Winstanleys Pramworld 5.07

On his return from the Second World War John Winstanley set up his own painting and decorating business, whilst his wife, Nellie, looked after their young family. In 1951 John decided to open a shop selling decorating supplies on Fleet Street, Wigan, with Nellie running the shop whilst John continued to grow his decorating company. In 1957 the council put a demolition order on the building, so Nellie and John bought Jarvis’s Cycles on Ormskirk Road, Pemberton and started to sell bikes as well as decorating supplies.

Some years later they expanded the business, opening a nursery goods department and soon afterwards adding toys as well. In 1972 their son Kevin, who had studied Chemical Engineering at University, left his job at LaPorte in Grimsby and joined the family firm along with his wife Margaret, who juggled working in the shop with looking after a young family. The business continued to grow throughout the seventies and eighties and, at the end of 1994 Kevin’s son, David, left his job with Woolworths and joined the firm as Store Manager, followed by David’s brother Carl who joined the company in 1997. The company rapidly grew and the responsibilities were shared between the two brothers, with David looking after the Toys and Nursery, Carl running the cycles, and Kevin steering the company financially.

In 2006, the two departments had become too large to remain in the same premises and the company was split, with David continuing to manage Pramworld, and Carl moving the cycle business to a new distribution centre on Martland Park, Wigan. After a complete refurbishment, the Ormskirk Road store is now dedicated to selling a wide range of Nursery Products.