Imagine this on a Saturday afternoon before internet shopping and COVID …. the hustle and bustle of people shopping, friends bumping into each other, the sound of people laughing and joking, teenagers meeting up etc. Sad to see this, unfortunately it’s not uncommon
Really was like that up until 2008 recession at shopping centres. Maybe at its peak in late 90s. Will we get back to that simple way of living when we get tired of online?
I was there my friend. Early 90's onwards. My brother and I spent many of our Saturday mornings\afternoons here. Before the internet. Looking at the latest video games and trying out the game on the display model console before you bought it. Christmas shopping etc. I have really fond memories of the Galleries. It is bittersweet to see it being demolished. I understand we have to move on, but I do feel a little sad. I am glad I experienced it though.
I’m from Wigan, never lived anywhere else. I remember as a kid my mum taking me to this shopping centre and I was always amazed by the massive clock, at Christmas they often put huge ceiling decorations in- again always amazed me. It saddens me to think I’ll never see it in person again. Pretty sure this building is getting demolished or something. Such a massive part of Wigan history just gone like that
Whoever gains access to the internal staircase within the Galleries' grand clock tower is guaranteed some flabbergasting footage by all accounts. It's rumoured that the top of the structure is home to either a water tank or an information desk, depending on who you listen to. The actual contents have never been officially confirmed. Either way, The Galleries was a retail wonderland for many, myself included. It'll be missed and fondly remembered by any right-minded individual who had the pleasure of traversing its hallowed halls. Great video guys. A document of historical importance for sure 👍
Wiganer here. This mall is being demolished in earnest now. With no funding for the replacement market/housing/leisure in place. People here are overwhelmingly against its demolition. It’s a beautiful building and an absolute crying shame it’s being allowed to be flattened.
This should not be demolished, maybe the Grand Arcade should instead? Isn't that nearly dead itself now? TKmaxx moved out and just filled with budget stores.
@@victoria.xseven7913 grand arcade shouldn’t exist. I remember the hype for that place, then once it opened we realised it wasn’t grand, it was small and crappy
@@MagicRainbowGlitter I mean each building bears significance to a time; Grand arcade took all the custom from the Galleries and it was only grand for a time, the galleries are more timeless so what a shame.
@@gary1961 he was clearly a shit guard i got in there for a good hour or so before its demo and left without being noticed 🤣🤣 dont know what he was doing up there, clearly not watching cams
Thank you for recording this. I have mixed emotions about this project. I am happy that something is finally happening. For years, the Galleries shopping center has been in a state of steady decline. At the end of its life, the place became a glorified cut-away. It was an embarrassment for the town. The architecture was impressive. In its heyday, it had a really nice atmosphere. Full of character. The designers and builders should be proud. I understand that it may have never been fully occupied since its inception, but it was still a thriving place back in its heyday. Times have changed, the High Street is no longer king. Internet shopping and retail parks have revolutionized our way of life. The glorification of idealized American culture which dominated England back then was certainly an influence on the design of the Galleries. It screams the late 1980s/early1990s. In my opinion, the Grande Arcade should have never been built. Yes, it looks great, but we already had a shopping centre. Trying to make Wigan compete with the neighboring city of Manchester was a recipe for disaster. Updating and investing in the Galleries would have seemed like a better plan. I hope they get it right this time. From personal experience. I have fond memories of the Galleries. In its heydey you couldn't move near Christmas time, there were so many people. I remember the Index store on the lower level of the Galleries. I remember seeing Crash Bandicoot 2 on the display screen. I remember thinking how cool it looked. My brother and I spent many Saturday mornings in the Galleries. You would almost always meet a friend from school there. We always went Christmas shopping there as a family. I remember the market with the Cage video game stall. I always bought my school supplies from the galleries too. I remember Brucianni's cafe. They served great coronation chicken. I remain optimistic about this development.
The galleries has been basically abandoned ever since the grand arcade opened in 2007. In fact the galleries has never been more than 85% occupied at any point since it's opening. The lower section where specsavers was has been basically empty for at least 15 years, and the section above the outdoor market that was intended to be for small independent shops has been empty for as long as I can remember. The galleries basically became a covered walk way to cross from one side of the town to the other and for access to the car park. It's been a sad site for many years now and it's honestly only a good thing that something is finally being done.
Yup.. When I was working in what had been the Index store on the lower floor of the Marketgate Arcade in 2011 there was a shop showing it's proud branding.. Virus.. A punk clothing store.. closed in 1980
What's being done you mean the grand vision of a cinema a bowling alley and a boutique type market your having a laugh wigan was once a vibrant different place to shop with its Tudor type buildings but wigan council wrecked it by building the grand arcade that took shops off the high street and from the galleries and was and still is a white elephant. The plans were dreamed up by posh luvvies non if whom live in wigan and just Like wigan pier they will probably never come to fruition and wiganers will be left wirhya hole in the ground as a town center.
I've lived in Leigh for a few years and had never been to Wigan until it was the nearest place I could get a Covid jab. Walking up the high street I passed the entrance to The Galleries and thought it looked cool, so I went in. Nothing was open and the place was a labyrinth. The lift and one of the escalators were both broken. I ended up outside on that upstairs part overlooking the square, behind the market hall. I couldn't find a way to get downstairs without retracing my steps all the way back to the entrance (the boarded up door in this video, where the path splits into an upward-sloping and downward-sloping fork). I thought it was an incredibly cool building and had planned to go back 'once the shops reopen' after lockdown ended. I'm glad I got to see it once though, it's hard even with this video to describe how huge and mazelike it felt, hidden behind that one small high street entrance. I'm really glad you were able to document this before demolition started, and that you didn't get murdered by the psycho security guard.
