Wigan ( ) is a large town in
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
, England, on the
River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, to the south-east, and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, to the south-west.
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
lies to the north-east and
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
to the south. It is the largest settlement in the
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after the main settlement of Wigan. It covers the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Mak ...
and is its administrative centre. The town has a population of 107,732 and the wider borough of 330,713. Wigan was formerly within the
historic county of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.
Wigan was in the territory of the
Brigantes
The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...
, an ancient
Celtic tribe
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
** Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
that ruled much of what is now
northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
. The Brigantes were subjugated in the
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Staneg ...
and the Roman settlement of ''Coccium'' was established where Wigan lies.
Wigan was incorporated as a
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
in 1246, following the issue of a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
by
King Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry ass ...
. At the end of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established by
Royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
.
The
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
saw a dramatic economic expansion and rapid rise in population. Wigan became a major
mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe
Italy
* ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...
and coal mining district; at its peak, there were 1,000 pit shafts within of the town centre.
Coal mining ceased in the later 20th century.
Wigan Pier
Wigan Pier is an area around the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south-west of the town centre. The name has humorous or ironic connotations since it conjures an image of a seaside pleasure pier, whereas Wigan is ...
, a wharf on the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
, was made famous by the writer
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
. In his book ''
The Road to Wigan Pier
''The Road to Wigan Pier'' is a book by the English writer George Orwell, first published in 1937. The first half of this work documents his sociological investigations of the bleak living conditions among the working class in Lancashire and Yor ...
'', Orwell highlighted the poor working and living conditions of inhabitants in the 1930s. Following the decline of
heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
, Wigan Pier's warehouses and wharves became a local heritage centre and cultural quarter. The
DW Stadium
The DW Stadium is a stadium in Robin Park, in Wigan, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ground is owned and managed by Wigan Football Company Limited, which is 85% owned by Wigan Athletic and 15% owned ...
is home to
Wigan Athletic Football Club
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
and
Wigan Warriors Rugby League Football Club.
History
Etymology
The name Wigan has been dated to at least the 7th century, and probably originally meant a "village" or "settlement". It has also been suggested that the name is
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
, named after a person called Wigan, a name corresponding to
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...
''Vicanus'',
Old Welsh
Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
''Uuicant'' or
Old Breton
Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...
''Uuicon''.
This may have been linked with ''Tre'' (meaning
homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
) to give an original name of ''Trewigan''.
Derivation from
Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
''*wig'', 'dwelling', plus the nominal suffix ''-an'' has also been suggested (c.f. numerous places in France named
Le Vigan). The name of the town has been recorded variously as Wigan in 1199, Wygayn in 1240, and Wygan in numerous historical documents.
Brigantes
There is very little evidence of prehistoric activity in the area, especially pre-Iron Age; however, Celtic names in the area around Wigan—such as
Bryn,
Makerfield
Makerfield is an area in North West England. It is now split between the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, and the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, both within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire.
Pla ...
and
Ince Ince may refer to:
*Ince, Cheshire, a village in Cheshire, UK
*Ince-in-Makerfield in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, UK
*Ince (UK Parliament constituency), a former constituency covering Ince-in-Makerfield
*Ince (ward), an electoral ward covering ...
—indicate that the Celtic people of Britain were active in the area in the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
.
Romans
In the 1st century, the area was
conquered by the Romans.
The late 2nd-century
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...
mentions a Roman settlement called ''Coccium'' from the
Roman fort
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term.
In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
at Manchester (
Mamucium
Mamucium, also known as Mancunium, is a former Roman fort in the Castlefield area of Manchester in North West England. The ''castrum'', which was founded c. AD 79 within the Roman province of Roman Britain, was garrisoned by a cohort ...
) and from the fort at
Ribchester
Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.
The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze ...
(
Bremetennacum
Bremetennacum, or Bremetennacum Veteranorum, was a Roman fort on the site of the present day village of Ribchester in Lancashire, England (). (Misspellings in ancient geographical texts include ''Bremetonnacum'', ''Bremetenracum'' or ''Bresneten ...
