere absolute shame really
Sadly your not wrong, much worse than it used to be 😪
What a dive!
Will make a comeback!
One big problem with King St is that it no longer leads to anything. The bottom is effectively terminated by a wide busy road, and on both sides of King St at the bottom there is nothing but the hideously ugly Brocol House. The rest is empty space. Even the lower buildings still standing are poor replacement of the originals.
The second problem was that people were put off going down King St by the piles of puke, discarded chips & other takeaway food, blood from the previous night's fight and broken glass. Add to this a few hangers on from the previous night who were too plastered or broke to get home made the street somewhat threatening even in the morning.
It needs a lot of TLC, but is there anyone prepared to do this to revive King St to something close to it's former glory?
That’s a really good point that king street doesn’t lead to anything, that giant car park is bearly used as it’s not a good location, so not many people walk there. Yes it needs a lot of investment and work for this area. I hope it will improve but right now I’m not so hopeful.
How sad: a ghost town-a sign of things to come for much of England. Decay & despair for our lost once great country.
Hopefully not, but doesn’t look too promising in many places
@@andrewemmerson Over 70 y ago my father used to take me occasionally from Liverpool to Wigan to see his aunt Alice. As I recall she lived in a terraced house, with her front lower room being a small newsagent/tobacconist. She had a very small rear garden where she kept a rabbit. I have a soft spot for Wigan and like the name Alice.
Best etc. amigo.
@@BruceJackson-lx2dw nice story thanks for sharing it 👍
I'm fairly sure that in the video I heard that this was filmed on a Sunday, and clearly it's during the day. King Street has been a night time economy for as long as I can remember - I'm 45 - so it's unfair to describe it as a ghost town or abandoned. It still gets decent trade on weekend nights, albeit a long way off what it once was.
@@jam-nc8ut Wigan is not alone as to English towns becoming distressed in recent years. Let's hope for a revival for this town, with its Orwellian links fame. Has the town commercialy exploited it's Wigan Pier literary fame? What about a book festival celebrating Orwell's works?
All the best my friend.
Kings Street is not looking good! Tom Whalley's was the pet shop on Millgate you mentioned.
Ahhh thank you, I remember that name now you mention it 👍
No cinema in Wigan? Does this Empire is closed now at RobinPark?
I believe a company has bought the empire cinema so should be getting refurbished and a reopen soon
wigan council decide to push most of the night life into
one street
( king st ) making it easier to control
plan was to cover the street with a large glass roof and have a pedestrian area and it bit like print works in manchester
but bar aren’t as popular any more and the clubs shut down street becomes
a mess
I'm not sure if that sounds like a good idea or not? Money might be better spent elsewhere. But yes as you say not as popular as it once was so won't happen now.
Blessed be x😂😂
🙏
Where that cone was there was a murder. Only one I remember as a kid. Probably around 1977
A bit sinister that! 😬
Brave walking up death alley
Still alive 😆
Like most now 😢
Sadly true
All the retail relocated on the Robin Park Shopping Centre. The actual town centre is depressing. King Street had all the night clubs that was decades ago. There was policing at one time and then stopped funding. I remember the area became notorious for sometime and then died off. This could be a generational thing, or the licensing became governed by the council and not the police that use to grant the licence. Therefore, there is a lot in that to do with saturation and venue types. Wigan is my birthplace but I've lived in various parts of the country. There are other places looking worse and it's fair to say the presant state of the country (social economics). However, the heritage and Haigh Hall I'm not really interested with that. Infact it would be better flattered and modernised. That's my opinion and really it's all appealing to one sector and its inverted... young people will not want to live here. There is nothing really for them.
Very interesting about the funding issues, I don’t personally think that retail parks should be allowed unless they are properly connected to the town and accessible by foot, otherwise they will always take trade from the high street.
@@andrewemmerson Thank you hansom and trade moved to Robin Park
Labour ruined this great town
Lack of understanding and long term planning
Not adandoned on Saturday nights
I would love to see that!
@@andrewemmerson go next Friday trust me Wigan warriors vs St Helens it will be mayhem after it has
Go down there Friday sat night it's bouncing
Might have to try that! 😆👍
I hear lots of people rave about what King street used to be like. Wigan like Bolton is dead beyond revival
Hopefully not beyond revival
Its a shit hole i live here and hate it - and king street is hussle and bussle and is closed off at weekend its so busy its same with most empty towns the pubs are the only things give it purpose its so depressing walking up and down king st in the day time. Even in the day time its mainly drinking outside pubs and homless ppl filling the streets - our locals go to leigh they actually have shops lol 😂 and "oh boy" u should av gone down the alley just further down from mc Donald's and primark 😂😂😂 now thats ruff watch what ur stepping on tho ha ha 😂
Some good points there, might have to do a follow up 😆
too many too many years of labour despots ruined wigan
Somebody has ruined it 😪
Tory Britain.🤬🤬🤬🤬
😩😩😩
You clearly are making it up n don't gave a clue
I make up all my videos myself 😆
but to let britain. in wigan...
Sadly right!
Dump
I hope not irretrievably 🙏
If you want to see more of our country turn into this keep voting Tory
It does seem like the conditions for creating prosperity are not in place at all!
@@andrewemmerson Indeed. It's so sad to see
💯
Although the Labour-controlled council and the Labour MP don't seem to be doing much for Wigan, do they? Apart from for themselves, of course!
@@billysollox4697 they get their money from central government