A real shame. Having grown up in Wigan I have fond memories of this place. Unfortunately, a combination of online shopping and the pandemic has killed places like this, providing no unique reason for the majority of people to visit since getting used to the new life of shopping from the sofa. I hope that whatever they build in place of the Galleries revitalises Wigan and gets people back into the town. Since moving I haven't visited in years, but from what I've heard Wigan Town centre is a shadow of its former self, with many closed storefronts and a rise in antisocial behaviour; a real unfortunate demise of what was a thriving and proud little place.
It died before online shopping and Covid became prominent. The grand arcade killed it… and the grand arcade is dead anyways because it’s a ball ache to get to. You remember getting off the bus in Wigan town centre and then all you had to do was cross a small cobble road and boom… you are in the galleries which is conveniently connected to the market and outdoor market. All of it was inside.
How could anyone destroy let alone demolish this beautiful building, so sad! I wonder if the local people as taxpayers had any say in this decision. Thank you for sharing, as usual your camera work and documentary was great. 💕🇦🇺
We diddnt have any say, no one wanted this to be demolished. They built the grand arcade in 2007 and completely killed the galleries off. If they would've dont it up and lowered rents it could've been just fine. Now theres nothing to go in its place, I knew it before they even boarded it up and now I think the site will just stay empty now. Typical Wigan Council.
Thanks for showing me this! While in Wigan in July 2022 the outside looked dreadful amd that this centre was in need of disrepair but that is obviously not true! I’m totally impressed with how big the centre is and happy to see that at least the security are trying to still keep it fairly tidy. You’ve earned a subscriber!
Loved watching thanks, it’s such a shame, end of an era, I was there when Diana opened the Galleries and have shopped in Wigan for years. It’s like a ghost town now 😢 I look forward to watching more of your videos!
I'm a Wiganer born and bred and watching this has saddened and angered me more than I can say. My parents still live in Wigan and refuse to let visiting family go into the town centre now because the local council appears to have been dead-set on systematically running it down for years, a situation only accelerated by Covid. I understand that funding for the planned - and from what I've seen of it absurdly ambitious - regeneration of the area with residential housing and the like is possibly in doubt so the place is slowly becoming a ghost town. Utterly tragic and a criminal waste of money and resources in what used to be a bustling and thriving town.
@@victoria.xseven7913our local MP is Lisa Nandy, she is a complete moron who thinks levelling the town up involves unnecessarily knocking down buildings and building flats in the town centre, these will undoubtedly be used to house drug addicts and immigrants.
It's quite scary the impact of what the lockdowns done...in a town near where I used to live I had to go to a specific shop the other week. And I'd say about 80% of the shops had their shutters down and the town was completely dead...unlike 20yrs previously
Have many fond memories of visiting this place from the late 1990’s up until earlier this year. To see it now in its current state, empty boarded up and awaiting the bulldozers, is so eerie and saddening.
You probably weren't aware but you missed half of it. Where Scott's was there is another arcade that's underground level, used to have a huge Argos in it and it's been boarded off for well over a decade. Would've been good if you's had got into that area.
No it was Index not Argos in the underground level, and possibly another two or three units...I don't remember exactly but that lower level was shut off soon after Index went into Admin, I think a little after y2k.
@@victoria.xseven7913 no no no.. I worked in what had been the old Index unit in 2011.. it was still open there all the way through until December 2018. I just missed being able to capture it on my walkaround (sneaky) video in January 2019
@@PaulaXism ok not sure what you mean...Index was in the basement and it and the basement closed at a close year to Tammy Girl and Etam. Argos was close to/opposite Morrisons on the top balcony...don't know if it moved there from somewhere else though because it was open there until much more recently.
I feel sad when I see buildings like this I feel a sort of grief because I imagine what these places were like when they were open and load of people every on where. Like the schools and cinemas especially. Because I think about the people who used this places they would have had no idea this would happen. That these places would be open forever. It's such a strange feeling to explain. But the best part is even if these buildings are demolished or they just decay over time they'll forever live on in the videos you make and the magazines you publish.
I haven’t been to Wigan for a long time and went today and literally went looking for this place and found it had all been demolished! There was just something nostalgic about visiting today as an adult as I used to go in my teens and go shopping here which was only about 15+ years ago
Fellow wiganer here, im 36, the shop you came out off use to be hmv, me and my friends used to catch the bus into town from ashton in makerfield, look through the cds, and just down the corridor where the select shop was upstairs, i used to buy pokemon cards in the comic store back in the 00s, i was 12 in 1999, im sure it was around that time, shame to see, but after reading about the demise of wigan town centre maybe a revamp is in order, its a shame to see history leave us again, just like the casnio, abc cinema, the old baths.. times change, great video 👍
Hi guys! Another lovely shopping centre a victim of covid. Terrible that it was demolished. Thanks for the video and your hard work throughout the year to bring us this great content. Merry Christmas! 🎄
This is the same story as the Galleries (confusingly renamed The Mall) in Bristol. Opened in 1991, it's trade was also taken away by a new shopping centre opened nearby in 2008. Many of its units are empty and the shopping centre is due to be closed in a couple of years, after which it will look very similar to the one in your video.
Came here to say this. Was drawn to this video because of the name - it looks quite similar and I wonder if they were built by the same company. Confuses me why these buildings are being demolished and not repurposed. Such a waste. Remember there being similar elevators inside when I was a kid and it was the place to go.
I am from Wigan and have a second home in Bristol and can't believe how similar these buildings are, careful looking between the two I do see many similarities, and the Bristol Galleries are going the same way being demolished for redevelopment, I do wonder if that will share any similarities but it really is a shame why this has been pulled down but the building put up a fight, it was well built for an 80s building
I worked in Freeman Hardy Willis before the Galleries was built. I also worked in Freezrite in Marketgate. When the Galleries was built, I got a job at Morrisons, then moved to Fosters Menswear
I walked through the Galleries Shopping Centre a few times on a few occasions I visited Wigan and thought it was really nice a credit to the town but somehow it seemed too nice to shop in and maybe just something subtle like that brought its downfall rather than the Grand Arcade opening as some people commenting have suggested. All kinds of things can make the difference between success and failure.