). Although the distances are slightly out, it has been assumed that Coccium is Roman Wigan. Possible derivations of Coccium include from the Latin ''coccum'', meaning "scarlet in colour, scarlet cloth", or from ''cocus'', meaning "cook". Over the years chance finds (coins and pottery) provided clear indications that a Roman settlement existed at Wigan, although its size and status remained unknown. In 2005 investigations ahead of the
Grand Arcade development, and in 2008 at the Joint Service Centre development, have proven that Wigan was a significant Roman site in the late first and second centuries AD. The excavated remains of ditches at Ship Yard off Millgate were consistent with use by the Roman military and possibly formed part of the defences for a fort or a temporary camp. More remains were excavated to the south, in the area of McEwen's Yard (opposite the baths), where foundations of a large and important building were discovered, together with many other Roman features. The building is in size with stone walls and a tiled roof. It contained around nine or ten rooms including three with
hypocaust
A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...
s. It had a colonnaded
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
on the northern side, which presumably formed the main entrance. The structure's ground-plan and the presence of the hypocausts show it may have been a
bath-house
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
. A timber building excavated at the Joint Service Centre (top of the Wiend) has been interpreted as a barrack block. This suggests a
Roman fort
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term.
In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
occupied the crest of the hill, taking advantage of the strategic position overlooking the River Douglas. The evidence gained from these excavations shows that Wigan was an important Roman settlement, and was almost certainly the place referred to as Coccium in the Antonine Itinerary.
Anglo-Saxons
In the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
period, the area was probably under the control of the
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
ns and later the
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
ns.
In the early 10th century there was an influx of Scandinavians expelled from Ireland. This can be seen in place names such as
Scholes—now a part of Wigan—which derives from the Scandinavian ''skali'' meaning "hut". Further evidence comes from some street names in Wigan which have Scandinavian origins.
Domesday Book
Wigan is not mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, possibly because it was included in the Neweton barony (now
Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the 2011 census was 22,114. Newton-le-Willows is on the eastern edge of St Helens, south of Wigan and north of Warrington.
The ...
). It is wrongly claimed that the mention of a church in the
manor of Neweton, which actually refers to the church of St.Oswald (Winwick), is
Wigan Parish Church
All Saints' Church in Wallgate, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, is an Anglican parish church. It is in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Warrington and the Diocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List f ...
.
The rectors of the parish church were
lords of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...
of Wigan, a
sub-manor of Neweton, until the 19th century. Wigan was incorporated as a borough in 1246 following the issue of a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
by
King Henry III to
John Maunsell
Sir John Maunsell ( 1190/1195 – 1265), Provost of Beverley Minster, was a king's clerk and a judge. He served as chancellor to King Henry III and was England's first secretary of state.
Life
His grandfather, Robert Mansel, was a Templar un ...
, the local church rector and lord of the manor.
The borough was later granted another charter in 1257–1258, allowing the lord of the manor to hold a market every Monday and two annual fairs.
The town is recorded on the earliest-surviving map of Britain, the
Gough Map
The Gough Map or Bodleian Map is a Late Medieval map of the island of Great Britain. Its precise dates of production and authorship are unknown. It is named after Richard Gough, who bequeathed the map to the Bodleian Library in 1809. He acquire ...
made around 1360, which highlights its position on the main western north–south highway with distance markers to
Preston and
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
.
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
visited Wigan in 1323 in an effort to stabilise the region which had been the source of the
Banastre Rebellion
The Banastre Rebellion was an uprising in Lancashire, England in 1315 against the Earl of Lancaster and his supporters. It took place in 1315 when a group of disaffected knights decided to revenge themselves on the Earl of Lancaster by attacking h ...
in 1315. Edward stayed in nearby
Upholland
Up Holland (or Upholland) is a village close to Skelmersdale and civil parish in the West Lancashire district, in the county of Lancashire, England, 4 miles west of Wigan. The population at the 2011 census was 7,376.
Geography
The village is ...
