It’s inspired poets, painters, writers & musicians alike – here’s our salute (and their tributes) to Warrington’s legendary late night eatery, The Hogie Wagon
There was a place in Warrington that became a legend
A little wooden hut on some waste ground
It were nothing posh but it made good nosh
All you needed was a bit of dosh
A right good meal would cost less than a pound
The lines above, taken from a song by local musician Brian Palfreman, refer to Warrington’s infamous late night eatery – the Hogie Wagon (sometimes spelt Hoagie Wagon). Originally located near the Bewsey end of Burtonwood Airbase, then on a car park off Bank Street in the centre of town before moving to Bridgefoot, sadly this most renowned of Warrington institutions has long since disappeared.
But thanks to Brian, and others like him, memories of it live on.
Brian, who played in a number of local bands in the 1960s, including The Renegades who famously supported the Beatles when they played at The Bell Hall in 1962, recalls he wrote ‘The Hogie Wagon’ in 2009: “Now and again, usually out of boredom, I plug in my Yamaha keyboard and make up little songs. The words for ‘Hogie’ came very easily having spent quite a lot of time there after gigs in the old days.”
Just go t’bar and say “Hogie please,
“Plenty of onion and slap on a bit of cheese,”
Plastic bottles at the side
Full of ketchup, brown sauce and more besides
Mustard, salt and pepper all there to please
Listen to Brian’s song in full by clicking the play button below. To see the lyrics click here.
But it’s not just Brian whose been inspired by the culinary delights of the town’s legendary hogie hut. Over the years it’s been the muse of poets, writers and painters alike!
Tucker tucked in too!
Another person who sampled the Hogie Wagon’s wares was Warrington-born painter Eric Tucker. Eric’s work made headlines across the world following his passing in 2018 when his family discovered thousands of paintings and drawings hidden in his house in Padgate. The media quickly nicknamed him ‘The Secret Lowry’ as much of his work, like Salford’s LS Lowry, depicted working class life. Among the treasure trove of artwork Eric left was this painting of the Hogie Wagon when it was located off Bank Street.
The Hogie Wagon has appeared at numerous locations across the town over the years dating as far back as the early 1950s. Let’s take a look at each one in turn.
LOCATION #1 – outside Gate 4 of Burtonwood Airbase, at the side of the canal by Bewsey locks (early 1950s to early to mid 1960s).
The Hogie Wagon’s first location was described in an online forum as being ‘by Burtonwood Airbase at the bottom of Lodge Lane in Bewsey’. Thanks to Texan Chuck Reynolds, a retired member of the United States Air Force, who was assigned to RAF Burtonwood from January 1955 to June 1957, we’ve been able to pinpoint its precise location.
“As the hut’s newest guy, my job was to make the hogie run,” remembered Chuck. “I lived in Site 5 in Hut 29 so it was a pretty good hike to the wagon outside Gate 4. The term hogie was new to me. After returning to the states, I found it was widely used in the North East States for an Italian sandwich made of various cold cuts of meat on a very large long bun. I feel sure the wagon outside the gate was an attempt to make a similar type of sandwich although the one at Burtonwood was much better.”
Chuck recalls his 1955-era Hogie was a roll 8 to 10 inches long and 2 inches in diameter: “The crust was like French bread but tasted much better. It was split down the middle and spread open so some of its soft insides could be removed to make more room for the ingredients to come.
“Salad cream was applied to the inside, then came the ‘goodies’. Back then spam was the meat part of the Hogie which was cut into strips less than a quarter inch square and about an inch and a half long. After the meat, diced onions, tomatoes and grated sharp cheese was added. The sandwich was then closed up and wrapped in paper.”
He remembers the wagon as having one side that opened up to provide an area to serve customers: “It was nothing fancy and as far as I can recall there was nothing in writing that proclaimed it to be the Hogie Wagon,” he said. “It was just there and everyone knew what it was. The price was very reasonable too, something like 2/6 for a sandwich and tea.”
Perhaps an American GI who originated from one of the North East States asked a waitress at the burger bar to add some extra slices of cheese, onion and miscellaneous other foodstuffs to the snack he’d ordered and christened it a Hogie after which the name stuck?
However its name came about, the Hogie Wagon, which was run in the 1950s by a man named Taffy, it proved extremely popular not just with the Americans but also many locals who remember going there after a night out at The Towers Labour Club on Lodge Lane for a late night snack.