Who remembers 'Home Taping is Killing Music'? We can see before our eyes what internet shopping's doing to our high street (yes - I'm just as guilty). What's even worse is if the developer's don't attempt to reuse much of the building materials; it's a shame Wigan Council couldn't do some sort of commercial-to-residential conversion. I suspect a few fat brown envelopes got passed around...
It's actually devastating to see. After leaving school I worked at 5 different shops within this shopping centre, plus one on the outer street nearby. The memories of my late teens and early 20s!! Figured out just in time that retail wasn't for me 😂
I love that 80s architecture, living in Dublin is really reminds me of stephens green shopping centre which is quite similar to this, clock and all. Very interesting stuff!
Seeing this makes me sad. I am a 2nd generation immigrant who grew up in Wigan during the 90s when Xenophobia and racism was rife in my childhood coming to this shopping centre with my mother to go to Argos to get some crappy Action Men or Wrestling Toys was one of the few happy memories I used to have and now it no longer exists.
It seems mad they are demolishing this but at the same time hardly a surprise given the council. There's something very ironic about all the Wigan Council empowerment banners and other virtue signaling diatribe littered amongst a completely abandoned mall. Perhaps their efforts and budget should have been focused on the shopping center as opposed to that. Anyway a great video as always boys - great to have this documented before it's completely gone.
seems quite a waste to demolish it, surely it would have been better to refurbish it. I bet the leisure building they replace it with will be cheap and bland like most modern buildings
Absolute rubbish, this was a privately owned shopping center that was purchased by the council for a fraction of what it should have been worth because it was failing due to out of town and online shopping.
The council was putting rent up and up and up and shop owners simply couldn't afford to pay anymore that's why most of the shops closed down and then when it came about the closing and demolition they put rent up even more to get people out quicker
A real shame. The architecture is so amazing. The clock is amazing and wonderful to see. It's a shame that they are demolishing it. Instead it should be converted to living spaces.
Amazing explore! Nice to see a place with the lights still on, but then again, if the powers on, so are the alarms, camera and the security guards iphone charger 😂 +1 for your patreon, look forward to seeing the uncut angry man clip!
Good explore. Done with respect, even when getting rumbled by security. Seems too nice a building to knock down but then again, we're never going to see any resurgence in bricks and mortar shops.
this is so cool lol, i live around wigan in a place called appley bridge. i went there all of the time when i was a bit younger. i currentley go to a college around that area and have to see the depressing site of it getting smashed up every day as it is sat right next to the bs station, also i did not read the title as i was binge watching your videos and remember thinking "that looks familiar" before realizing.
I have lived in Wigan all my life, we had a thriving town centre back in the day and a Victorian market place and cobbled square that was flattened to make way for the Galleries, the decline of shopping in Wigan and the Galleries in my mind started when the Council allowed out of town shopping locations such as 'Robin Park' many retailers moved there along with free parking ( which you had to pay to park in Wigan town centre). I don't shop in the Town centre any more and have not visited it for years, because its a ghost town lots of closed shops
I don’t think I have seen a dead mall is such good condition. And looks better than a lot of malls that are still in operation. Most malls that I have seen on this channel and elsewhere tend to have a tired tatty look and where in a state of decline years before closure.
Another amazing video !! Great stuff ! Also feel what a total waste of retail space - but perhaps a depressing demonstration of where retail is going / gone? Thanks again, Mark. (P.s A really good use of music in this video, indeed all your videos).
I live down south near Brighton...with family in Wigan...I am upset to see this video of the galleries now...because it was a huge part of my life taking my grandchildren there...because they live in Wigan...all the happy memories I feel have been obliterated...all the happy memories of taking the grandchildren to cafés and buying them extra cake and ice cream and saying to the grandchildren...:DON'T TELL MUMMY!"...or..."DON'T TELL DADDY!"....I am heart 💔 broken.
Remember in the 80's at college in town watching this being built, some god memories of going to Our Price records, the market and god the till lanes in morrisons were stupidly narrow LOL ... Its funny cos before Covid Ormskirk up the road was dying on its feet and Wigan was the place to go but now its the other way round Ormskirk is buzzing and alive and yet Wigan has turned into a zombie town .. I hardly go any more cos there is no reason .. am suprised they aint closing The Grand down soon either ..
Such a waste of what looks like a perfectly functional building. It seemed to have character to me and was clean and operational. I think too much is discarded, construction seems to be booming though, I would of chosen for it to have been used and not demolished.
Security guys in minimum wage. Does he really give 2 fucks about the place. Probably better off on dole but they have made him take the job or be sanctioned.
You earned a sub from a local. You can compare this to my sneak video from January 2019.. They really didn't like anybody taking pictures but you can see the security guard (Earl.. nice guy actually) on one of the upstairs walkways with some American potential buyers who backed out when they saw how empty it was.
It wasn't Covid that the mall is a victim off it is the council allowing another shopping centre to be built nearby. THe councils of Manchester and Wigan keep whining about people using their cars and tjhe environment yet are OK with demolishing a perfectly good building like this, corruption, incompetence? Finally at 10:25 when you showed the old fashioned light fittings, I had to smile, I just bought two very similar outside lights!
Shouldn't have built that monstrosity across the street. That's what killed it, shame on Wigan council for true incompetence. More taxpayers money wasted.