Priory and held court in the town over a period of several days. During the medieval period Wigan expanded and prospered and in 1536,
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
John Leland described the town, saying "Wigan paved; as big as
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
and better builded. There is one parish church amid the town. Some merchants, some artificers, some farmers".
Civil War
In the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, most people in the town were
Royalists
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
and
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, KG (31 January 160715 October 1651) was an English nobleman, politician, and supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. Before inheriting the title in 1642 he was known as Lord Strange. He was ...
, a prominent and influential Royalist in the civil war, made Wigan his headquarters. His forces successfully captured Preston but failed in assaults on Manchester and Lancaster and two attempts to capture Bolton. Abandoning attempts to secure Lancashire, he took his forces to the Isle of Man to secure his holdings there. The Earl of Derby was absent when Wigan fell,
despite fortifications built around the town, Wigan was captured by
Parliamentarian forces on 1 April 1643, the takeover was complete in two hours and the town was pillaged before the defences were broken down and the Parliamentarians retreated. In 1648, Royalist forces under
James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton
James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, KG, PC (19 June 1606 – 9 March 1649), known as The 3rd Marquess of Hamilton from March 1625 until April 1643, was a Scottish nobleman and influential political and military leader during the Thirty Year ...
, occupied Wigan after they had been defeated by
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
at the
Battle of Preston. The soldiers looted the town as they retreated to Warrington, and afterwards, it experienced pestilence. Cromwell himself described Wigan as "a great and poor town, and very malignant".
![Tyldesley monument, Wigan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Tyldesley_monument%2C_Wigan.jpg)
The
Battle of Wigan Lane
The Battle of Wigan Lane was fought on 25 August 1651 during the Third English Civil War, between a Royalist army led by the Earl of Derby and forces loyal to the Commonwealth of England under Colonel Robert Lilburne. The Royalists were defeat ...
was fought on 25 August 1651 during the
Third English Civil War
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
, between 1,500 Royalists under the command of the
James Stanley, Earl of Derby marching to join the King at Worcester and 3,000 of the
New Model Army
The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...
under the command of Colonel
Robert Lilburne
Robert Lilburne (1613–1665) was an English Parliamentarian soldier, the older brother of John Lilburne, the well known Leveller. Unlike his brother, who severed his relationship with Oliver Cromwell, Robert Lilburne remained in the army. He i ...
hunting them. Lilburne arrived at Wigan to find the Royalists leaving to march towards Manchester but with his force consisting mostly of cavalry recognised it would be dangerous to engage in the narrow lanes around the town and decided to wait for his foot soldiers to arrive and flank the town. The Royalists seeing an opportunity to engage the divided force turned around to engage but Lilburne decided to hold his ground deploying cavalry on Wigan Lane and infantry in the hedgerows to the sides, The Royalists made several charges but after two hours were unable to break the Parliamentarian line and were forced to flee after being overwhelmed by superior numbers. Although Stanley was injured he managed to find refuge in the town.
David Craine states, "those who did not fall in the fighting
erehunted to their death through the countryside". A monument on Wigan Lane marks the place where
Sir Thomas Tyldesley a Major General commanding the Royalist troops fell, it was erected 28 years after the battle in 1679 by Alexander Rigby, Tyldesley's standard bearer.
Industrial Revolution
Wigan was described by
Celia Fiennes
Celia Fiennes (7 June 1662 – 10 April 1741) was an English traveller and writer. She explored England on horseback at a time when travel for its own sake was unusual, especially for women.
Early life
Born at Newton Tony, Wiltshire,"June 7th ...
, a traveller, in 1698 as "a pretty market town built of stone and brick". In 1720, the
moot hall was rebuilt, funded by the members of the borough. It was used as the town hall and the earliest reference to it dates from the 15th century.
Prior to its final destruction in 1869, the hall was rebuilt in 1829.
Wigan's status as a centre for coal production, engineering and textiles in the 18th century led to the
Douglas Navigation in the 1740s, the canalisation of part of the River Douglas and later the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
. The canal from Liverpool to Leeds was originally to serve Wigan on a spur, transporting cloth and food grown on the West Lancashire Plain to the Port of Liverpool. When construction restarted in the 1790s, after decades pause, as coal was rising in importance due to the progress of the Industrial Revolution. The route was altered at the request of mill owners, with the spur becoming the primary route and Wigan a hub for transport of coal from the Lancashire coal pits to Liverpool and Leeds.
