ABSTRACT
The first sound in the morning was the thumping of a British Rail InterCity rushing north to Blackpool, and the swish of tyres on wet tarmac. The couple Orwell found most repellent were ‘the Brookers’, who kept a tripe shop and lodging house where he stayed. The houses around Wigan Pier had been demolished, replaced by a so-called industrial estate of small garages, garment factories, tyre centres, carpet warehouses and the inevitable DIY superstore. The transformation has cost three and a half million pounds, and was achieved in such a short time that Her Majesty the Queen was able officially to open the centre in March 1986. In 1980 there were 45,000 licensed places of worship in England and Wales; if Scotland and Northern Ireland are added, the total is between 60,000 and 70,000.