LOCATION #2 – a car park off Bank Street where Warrington market now stands (early to mid-1960s to around 1972)
In the mid-1960s, with Burtonwood Airbase reducing in size and many of its customers returning to the U.S., the Hogie Wagon moved to the centre of Warrington. Visitors describe its new location as being “on the car park behind the old Irish club”, “at the back of Broadbents and Hancock & Woods”, “on waste ground near Bobby Cousins” or “at the rear of the old Crown & Sceptre pub”.
The picture below (photographer unknown) shows its precise location at this time.
During its time in the centre of town, still under the stewardship of Taffy, the Hogie Wagon’s menu expanded to include boiled Westler hot dogs, cheeseburgers, egg burgers, salad hogies and ‘piping hot’ chicken soup.
“I loved the full size French baguette with Frankfurters, onions and ketchup,” recalled one regular. “It was so big it lasted all the way home where I would often find onions in the turn ups of my trousers.”
The American influence was still there as one of the items on the menu was called “Da Woiks” (i.e. ‘the works’) which was basically a Hogie with all the trimmings.
The Hogie Wagon’s proximity to so many town centre pubs, meant a steady flow of often inebriated customers. But according to a relative of mine, ex-policeman Harry Hayes: “There was very little trouble, certainly a lot less than you would expect, perhaps because police officers got free coffee so there was rarely a time when a constable wasn’t around.”
LOCATION #3 – Bridgefoot, close to the Ritz cinema
In 1972 when the new Warrington Market was being built, the Hogie Wagon moved to Bridgefoot on land behind the old Ritz cinema (later Mr Smiths) close to Red Rose taxis and Arpley bus station.
Someone who ate there at the time described it as being “a big shack by the railway bridge” which is a pretty good description given the aerial picture below.
Some time after its move to Bridgefoot, the ownership/running of the Hogie Cabin as it was then branded was part transferred to a gentleman named Ken who was assisted by his son Robert.
The “pit-stop for gourmet drunks” continued to attract town centre revellers on their way home for the next 25 to 30 years. During this time it also became a popular hang out for bikers, taxi drivers and local musicians returning to Warrington after out-of-town gigs.
It’s trade was boosted significantly in 1986 when Mr. Smiths opened and clubbers from all across the North West descended on Warrington to taste the best the town had to offer in terms of nightlife and food.
One man with fond memories of the Bridgefoot-based Hogie Wagon is Latchford-born Poet John Farquhar, so much so he composed a piece of prose about it, a few lines from which are below…
Before the bridge, I saw and smelt
The briny off-white smoke against the starless sky
And manger-like appearance
Of the pit-stop for lonely gourmet drunks
That was in those dead times The Hoagie Wagon.The Hoagie Wagon
How have I survived it?
Arteries – take a bow, you just amaze me
Now living in Turin, John’s poem took second place in Radio Warrington’s 2022 poetry competition and so popular was it, a local acting company asked if one of their actors could perform it to camera for a special series of lockdown performances it undertook during the COVID pandemic. The result can be seen below.
The Hoagie Wagon by John Farquhar (read by Mark Willis)
Read John’s poem in full here.
LOCATIONS #4 and #5 – opposite Central Station and outside Secrets and The Mississippi Showboat
The Hogie Wagon’s final days were spent opposite Central Station on Winwick Road. Although branded the Red Grill at this stage, it was still referred to by many as the Hogie Wagon as it was still run by Ken, the proprietor of the Bridgefoot based wagon.
Ken may also have taken it briefly to what was its final location outside the Mississippi Showboat in Howley. Sadly the famous red hut disappeared forever at the turn of the millennium leaving a void that has yet to be filled.
But despair not! Thankfully lip-smacking memories of the town’s beloved late night eatery live on – one lady even recalls craving a Hogie when she was having a baby!
Want to be part of this tribute to Warrington’s fabulously unique Hogie Wagon?
Email your recollections, pictures, article corrections or image acknowledgement requests to All Things Warrington.
“The Red Lion, the Bier Keller then a Hogie – the perfect end to a great night out.”
“You always had to have a Hoagie with the works – onion, ketchup and mustard.”
“The further down Wilson Patten Street you got the smaller the discarded Hogies got.”
“A night out at the Ritz wasn’t complete without a half a dollar Hogie.”