![Trencherfield Mill 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Trencherfield_Mill_2008.jpg)
As a
mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe
Italy
* ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...
, Wigan was an important centre of
textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution
Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution was centred in south Lancashire and the towns on both sides of the Pennines in the United Kingdom. The main drivers of the Industrial Revolution were textile manufacturing, iron foundi ...
, but it was not until the 1800s that cotton factories began to spread into the town. This was due to a dearth of fast-flowing streams and rivers in the area, but by 1818 there were eight cotton mills in the Wallgate part of Wigan.
In 1818 William Woods introduced the first power
loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...
s to the Wigan cotton mills. These mills swiftly became infamous for their dangerous and unbearable conditions, low pay and use of
child labour
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
.
As well as being a mill town, Wigan was also an important centre for coal production. It was recorded that in 1854 there were 54 collieries in and around the town, about a sixth of all collieries in Lancashire.
In the 1830s Wigan became one of the first towns in Britain to be served by
a railway; the line had connections to
Preston and the
Manchester and Liverpool Railway.
This was the first in a network of public and
industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway (usually private) that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics, or military site. In regions of the world influenced by British ra ...
s which
served the town during the period, much of which has since closed.
Wigan began to dominate as a cotton town in the late 19th century, and this lasted until the mid-20th century.
20th century
In 1911 the town was described as an "industrial town ... occupying the greater part of the township, whilst its collieries, factories ... fill the atmosphere with smoke".
After the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
there was a boom followed by a slump from which Wigan's textile industry did not recover. While the town's cotton and coal industries declined in the 20th century, the engineering industry did not go into recession.
The last working cotton mill,
May Mill, closed in 1980.
In 1937, Wigan was prominently featured in
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
's ''
The Road to Wigan Pier
''The Road to Wigan Pier'' is a book by the English writer George Orwell, first published in 1937. The first half of this work documents his sociological investigations of the bleak living conditions among the working class in Lancashire and Yor ...
'' which dealt, in large part, with the living conditions of England's
working poor
The working poor are working people whose incomes fall below a given poverty line due to low-income jobs and low familial household income. These are people who spend at least 27 weeks in a year working or looking for employment, but remain und ...
. Some have embraced the Orwellian link, as it has provided the area with a modest tourist base over the years. Others regard this connection as disappointing, considering it an insinuation that Wigan is no better now than it was at the time of Orwell's writing.
Governance
![Wigan Civic Centre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Wigan_Civic_Centre.jpg)
Since 2004, the town of Wigan has been divided between five of the twenty-five
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
of the metropolitan borough, each returning three councillors to the 75-member borough council. The five wards are: Douglas, Pemberton, Wigan Central, Wigan West and
Worsley Mesnes
Worsley Mesnes () is a mainly residential area of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ward population at the 2011 census was 11,974.
Transport
Worsley Mesnes Drive is the main road through the housing estate. In 2015, it was fitted with WRT ...
. The metropolitan council provides the local services.
At the Norman Conquest, the settlement of Wigan was part of the larger parish of Wigan, the majority of which was within the hundred of
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
. On 26 August 1246, Wigan was granted a Royal Charter, making the town a free borough.
This happened after
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
was granted its Charter in 1230 and before Manchester in 1301.
As a borough, Wigan was represented in the
Model Parliament
The Model Parliament is the term, attributed to Frederic William Maitland, used for the 1295 Parliament of England of King Edward I.
History
This assembly included members of the clergy and the aristocracy, as well as representatives from the v ...
from 1295 to 1306 by two
burgesses –
freemen of the borough. The Charter allowed taxes to be made on transactions made in the borough by tradesmen and permitted the local burgesses to establish a
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
that would regulate trade in the borough. Non-members of the guild were not allowed to do business in the borough without permission from the burgesses.