Must feel overwhelming and creepy being in there even more so being in there at night. Thinking about how much life this place has seen, perfect liminal space for horror movie makers and game makers to use
such a shame that a beautiful mall like this is getting demolished instead of reused, the central atrium had such gorgeous lighting with the skylight, the old fashioned fixtures, and the really 70s mirrored bulbs edged around the ceilings. the fake mirrored windows were and nice touch, the clock was beautiful too. the old fashioned storefronts were so pretty.. you dont see places like this, at least not in the UK - and you just know the new complex is going to be so sanitised and modern and just... boring in comparison.
In 7 years people will not be shopping on the high street. Most people will be getting stuff delivered, these types of developments will be as much of a white elephant as HS2. Great vids lads I'm 72 been watching for 3 years. UK sub.
Thanks a ton for the consistent support. Shopping centres are bound to keep closing, as you say, they have sadly served their time and many will struggle to continue as more shops prioritise online shopping.
This is a dream compared to Pendlerise Shopping Center Nelson.That place is so so bad almost everything closed or going and the council want to compulsory purchase it..
The Works Has Relocated To The Grand Arcade It's Sad To See The Works At The Galleries Stripped Of It's Branding Savers Also Has It's Branding Stripped The Only Store That Doesn't Have Its Branding Stripped Is Select
Im one of the kind of people you see at the shopping centre or high street at when theres a abandoned shop, i have to look through the window 😂. Once i looked through a abandoned shop window and half of the ceiling had collapsed 😂😂
As of now the shopping center is completely demolished with only the rubble and dug out puts visible as a person who had been inside it many times it's kinda sad to here it's really sad to see t
Lol I was doing urbex back in the 90s exploring the last ofvthe collierys in the northwest. Still have all the photos of these places long gone. Wish I had a go pro then and digital cameras etc. Interesting site visit I was in Wigan recently and its all now been demolished. Guess like coal mines shopping malls are going the same way to the scrap heap of history.
Yet another retail facility disappearing like many of the rest! I am old enough to remember when my mother and our family used to buy 95% our shopping needs from the local shops, then we all moved to the supermarkets when they became popular and cheaper and subsequently then we all moved to the malls and shopping centers like this one. The one thing you hear so much about is how sad it is that all these shops and facilities are closing and along with it the usual comments like "its bad management" or its the "local authorities fault" or "these bigger shops are under-cutting the local and smaller shops" and then came the on-line mega stores like amazon etc. But what you don't here is that its not the shops large or small that cause these closures, its the people (Shoppers) that cause all the change. When people alter their shopping habits, then change is inevitable. We are all to blame for the closure of retails centers, as we all want the convenience of clicking the mouse or our keypads/phones and having it delivered to our door! Great video as always lads and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you too.
Same to you! Online shopping is the overall cause for sure, and that's natural as technology improves and laziness heightens, but Covid-19 was the nail in the coffin for many of these sites!
What killed towns was any reason to go to another .. All the same chain branding.. same everywhere.. Why go to say Bolton from Wigan to go to the same shops?.. Pointless..
Imagine this on a Saturday afternoon before internet shopping and COVID …. the hustle and bustle of people shopping, friends bumping into each other, the sound of people laughing and joking, teenagers meeting up etc. Sad to see this, unfortunately it’s not uncommon
It's always tragic to look at it like that, but you can't help yourself sometimes, especially in a place that evokes joy and togetherness
Really was like that up until 2008 recession at shopping centres. Maybe at its peak in late 90s. Will we get back to that simple way of living when we get tired of online?
I was there my friend. Early 90's onwards. My brother and I spent many of our Saturday mornings\afternoons here. Before the internet. Looking at the latest video games and trying out the game on the display model console before you bought it. Christmas shopping etc. I have really fond memories of the Galleries. It is bittersweet to see it being demolished. I understand we have to move on, but I do feel a little sad. I am glad I experienced it though.
It was shoulder to shoulder shopping here 20 years ago. Tragic now
Thank you for immortalising the galleries. It was always a beautiful building so to be able to see it again is incredible
The high pitched "We're leaving" had me in stitches😂😂. Great video again
I’m from Wigan, never lived anywhere else. I remember as a kid my mum taking me to this shopping centre and I was always amazed by the massive clock, at Christmas they often put huge ceiling decorations in- again always amazed me. It saddens me to think I’ll never see it in person again. Pretty sure this building is getting demolished or something. Such a massive part of Wigan history just gone like that
Whoever gains access to the internal staircase within the Galleries' grand clock tower is guaranteed some flabbergasting footage by all accounts.
It's rumoured that the top of the structure is home to either a water tank or an information desk, depending on who you listen to. The actual contents have never been officially confirmed.
Either way, The Galleries was a retail wonderland for many, myself included.
It'll be missed and fondly remembered by any right-minded individual who had the pleasure of traversing its hallowed halls.
Great video guys. A document of historical importance for sure 👍
Wiganer here. This mall is being demolished in earnest now. With no funding for the replacement market/housing/leisure in place. People here are overwhelmingly against its demolition. It’s a beautiful building and an absolute crying shame it’s being allowed to be flattened.
@Zockblatt Shickleblender disgusting comment and absolutely untrue. BIGOT.
So much potential
This should not be demolished, maybe the Grand Arcade should instead? Isn't that nearly dead itself now? TKmaxx moved out and just filled with budget stores.
@@victoria.xseven7913 grand arcade shouldn’t exist. I remember the hype for that place, then once it opened we realised it wasn’t grand, it was small and crappy
@@MagicRainbowGlitter I mean each building bears significance to a time; Grand arcade took all the custom from the Galleries and it was only grand for a time, the galleries are more timeless so what a shame.
"I don't know you"..."We don't know you either"...I was cracking up 🤣
They had obviously disturbed his 'prayer time.'
