The John Bull Chophouse - My Favourite Pub Devastated By Fire

 A devastating incident has occurred in Wigan that has affected me on a deeply personal level. The John Bull Chophouse, a much loved town centre Pub was severely damaged in a Burglary and Arson attack during the early hours of 4th August 2026. I gave up drinking almost 20 years ago, but The John Bull is still my favourite pub ever. It isn't just a pub, it's a much loved and respected institution. It's family.

I first started drinking there in the 1980's. It had a reputation back then of being a "Bikers Pub", but it was a place where "inclusivity"was a thing well before its current definition. It was the place where we could all hang out and socialise with friends. I got to know a lot of decent people there over the years and even worked there, glass collecting for a while in the 90's. The Landlord and Landlady at that time were Harold and Margaret, whom we all loved as surrogate parents, favourite aunt and uncle, and above all dear friends. When Harold passed away, such was the respect we had for him, he got a Biker's Funeral. 

Harold and Margaret's daughter, Victoria took the Pub on and put her own mark on the place whilst keeping the majority of the fabric and memories intact. The Pool Table was removed and a Craft Beer Bar took it's place, but it was still The John Bull. It just gained more choice of beer. It also has the best Juke Box in town. Period. Rock, Blues, Punk, Indy and more, all represented and played a lot! 

Fixtures and fittings often make or break a pub. The John Bull has proper cast iron tables with mahogany tops. Bench seats were the kind found in chapels with comfy cushions to sit on. The floor is stone paving and the building itself was reputedly built in the 17th century.  Casting Dies hung on the wall above the stairs to commemorate Wigan's industrial heritage and "Handbag the Antelope" kept watch over us all, wearing his customary Fez and a hand rolled "cigarette" in his mouth.

Yep, there's a real stuffed Antelope's head on the wall and, by some quirk of fate, it survived the fire. He still wears his Fez and his "cigarette" remained unlit. One of his ears got frazzled, but Handbag has become a symbol of the future of the Pub. The John Bull Will Rise Again! 

I took a few days to take the news in about the fire before heading over there with my Nikon D610. Access is restricted and that's fine by me.  I will share a link to the "What's Happening In Wigan" report by local reporter Claire Hannah who was given access to document the aftermath of the fire that almost destroyed the Pub. 

What is important in the aftermath is the way the community has rallied behind Victoria, Peter and the staff as they come to terms with the events of that morning. Thwaites Brewery, owners of the Pub, have promised to restore the pub back to it's former glory and local businesses have stepped up to offer help where possible. John Bull regular Joe Astley organised a go fund me campaign to raise funds to help out that, at the time I write this, raised over £15,000. It makes me proud to call Wigan my home.

There are no words to describe how I felt taking the photos, but I did get a fair bit of dust in my eyes. I have a lot of good memories of The John Bull and I know it will rise again, time will heal the wounds and there's nothing that can't be cleaned and repaired. It makes me despair that someone deliberately torched a much loved and unique town centre pub, famed for it's welcoming atmosphere, great jukebox and the best Guinness in town. 

What made my heart fill with pride is how the people who have called The John Bull Chophouse their "local" came together to support the staff, the Landlady and Landlord who lost jobs and their livelihood. Events around the town have all raised money to help them out and somehow, we got an all dayer, forever known as "Bullstock", on Believe Square, right next to The John Bull Chophouse. Wigan Borough Council were kind enough to allow us to use the space and several bands and solo artists came together to entertain everyone with songs that we all love from the world famous John Bull Jukebox. I charged the batteries and formatted a couple of SD Cards for my Nikon D610, fitted my 24-120mm lens and headed into town on September 6th for a day of digital photography. It's been a while.

I had a great day with my camera, trying to capture the spirit of the event and spent a lot of time catching up with my old friends whom I met at The John Bull Chophouse in the late 1980's early 1990's. Handbag surviving the fire brought us all together again to celebrate the good times we had over the years. Grant from Grant's Bulldog Forge took Handbag to his Antique shop where he gave him a good clean and from one side you wouldn't know he had been in a fire. From the other side, he has an ear missing which will never be repaired. Handbag wears his scars well and he took his place hanging on one side of the stage where there was a steady stream of people taking selfies throughout the day.

Mark Christopher and his band, Marauder organised the event together with Victoria and Peter in the space of three weeks and all the bands gave their time freely for the occasion. They have all performed at The John Bull over the years and didn't need to think twice about taking part. Kol Traynor, a Bass player in various bands over the years filled in for Bass players from other bands who couldn't make it on the day. Fakesnake, a Whitesnake tribute band brought in a drummer on very short notice and no time to rehearse. The chap played a blinder! Thanks go to Chalice, Eleventh Hour, Shell City, Recoil, Fakesnake, A Band Of Gypsies and Marauder for their performances on The Main Stage.

The Acoustic Stage filled the gaps between bands with finely crafted music from Singer-Songwriters Sarah Hardman, Calvin Snape, Adam McCann and the legend, Joe Astley. Joe has been tireless in his fundraising efforts over the weeks immediately following the fire. Joe started the Go Fund Me campaign, organised a three night series of gigs at The Monaco in Hindley near Wigan and carries a donation box to every gig he has played since to fire. He also organised Save The Chophouse T-Shirts with all profits going to the fund.