It is thought that when the Charter was reconfirmation in 1350 it was changed, allowing the election of a mayor of Wigan for the first time. Three burgesses were elected to be presented to the lord of the manor who would choose one man to be mayor for a year.
There was a rivalry between the lords of the manor and borough. The lord of the manor complained in 1328 that the burgesses were holding private markets, from which he gained no revenue. The rivalry continued in the 16th century, with Bishop Stanley unsuccessfully challenging the right of the burgesses to hold markets, believing it should be the right of the lord of the manor. In 1583 the corporation of the borough attempted to usurp the lord of the manor by laying claim to the lordship. They did so because they felt they were fulfilling the duties of the lord: to improve waste and
common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
and allowing construction on this land, running courts, and mining coal. A compromise was reached, dividing some power between the two parties.
Under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...
, the town was reformed and was given a
commission of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
. The borough was divided into five
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
with a town council of forty members: two
aldermen
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...
and six
councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
s representing each ward. Rectors from the local parish church were the lords of the manor since records began until 2 September 1861. On this date, the borough corporation bought the rights associated with the lordship.
The
Local Government Act 1888
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
constituted all
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
s with a population of 50,000 or more as "
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
s", exercising both borough and county powers. Wigan accordingly became a county borough on 1 April 1889, giving it independence from Lancashire County Council. Ward boundaries were altered, and the county borough was divided into ten wards, each electing one alderman and three councillors. The former area of
Pemberton Urban District
Pemberton Urban District was an urban district from 1894 to 1904, when it was added to the County Borough of Wigan
The County Borough of Wigan was, from 1889 to 1974, a local government district centred on Wigan in the northwest of England ...
was annexed to the
County Borough of Wigan
The County Borough of Wigan was, from 1889 to 1974, a local government district centred on Wigan in the northwest of England. It was alternatively known as Wigan County Borough.
The district was created by the Local Government Act 1888, with i ...
in 1904, adding four extra wards to the borough.
In 1974 the County Borough of Wigan was abolished and its former area became part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after the main settlement of Wigan. It covers the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Mak ...
.
The current
Wigan Town Hall
The new Town Hall is a former technical college in Library Street, Wigan, England which was converted into a municipal facility in 1990. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
The building, which was designed by Briggs and Wolstenholme in th ...
was opened by the
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton).
The title was firs ...
in November 1991. In April 2011, the borough along with the entirety of the county of Greater Manchester became one of 10 constituent councils of the
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members; 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one ...
.
Wigan is in the
Wigan Parliamentary constituency, which was recreated in 1547 after having covered the borough in the late 13th century.
From 1640 until the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...
, the constituency returned two Members of Parliament (MPs); from then on it had only one. Since 1918, the constituency has been represented by the
Labour Party.
Lisa Nandy
Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010.
N ...
is the incumbent Member of Parliament for Wigan, having first been elected in the
2010 general election.
Wigan Council takes part in the
town twinning scheme, and in 1988 twinned with
Angers
Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...
in France.
Geography
![Wigan skyline 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Wigan_skyline_2008.jpg)
At (53.5448, −2.6318), Wigan lies respectively to the west and north of
Hindley and
Ashton-in-Makerfield, and is about west of
Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
and north of
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
.
The historic town of Wigan forms a tightly integrated conurbation along with the
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after the main settlement of Wigan. It covers the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Mak ...
districts of
Orrell and
Ince-in-Makerfield
Ince-in-Makerfield or Ince is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the Ince ward at the 2011 census was 13,486, but a southern part of Ince was also listed under the Abram ward (north o ...
; this is connected by ribbon development to
Standish and
Abram
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...
. These areas, together with the
West Lancashire
West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,685 ...
town of
Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem .
While the first record of the tow ...
, are defined by the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
as the ''
Wigan Urban Area'', with a total population of 166,840. The town is part of the
Manchester Larger Urban Zone.
