Fire devastates canal-side Wigan pub

Published: Thursday, 09 December 2021

A FIRE has devastated the Dover Lock Inn by the side of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal near Wigan.

It was yesterday (Wednesday) night that fire crews from around the area battled the blaze at the pub that had been closed for several years, Craig Shelley reports.

DoverLockInnFavourite with boaters

The pub is situated at Abram on the Leigh Branch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and was once a favourite hostelry with boaters, it providing meals, but was closed as it lost its clientele and has since been the subject of planning applications for it to be replaced with homes.

Though named Dover Lock, there is no actual lock, only a narrows along the waterway at Abram.

The fire people discovered that the pub had been used by homeless people, and so firefighters wearing breathing apparatus conducted a search of the premises to discover it was empty, though bottles and sleeping bags were found.

Cause not yet known

The cause of the fire is not yet known so is under investigation, but it was discovered it started in the basement.

There have been attempts to have the pub demolished to provide building land, but plans have been rejected every time with concerns that properties fronting the Leeds & Liverpool Canal would not be appropriate.