@@gary1961 he was clearly a shit guard i got in there for a good hour or so before its demo and left without being noticed 🤣🤣 dont know what he was doing up there, clearly not watching cams
i was working here in the late 90s and this video is quite emotional for me. many happy memeories
Thank you for recording this. I have mixed emotions about this project. I am happy that something is finally happening. For years, the Galleries shopping center has been in a state of steady decline. At the end of its life, the place became a glorified cut-away. It was an embarrassment for the town. The architecture was impressive. In its heyday, it had a really nice atmosphere. Full of character. The designers and builders should be proud. I understand that it may have never been fully occupied since its inception, but it was still a thriving place back in its heyday. Times have changed, the High Street is no longer king. Internet shopping and retail parks have revolutionized our way of life. The glorification of idealized American culture which dominated England back then was certainly an influence on the design of the Galleries. It screams the late 1980s/early1990s. In my opinion, the Grande Arcade should have never been built. Yes, it looks great, but we already had a shopping centre. Trying to make Wigan compete with the neighboring city of Manchester was a recipe for disaster. Updating and investing in the Galleries would have seemed like a better plan. I hope they get it right this time.
From personal experience. I have fond memories of the Galleries. In its heydey you couldn't move near Christmas time, there were so many people. I remember the Index store on the lower level of the Galleries. I remember seeing Crash Bandicoot 2 on the display screen. I remember thinking how cool it looked. My brother and I spent many Saturday mornings in the Galleries. You would almost always meet a friend from school there. We always went Christmas shopping there as a family. I remember the market with the Cage video game stall. I always bought my school supplies from the galleries too. I remember Brucianni's cafe. They served great coronation chicken. I remain optimistic about this development.
Thanks for another great explore. It's makes me sad that we are losing so much of our retail heritage all over the UK. Seasons greetings.
Merry Christmas! No problem, glad you enjoyed
The galleries has been basically abandoned ever since the grand arcade opened in 2007. In fact the galleries has never been more than 85% occupied at any point since it's opening. The lower section where specsavers was has been basically empty for at least 15 years, and the section above the outdoor market that was intended to be for small independent shops has been empty for as long as I can remember. The galleries basically became a covered walk way to cross from one side of the town to the other and for access to the car park. It's been a sad site for many years now and it's honestly only a good thing that something is finally being done.
Yup.. When I was working in what had been the Index store on the lower floor of the Marketgate Arcade in 2011 there was a shop showing it's proud branding.. Virus.. A punk clothing store.. closed in 1980
What's being done you mean the grand vision of a cinema a bowling alley and a boutique type market your having a laugh wigan was once a vibrant different place to shop with its Tudor type buildings but wigan council wrecked it by building the grand arcade that took shops off the high street and from the galleries and was and still is a white elephant. The plans were dreamed up by posh luvvies non if whom live in wigan and just Like wigan pier they will probably never come to fruition and wiganers will be left wirhya hole in the ground as a town center.
Really nice, as per usual.
The security encounter had me in stitches.
Was a funny one!
@@Urbandoned Security really had one job and they failed it 😂👌
I've lived in Leigh for a few years and had never been to Wigan until it was the nearest place I could get a Covid jab. Walking up the high street I passed the entrance to The Galleries and thought it looked cool, so I went in. Nothing was open and the place was a labyrinth. The lift and one of the escalators were both broken. I ended up outside on that upstairs part overlooking the square, behind the market hall. I couldn't find a way to get downstairs without retracing my steps all the way back to the entrance (the boarded up door in this video, where the path splits into an upward-sloping and downward-sloping fork). I thought it was an incredibly cool building and had planned to go back 'once the shops reopen' after lockdown ended. I'm glad I got to see it once though, it's hard even with this video to describe how huge and mazelike it felt, hidden behind that one small high street entrance. I'm really glad you were able to document this before demolition started, and that you didn't get murdered by the psycho security guard.
A real shame. Having grown up in Wigan I have fond memories of this place.
Unfortunately, a combination of online shopping and the pandemic has killed places like this, providing no unique reason for the majority of people to visit since getting used to the new life of shopping from the sofa. I hope that whatever they build in place of the Galleries revitalises Wigan and gets people back into the town. Since moving I haven't visited in years, but from what I've heard Wigan Town centre is a shadow of its former self, with many closed storefronts and a rise in antisocial behaviour; a real unfortunate demise of what was a thriving and proud little place.
It died before online shopping and Covid became prominent. The grand arcade killed it… and the grand arcade is dead anyways because it’s a ball ache to get to. You remember getting off the bus in Wigan town centre and then all you had to do was cross a small cobble road and boom… you are in the galleries which is conveniently connected to the market and outdoor market. All of it was inside.
How could anyone destroy let alone demolish this beautiful building, so sad! I wonder if the local people as taxpayers had any say in this decision. Thank you for sharing, as usual your camera work and documentary was great. 💕🇦🇺
You have lived through the best years , everything we know and love is being dismantled.
It seems like such a rash decision, rather than keep some of it's beloved attributes for the history
Of course we didn't get any say.. That's what you get when you elect the same muppets unopposed for 102 years..
We diddnt have any say, no one wanted this to be demolished. They built the grand arcade in 2007 and completely killed the galleries off. If they would've dont it up and lowered rents it could've been just fine. Now theres nothing to go in its place, I knew it before they even boarded it up and now I think the site will just stay empty now. Typical Wigan Council.
Thanks for showing me this! While in Wigan in July 2022 the outside looked dreadful amd that this centre was in need of disrepair but that is obviously not true! I’m totally impressed with how big the centre is and happy to see that at least the security are trying to still keep it fairly tidy. You’ve earned a subscriber!
Thanks for subscribing. It was good to see security was protecting it, but probably more so for development's sake
Loved watching thanks, it’s such a shame, end of an era, I was there when Diana opened the Galleries and have shopped in Wigan for years. It’s like a ghost town now 😢 I look forward to watching more of your videos!