You can measure a community by how it faces adversity. The John Bull Chophouse has a great community who have grown up around it. Many of us have taken our kids there for their first legal beer and in a few cases, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Looking at the families who turned up to Bullstock, The John Bull Chophouse is going to continue being a family for many more years to come.

Here's a few photos of The John Bull Chophouse after the fire and Bullstock 2026. I have to admit I had to leave early and missed the finale as I was well and truly done in. It was a long day and I had been running on reserve for a couple of hours before heading for home and some much needed meds and rest. I spent the week recovering, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. It gave me a chance to go through hundreds of images and I ended up with 100 that I am happy with. 

 I have placed my photos of Bullstock 2026 in two albums on Flickr that you can visit using the links below. There's also facebook groups where folk have shared their photos and remembered happy times, just look for The John Bull Chophouse and Bullstock 2026 pages. It may take a little while, but The John Bull Chophouse will rise again! As we say here in Wigan, "It'll be reet!"

Wigan Unites Behind Towns Iconic Pub 
Bullstock - Part The First 
Bullstock - Part The Second 

Victoria, landlady of The John Bull Chophouse

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Donkey - August

 The day after my walk around Wigan with my Hanimex 35RAS, I once again headed out with Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4, to shoot my August SLR roll of Kentmere 400. I needed to get some DIY supplies and headed to a discount store at Robin Retail Park and took Donkey with me. I took a few shots around the The Brick Stadium as there were more tributes to Sir Billy Boston and his beloved wife Lady Joan placed by the ticket office at the Sir Billy Boston Stand. One thing is for sure, Wigan will never forget them.

I headed on to the canal that runs by the stadium and took a few photos along the way as I made my way slowly back to the town centre. I had no particular plan for the day, I was just snapping things that caught my eye on route. The sign for Savoy Timber, Wigan Pier and Trencherfield Mill all caught my attention as I wandered into town. Wigan has some unique architecture and it wasn't long before I arrived in the town centre and took my last photo on my roll of Kentmere 400 and headed home for another well earned brew.

I developed my August roll of Kentmere 400 shot with Donkey using Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry with my Compact roll. Again, Tigger didn't get his claws on them, thankfully. I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.

I am pleased with my photos this month. The overcast sky was always going to make my photos a little flat, but that's not a problem for Donkey. My Minolta Dynax 4 handled it well and gave me decent exposures. Now we head into Autumn and the final third of the year I am confident that Donkey can handle anything the weather can send our way. It's £10 very well spent.

Here's a few favourites from my August roll of Kentmere 400 shot with Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4 for the Frugal Film Project 2026. I have placed them and more in my Fugal Film Project - SLR album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR 

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact - August

 August was hot, dang hot and to be honest I just wasn't feeling up to going out much. Not that I didn't get out and about with a camera, but I wasn't feeling good for a number of reasons. I left my Frugal Film Project August roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Hanimex 35RAS until the final weekend of the month when I headed into town on an overcast, rainy Saturday afternoon to get the job done.

First port of call was The John Bull Chophouse, my favourite Pub that was severely damaged by a Burglary and Arson attack on August 4th 2026. The John Bull has been one of the busiest pubs in Wigan town centre for many years and the fire devastated the community that has grown around the pub and the family whom have run it for almost half a century. 

The pub will re-open again after repairs are made, but not until 2027. Victoria and Peter are not going to have any income over the next few months and there are fundraising efforts organised to help them through this very troubling chapter in the history of The John Bull Chophouse. Local singer/songwriter Joe Astley, a regular in The John Bull Chophouse, has been at the forefront of the fundraising effort along with several bands and solo artists whom have come together to ensure The John Bull Chophouse will rise again.

My next port of call was a pilgrimage to the statue of Sir Billy Boston who sadly passed away recently aged 92. Sir Billy was a superstar player at Wigan Warriors in the 1950's and 60's after being persuaded to head north from his home in Cardiff to play Rugby League for Wigan and give up his dream of playing for Cardiff and Wales in Rugby Union. Sir Billy became a legend in Wigan and won every trophy available at that time during the course of his career. He is also the holder of the record for most tries scored in his career than any other British player in either code of Rugby. Only the much loved Australian player Brian Bevan, scored more tries than Sir Billy.

Sir Billy never left Wigan. He met his wife, Lady Joan Boston here and they raised their family together, never being apart for long until Lady Joan passed away a few short weeks before Sir Billy. When Sir Billy was knighted by King Charles, his wife and family accompanied him to Buckingham Palace for the occasion. I took a photo of the few tributes left for him, there were more, but the council moved the flowers indoors as the August Bank Holiday weekend was going to be a wet one.

I spent the rest of my walk happy snapping statues, buildings and whatever else caught my eye as I made my way around town. I dived into the back streets and alleyways that tell their own story of the growth of the town over the years. It wasn't long before my film was finished and I headed home, glad to have got out for an hour or two, but in need of a brew and a chance to dry off.

I developed my August roll of Kentmere 400 B&W film using Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry. I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.

I am happy with my photos this month. After having bright sunshine for a couple of months it was strangely comforting to get back to an overcast sky and cooler temperatures. I'm not built for temperatures over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, This day was more comfortable for me and the depression I had been feeling all month had begun to lift as the temperature dropped. 

Here's a few favourites from my August roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Hanimex 35RAS for the Frugal Film Project 2026. I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact album that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

 Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact