Buildings of Interest

Description

Drumcroon, built between 1903 and 1910 is a large detached villa and was bult for Dr. John McAllister Boyd, surgeon and physician. The building was named after his birthplace, Drumcroon, Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Prior to the building, John Boyd was previously living at 61, Mesnes Street.

The building design was clearly intended to be a dwelling for a gentleman of substance, being a two-storey building in hard red brick with hipped and gabled plain tiled roof; prominent barge boards and brackets, stone cills and lintels, terracotta detail including a balustrade above the west bay window; a projecting 5 sided turret that effectively turns the corner into the shorter Mesnes Park Terrace.

The house was occupied in 1925 by Dr, Talwryn Jones and his wife, Henrietta, both well-known doctors in the area. There is a record of Henrietta advertising for 2 servants, mother & daughter or two sisters offering them their own sitting room and bathroom.

Subsequently owned by Wigan Council and converted to an Arts Centre for educational purposes with well known local artist Gerard Rickards being the first artist in residence.

The Arts Centre closed in 2011 and lay empty until  Martin Ainscough restored the building as an extension to the Wigan Youth Zone.