No worries. More to come :)
Wow, opened by Princess Diana too what a piece of history to add to this amazing building, such a shame its gonna be demolished
That really emphasised how much of a shame it was that the building had unfortunately demised.
A born and bred Wiganwor here, still cannot believe this shopping centre closed😢
I'm a Wiganer born and bred and watching this has saddened and angered me more than I can say. My parents still live in Wigan and refuse to let visiting family go into the town centre now because the local council appears to have been dead-set on systematically running it down for years, a situation only accelerated by Covid. I understand that funding for the planned - and from what I've seen of it absurdly ambitious - regeneration of the area with residential housing and the like is possibly in doubt so the place is slowly becoming a ghost town. Utterly tragic and a criminal waste of money and resources in what used to be a bustling and thriving town.
Why do you think the council would want or allow this? Genuinely curious...it's like you said
@@victoria.xseven7913our local MP is Lisa Nandy, she is a complete moron who thinks levelling the town up involves unnecessarily knocking down buildings and building flats in the town centre, these will undoubtedly be used to house drug addicts and immigrants.
It's quite scary the impact of what the lockdowns done...in a town near where I used to live I had to go to a specific shop the other week. And I'd say about 80% of the shops had their shutters down and the town was completely dead...unlike 20yrs previously
Hi Guys that was an excellent video and what an amazing shopping Mall. I really enjoyed the video and thank you for making this video.
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Typically brilliant as always lads...
Thank you
Have many fond memories of visiting this place from the late 1990’s up until earlier this year. To see it now in its current state, empty boarded up and awaiting the bulldozers, is so eerie and saddening.
You probably weren't aware but you missed half of it. Where Scott's was there is another arcade that's underground level, used to have a huge Argos in it and it's been boarded off for well over a decade. Would've been good if you's had got into that area.
I think thats where the demolition has started
No it was Index not Argos in the underground level, and possibly another two or three units...I don't remember exactly but that lower level was shut off soon after Index went into Admin, I think a little after y2k.
Argos was always at the top level in the outside arcade. I think the galleries was a very interesting and beautiful architecture.
@@victoria.xseven7913 no no no.. I worked in what had been the old Index unit in 2011.. it was still open there all the way through until December 2018. I just missed being able to capture it on my walkaround (sneaky) video in January 2019
@@PaulaXism ok not sure what you mean...Index was in the basement and it and the basement closed at a close year to Tammy Girl and Etam. Argos was close to/opposite Morrisons on the top balcony...don't know if it moved there from somewhere else though because it was open there until much more recently.
I feel sad when I see buildings like this I feel a sort of grief because I imagine what these places were like when they were open and load of people every on where. Like the schools and cinemas especially. Because I think about the people who used this places they would have had no idea this would happen. That these places would be open forever. It's such a strange feeling to explain. But the best part is even if these buildings are demolished or they just decay over time they'll forever live on in the videos you make and the magazines you publish.
I haven’t been to Wigan for a long time and went today and literally went looking for this place and found it had all been demolished!
There was just something nostalgic about visiting today as an adult as I used to go in my teens and go shopping here which was only about 15+ years ago
This is the sort of video I subscribed for
Glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully, we can find some more
Brilliant video! Security at the end 😂
Not the happiest with our presence :)
Love the infiltration segments! Seemed to be well worth it, this location was amazing! Glad you guys could capture it. Great work as always guys!
It was a fun one to infiltrate. There are endless corridors behind each shop like a maze. Glad you enjoyed :)
Fellow wiganer here, im 36, the shop you came out off use to be hmv, me and my friends used to catch the bus into town from ashton in makerfield, look through the cds, and just down the corridor where the select shop was upstairs, i used to buy pokemon cards in the comic store back in the 00s, i was 12 in 1999, im sure it was around that time, shame to see, but after reading about the demise of wigan town centre maybe a revamp is in order, its a shame to see history leave us again, just like the casnio, abc cinema, the old baths.. times change, great video 👍
The atrium and the lanes are gorgeous. I would have loved to shop there. What a shame it couldn't be repurposed.
Tragic!
Hi guys! Another lovely shopping centre a victim of covid. Terrible that it was demolished. Thanks for the video and your hard work throughout the year to bring us this great content. Merry Christmas! 🎄
Thank you! Hope you had a good Christmas too
@@Urbandoned I did thank you. Happy New year!
It was pretty much dead when I did a wander around in January 2019
One of my fondest memories of the Galleries was visiting Andy's Records on the second floor in the early 90s with my mum. The place was bustling.
Great video guys, as always. Looking forward to receiving issue one and two of your magazine.
Hope you liked them :)
This is the same story as the Galleries (confusingly renamed The Mall) in Bristol. Opened in 1991, it's trade was also taken away by a new shopping centre opened nearby in 2008. Many of its units are empty and the shopping centre is due to be closed in a couple of years, after which it will look very similar to the one in your video.
Came here to say this. Was drawn to this video because of the name - it looks quite similar and I wonder if they were built by the same company.
Confuses me why these buildings are being demolished and not repurposed. Such a waste.
Remember there being similar elevators inside when I was a kid and it was the place to go.
Maybe, you will see us there in a few years when it closes. It's tragic thought that these buildings are closing consistently like this
I am from Wigan and have a second home in Bristol and can't believe how similar these buildings are, careful looking between the two I do see many similarities, and the Bristol Galleries are going the same way being demolished for redevelopment, I do wonder if that will share any similarities but it really is a shame why this has been pulled down but the building put up a fight, it was well built for an 80s building
I worked in Freeman Hardy Willis before the Galleries was built. I also worked in Freezrite in Marketgate. When the Galleries was built, I got a job at Morrisons, then moved to Fosters Menswear
I walked through the Galleries Shopping Centre a few times on a few occasions I visited Wigan and thought it was really nice a credit to the town but somehow it seemed too nice to shop in and maybe just something subtle like that brought its downfall rather than the Grand Arcade opening as some people commenting have suggested. All kinds of things can make the difference between success and failure.
