A Royal Celebration - Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust
A Royal Celebration - Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust
A Royal Celebration - Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust
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16<br />
COLLECTIONS CORNER<br />
Continuing our <strong>Royal</strong> celebration,<br />
Collections Corner focuses on a pair of<br />
clogs made to commemorate Queen<br />
Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee in 1977.<br />
The clogs have a wooden base <strong>and</strong> are a size seven.<br />
The uppers are made out of suede <strong>and</strong> coloured in<br />
patriotic red, blue <strong>and</strong> white. They were made by<br />
local clogger Jack Ashcroft. The museum<br />
collection contains many mass produced<br />
commemorative items for royal visits,<br />
anniversaries <strong>and</strong> coronations including<br />
medals, coins, mugs <strong>and</strong> plates.<br />
These clogs however are a more<br />
unique <strong>and</strong> personal tribute.<br />
Jack Ashcroft started in the<br />
shoe making business<br />
after school. He moved<br />
to clogging <strong>and</strong> was one<br />
of the youngest cloggers in<br />
the country. By 1966 he employed<br />
two assistants. He was able to make 50<br />
pairs a week, that’s 20 minutes per pair!<br />
In 1977, to celebrate her jubilee year, the Queen<br />
embarked on a series of goodwill visits around the<br />
country <strong>and</strong> Commonwealth. She was in this area on<br />
20 June 1977 <strong>and</strong> visited <strong>Wigan</strong> <strong>and</strong> Leigh. In Leigh<br />
thous<strong>and</strong>s lined the street to greet the <strong>Royal</strong> couple<br />
who had travelled from <strong>Wigan</strong> in their motorcade.<br />
There were even complaints in Leigh Journal that<br />
some could not see because various councillors <strong>and</strong><br />
their wives blocked their view by st<strong>and</strong>ing on chairs.<br />
Jack Ashcroft did not present the clogs to the Queen<br />
during her visit. However, he displayed them in his<br />
shop window at 36 Chapel Street, Leigh. This was on<br />
the royal route so maybe the Queen saw them!<br />
Later that year, Jack Ashcroft donated the clogs to<br />
the museum collection. This has ensured his personal<br />
tribute has been preserved for future generations to<br />
enjoy. If you would like to see the clogs they are on<br />
display at the Museum of <strong>Wigan</strong> Life in the ‘Let’s<br />
celebrate!’ section of the permanent exhibition.<br />
If you would like to find out more about the museum<br />
collection, come along to one of our Object of the<br />
Month talks. The talks are free <strong>and</strong> are held at the<br />
Museum of <strong>Wigan</strong> Life between 1.00-1.15pm.<br />
Upcoming talks include:<br />
Tuesday 5 April - George Formby Life<br />
Membership Medal<br />
Tuesday 10 May - Coal measure fossils<br />
Tuesday 21 June - Guernsey plaque<br />
Jack Ashcroft at work in his shop at<br />
36 Chapel Street, Leigh, 1978.
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