Exploring the Abandoned Galleries Shopping Centre
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ธ.ค. 2022
- In this video, we head inside the recently closed Galleries Shopping Centre in Wigan, Lancashire. Opening in 1988, after years of 'stagnation and decline' the mall was brought back into public ownership by the town's council and closed consequently in an attempt to revitalise the town's middle. Inside, the power worked and many stores still had their displays intact, due to a protecting internal security guard.
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"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
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
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.
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..
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.
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 👍
Thank you for immortalising the galleries. It was always a beautiful building so to be able to see it again is incredible
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
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.
The high pitched "We're leaving" had me in stitches😂😂. Great video again
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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 😂👌
A born and bred Wiganwor here, still cannot believe this shopping centre closed😢
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...
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 :)
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
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
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.
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.
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 :)
Great work as always - Thx for all the brill content this year Alistair.💯
You're welcome
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 ..
Great video guys, as always. Looking forward to receiving issue one and two of your magazine.
Hope you liked them :)
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.
Typically brilliant as always lads...
Thank you
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 :)
What a cute little centre, such a shame what happened. Thanks for sharing guys 😊
No problem - thanks for watching :)
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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 :)
Very interesting and sounded like the security guards english was very limited!!!
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
Great work
Thanks
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.
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!
Very sad. Massive part of my childhood. Will probably be replaced by some soulless bland box with about 3 shops in it.
Merry Christmas guys
Keep up the good work in 2023 👍
Thank you
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.
I loved shopping in The Galleries and the market hall. Sad it's being demolished. Beautiful building
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 :)
Loved it, great location
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
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.
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 was in here on a trip to Wigan some years ago now, very sad to here of it being demolished
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.
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.
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.
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.
The atrium and the lanes are gorgeous. I would have loved to shop there. What a shame it couldn't be repurposed.
Tragic!
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
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!
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
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.
What a beautiful centre and a waste. Great job documenting the premises lads.
No problem!
Amazing location... sad to see the way it's been left... and security wasn't too happy LOL
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
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.
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.
Great video - I was in retail all my
working life......never mind the shops, what about the pbsa?
( poor bloody shop assistants )
?
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.
mad to think about now.
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
The Beaverbrooks was one of two in the uk that shut nationally and they have not reopened in wigan.
Use to hang out here in the 90‘s
Omg this reminds me of a site in bali that we rode about on our motorbikes, in the busiest heart of bali , wow 👌 would love to touch base with you guys. Your content is Fucking Peng. I learnt that from my son x
Glad you are enjoying our work, correct use of the phrase ;)
they should make into a place with flats and shops. lovely building
Can't believe they are going to knock it down
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
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.
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..
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.
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.
Can’t believe how many lights were still on and wasting electricity :(
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!
You missed a big part that was abounded years ago near Scott's shop!! And BTW the shops were closing before COVID..
Love
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.
great video and very interesting, such a waste, you would think they would spend the money on upgrading this one instead of building a new one and wonder why this then declines in popularity, same is happening in Shrewsbury, one mall closed after being bought by the council and redevelopment is taking a while, they don't know what to do with pride hill
Fire within was some art thing it didnt even do well back then. Most of this been knock down now
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
Upstairs that was a cafe and few art museums.
Massive apartment complex with bowling ally and swimming pool leisure centre
📌 The online shopping killed it. It’s sad but it could be amazing space for homeless or social services .
Thing is places like that when got security in any little noise echoes round
Yep, especially in a very large space. That's why we were surprised to be caught next to his office in a tight corridor, when we had been roaming the halls for some time
@Urbandoned true as a security officer myself who as done static
Might of seen you on CCTV or reported be member of the public seen you or just a idea that you are in there I had that before and seen footprints thinking there fresh
The town planning has been a disaster for years. Everything from the Galleries, to the new Market Hall, Saddle Junction, Wigan Public Pool, the virtually abandoned Debenhams building, and the Grand Arcade, a glass-fronted abomination they placed where Station Road used to be, right next to a mock-tudor building that used to be Woolworths and WH Smith, and obliterating many disabled parking bays in the process.
If you ask them most guards will show you round, some are just but holes x
Lots of these across the country are getting flattened. Massive shame
Honestly tragic...
Why is anyone shocked at the attitude of Wigan Council with regards to this complex?
They have decimated the town centre, and once Morrisons left that was the end of it all, and they can't blame COVID.
The rents in the market hall were ridiculously high, along with the rest of the galleries.
They allowed The Grange Arcade to be built, but before that they allowed Robin Retail Park to be built and then expanded, so all the natural town centre shops left and went over there where there is free parking unlike the town centre car parks.
The town centre had a world class 50m swimming pool which the council failed to maintain. Home of the world famous Wigan Wasps, and when that building was demolished in 2008 a 25m pool was built in its place. Why? Because a council can only have ONE 50m swimming pool in it's borough (Greater Manchester), and that pool is at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.
Well done for getting in it, and being confronted by the "local" security guard, who only found you when you went to HIS office!