Very interesting and sounded like the security guards english was very limited!!!
Great work as always - Thx for all the brill content this year Alistair.💯
You're welcome
What a cute little centre, such a shame what happened. Thanks for sharing guys 😊
No problem - thanks for watching :)
I loved shopping in The Galleries and the market hall. Sad it's being demolished. Beautiful building
Who remembers 'Home Taping is Killing Music'? We can see before our eyes what internet shopping's doing to our high street (yes - I'm just as guilty). What's even worse is if the developer's don't attempt to reuse much of the building materials; it's a shame Wigan Council couldn't do some sort of commercial-to-residential conversion. I suspect a few fat brown envelopes got passed around...
Merry Christmas guys
Keep up the good work in 2023 👍
Thank you
Wow, eerie. I remember this place opening and it was bustling in the 80s. Killed off by online shopping and out of town developments like Robin Park.
It's actually devastating to see. After leaving school I worked at 5 different shops within this shopping centre, plus one on the outer street nearby. The memories of my late teens and early 20s!! Figured out just in time that retail wasn't for me 😂
I know this place wigan was a fantastic town but like most towns this is the result, great video boys keep it up , merry Christmas
Merry Christmas :)
I love that 80s architecture, living in Dublin is really reminds me of stephens green shopping centre which is quite similar to this, clock and all. Very interesting stuff!
Seeing this makes me sad. I am a 2nd generation immigrant who grew up in Wigan during the 90s when Xenophobia and racism was rife in my childhood coming to this shopping centre with my mother to go to Argos to get some crappy Action Men or Wrestling Toys was one of the few happy memories I used to have and now it no longer exists.
Very sad. Massive part of my childhood. Will probably be replaced by some soulless bland box with about 3 shops in it.
It seems mad they are demolishing this but at the same time hardly a surprise given the council. There's something very ironic about all the Wigan Council empowerment banners and other virtue signaling diatribe littered amongst a completely abandoned mall. Perhaps their efforts and budget should have been focused on the shopping center as opposed to that. Anyway a great video as always boys - great to have this documented before it's completely gone.
seems quite a waste to demolish it, surely it would have been better to refurbish it. I bet the leisure building they replace it with will be cheap and bland like most modern buildings
The majority of the people of our town think the same.
@@Meansnare We only get to see the plans after they approved them (11th July).. and trust me.. It's a huge carbuncle.. an absolute eyesore.
Reminds me of some urbex trips I've taken, though I've never had anything as mega as this mall, just the yelling security guard!
I live Nr wigan town centre used to be buzzin like a ghost town now thanks to Wigan council being greedy and lack of investment in the town
Absolute rubbish, this was a privately owned shopping center that was purchased by the council for a fraction of what it should have been worth because it was failing due to out of town and online shopping.
@@swimstim Town centre isn't privately owned is it!
I was in here on a trip to Wigan some years ago now, very sad to here of it being demolished
The council was putting rent up and up and up and shop owners simply couldn't afford to pay anymore that's why most of the shops closed down and then when it came about the closing and demolition they put rent up even more to get people out quicker
What a shame great building shame being demolished would be great to go back and see what it looks like when it's rebuilt. Greatcstuff guys as always.
A real shame. The architecture is so amazing. The clock is amazing and wonderful to see. It's a shame that they are demolishing it. Instead it should be converted to living spaces.
Amazing explore! Nice to see a place with the lights still on, but then again, if the powers on, so are the alarms, camera and the security guards iphone charger 😂 +1 for your patreon, look forward to seeing the uncut angry man clip!
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Good explore. Done with respect, even when getting rumbled by security. Seems too nice a building to knock down but then again, we're never going to see any resurgence in bricks and mortar shops.
this is so cool lol, i live around wigan in a place called appley bridge. i went there all of the time when i was a bit younger. i currentley go to a college around that area and have to see the depressing site of it getting smashed up every day as it is sat right next to the bs station, also i did not read the title as i was binge watching your videos and remember thinking "that looks familiar" before realizing.
Great work
Thanks
I have lived in Wigan all my life, we had a thriving town centre back in the day and a Victorian market place and cobbled square that was flattened to make way for the Galleries, the decline of shopping in Wigan and the Galleries in my mind started when the Council allowed out of town shopping locations such as 'Robin Park' many retailers moved there along with free parking ( which you had to pay to park in Wigan town centre). I don't shop in the Town centre any more and have not visited it for years, because its a ghost town lots of closed shops
I don’t think I have seen a dead mall is such good condition. And looks better than a lot of malls that are still in operation.
Most malls that I have seen on this channel and elsewhere tend to have a tired tatty look and where in a state of decline years before closure.
What a beautiful centre and a waste. Great job documenting the premises lads.
No problem!
Uk mall building looks totally different
Than USA malls
Thanks for the video
Too see that look like in uk
So sad England is been taken away from us slowly but surely
Another amazing video !! Great stuff ! Also feel what a total waste of retail space - but perhaps a depressing demonstration of where retail is going / gone? Thanks again, Mark. (P.s A really good use of music in this video, indeed all your videos).
It seems like it, probably mostly due to online shopping taking over. Glad you liked the music, we often spend a good time finding each song.
I live down south near Brighton...with family in Wigan...I am upset to see this video of the galleries now...because it was a huge part of my life taking my grandchildren there...because they live in Wigan...all the happy memories I feel have been obliterated...all the happy memories of taking the grandchildren to cafés and buying them extra cake and ice cream and saying to the grandchildren...:DON'T TELL MUMMY!"...or..."DON'T TELL DADDY!"....I am heart 💔 broken.
Amazing location... sad to see the way it's been left... and security wasn't too happy LOL
Remember in the 80's at college in town watching this being built, some god memories of going to Our Price records, the market and god the till lanes in morrisons were stupidly narrow LOL ... Its funny cos before Covid Ormskirk up the road was dying on its feet and Wigan was the place to go but now its the other way round Ormskirk is buzzing and alive and yet Wigan has turned into a zombie town .. I hardly go any more cos there is no reason .. am suprised they aint closing The Grand down soon either ..
Such a waste of what looks like a perfectly functional building. It seemed to have character to me and was clean and operational.
I think too much is discarded, construction seems to be booming though, I would of chosen for it to have been used and not demolished.
Fabulous place shame to it going soon security gaurd wasn't up to much got some lovely footage before he realised you were there 😀
Security guys in minimum wage. Does he really give 2 fucks about the place. Probably better off on dole but they have made him take the job or be sanctioned.
Been in there so many times over the years it's been ripped down now
Must be strange for you to see it like this
@@Urbandoned definitely
Wow, this place looks amazing! Why on Earth are they tearing it down?!
You earned a sub from a local. You can compare this to my sneak video from January 2019.. They really didn't like anybody taking pictures but you can see the security guard (Earl.. nice guy actually) on one of the upstairs walkways with some American potential buyers who backed out when they saw how empty it was.
Loved it, great location
The Beaverbrooks was one of two in the uk that shut nationally and they have not reopened in wigan.
they should make into a place with flats and shops. lovely building
It wasn't Covid that the mall is a victim off it is the council allowing another shopping centre to be built nearby.
THe councils of Manchester and Wigan keep whining about people using their cars and tjhe environment yet are OK with demolishing a perfectly good building like this, corruption, incompetence?
Finally at 10:25 when you showed the old fashioned light fittings, I had to smile, I just bought two very similar outside lights!
📌 The online shopping killed it. It’s sad but it could be amazing space for homeless or social services .
Shouldn't have built that monstrosity across the street. That's what killed it, shame on Wigan council for true incompetence. More taxpayers money wasted.
Must feel overwhelming and creepy being in there even more so being in there at night. Thinking about how much life this place has seen, perfect liminal space for horror movie makers and game makers to use
such a shame that a beautiful mall like this is getting demolished instead of reused, the central atrium had such gorgeous lighting with the skylight, the old fashioned fixtures, and the really 70s mirrored bulbs edged around the ceilings. the fake mirrored windows were and nice touch, the clock was beautiful too. the old fashioned storefronts were so pretty.. you dont see places like this, at least not in the UK - and you just know the new complex is going to be so sanitised and modern and just... boring in comparison.
In 7 years people will not be shopping on the high street. Most people will be getting stuff delivered, these types of developments will be as much of a white elephant as HS2. Great vids lads I'm 72 been watching for 3 years. UK sub.
Thanks a ton for the consistent support. Shopping centres are bound to keep closing, as you say, they have sadly served their time and many will struggle to continue as more shops prioritise online shopping.
One of my earliest memories around 4-5yrs old is falling down the escalators shown at 7:18 😂 Such a shame this is all being demolished now.
The end 😢
This is a dream compared to Pendlerise Shopping Center Nelson.That place is so so bad almost everything closed or going and the council want to compulsory purchase it..
The Works Has Relocated To The Grand Arcade It's Sad To See The Works At The Galleries Stripped Of It's Branding Savers Also Has It's Branding Stripped The Only Store That Doesn't Have Its Branding Stripped Is Select
Im one of the kind of people you see at the shopping centre or high street at when theres a abandoned shop, i have to look through the window 😂. Once i looked through a abandoned shop window and half of the ceiling had collapsed 😂😂
mad to think about now.
Great video - I was in retail all my
working life......never mind the shops, what about the pbsa?
( poor bloody shop assistants )
?
Use to hang out here in the 90‘s
Can’t believe how many lights were still on and wasting electricity :(
Massive apartment complex with bowling ally and swimming pool leisure centre
As of now the shopping center is completely demolished with only the rubble and dug out puts visible as a person who had been inside it many times it's kinda sad to here it's really sad to see t
Lol I was doing urbex back in the 90s exploring the last ofvthe collierys in the northwest. Still have all the photos of these places long gone. Wish I had a go pro then and digital cameras etc. Interesting site visit I was in Wigan recently and its all now been demolished. Guess like coal mines shopping malls are going the same way to the scrap heap of history.
You missed a big part that was abounded years ago near Scott's shop!! And BTW the shops were closing before COVID..
Can't believe they are going to knock it down
Yet another retail facility disappearing like many of the rest! I am old enough to remember when my mother and our family used to buy 95% our shopping needs from the local shops, then we all moved to the supermarkets when they became popular and cheaper and subsequently then we all moved to the malls and shopping centers like this one. The one thing you hear so much about is how sad it is that all these shops and facilities are closing and along with it the usual comments like "its bad management" or its the "local authorities fault" or "these bigger shops are under-cutting the local and smaller shops" and then came the on-line mega stores like amazon etc. But what you don't here is that its not the shops large or small that cause these closures, its the people (Shoppers) that cause all the change. When people alter their shopping habits, then change is inevitable. We are all to blame for the closure of retails centers, as we all want the convenience of clicking the mouse or our keypads/phones and having it delivered to our door! Great video as always lads and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you too.
Same to you! Online shopping is the overall cause for sure, and that's natural as technology improves and laziness heightens, but Covid-19 was the nail in the coffin for many of these sites!
What killed towns was any reason to go to another .. All the same chain branding.. same everywhere.. Why go to say Bolton from Wigan to go to the same shops?.. Pointless..