Demographics
According to the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
, at the time of the
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
, Wigan had a population of 81,203. The 2001 population density was , with a 100 to 95.7 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 28.9% were single (never married) and 45.0% married. Wigan's 34,069 households included 29.7% one-person, 38.9% married couples living together, 8.5% were
co-habiting couples, and 10.8% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 38.5% had no
academic qualifications, a figure significantly higher than the average for the borough as a whole and England.
In 1931, 9.4% of Wigan's population was middle class compared with 14% in England and Wales, and by 1971, this had increased to 12.4% compared with 24% nationally. Parallel to this slight increase in the middle classes of Wigan was the decline of the working class population. In 1931, 38.7% were working class compared with 36% in England and Wales; by 1971, this had decreased to 33.5% in Wigan and 26% nationwide. The rest of the population was made up of clerical workers and skilled manual workers or other miscellaneous. The slow decrease in the working class goes against the trend for a steeper national decline, reinforcing the perception of Wigan as a working-class town.
At the 2001 UK census, 87.7% of Wigan's residents reported themselves as being Christian, 0.3% Muslim, 0.2% Hindu, and 0.1% Buddhist. The census recorded 6.2% as having no religion, 0.1% had an alternative religion and 5.4% did not state their religion. The town is part of the
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
Diocese of Liverpool
The Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey, part of West Lancashire, part of Wigan in Greater Manchester, Widnes and part of Warrington and in Cheshire (it was origi ...
and the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Liverpool
The Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool ( la, Archidioecesis Liverpolitana) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the Isle of Man and part of North West England. The episcopal see is Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The archdiocese ...
.
Economy
![Entrance to Grand Arcade shopping centre, Wigan (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Entrance_to_Grand_Arcade_shopping_centre%2C_Wigan_%281%29.jpg)
The
Grand Arcade shopping centre was opened on 22 March 2007. Construction, which cost £120 million, started in 2005 on the site of
Wigan Casino
The Wigan Casino was a nightclub in Wigan, England. Operating between 1973 and 1981, it became known as a primary venue for Northern soul music. It carried forward the legacy created by clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, the Chateau ...
and The Ritz. The area around the pier is planned to be redeveloped, in a multimillion-pound project rebranding the area as the ''Wigan Pier Quarter''. Plans for the redevelopment of the area have been in place since 2006.
Trencherfield Mill
Trencherfield Mill is a cotton spinning mill standing next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1907. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courta ...
, at the centre of the pier development, has been refurbished and used for apartments and office space.
The ''Wigan Life Centre'' south building opened on 19 September 2011,
housing office accommodation for Wigan Council, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust and NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan and a swimming pool and fitness suite. Plans for the 18-storey ''Tower Grand'', which would have been the tallest building in Wigan, were scrapped after the
Financial crisis of 2007–2008
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
. The
Galleries Shopping Centre
The Galleries was a shopping complex in the town centre of Wigan, Greater Manchester owned by Wigan Council. It was divided into three sections formed from three formerly independent schemes: The Galleries Shopping Centre, Marketgate Shopping C ...
, which houses shops as well as an indoor market, was bought for £8 million by the council in 2018 as part of a regeneration plan due to long-term decline.
The former
Westwood power station site was redeveloped in 2006 into the ''Westwood Park business park'' and features a large amount of Wigan MBC office space. However, plans for a £125 million textiles centre on the site with of manufacturing and research space, in co-operation with the Chinese state-owned trading company
Chinamex, fell through.
The Tote
The Tote is a British gambling company which is the largest pool betting operator in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Wigan, England, its main products are sports betting and online casino. Founded in 1928, the company was owned by the U ...
chain of
bookmaker
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
History
The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795.
Range of events
Bookma ...
s has its headquarters in Wigan, providing about 300 jobs in the town.
H. J. Heinz
Henry John Heinz (October 11, 1844 – May 14, 1919) was an American entrepreneur of Palatine descent who, at the age of 25, co-founded a small horseradish concern in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. This business failed, but his second business exp ...
is amongst the largest food manufacturers in Europe. Their
food manufacturing facility in Wigan is the largest food processing facility in Europe.
JJB Sports
JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...
, a former nationwide sports clothing retailer, was founded in Wigan as a sports shop by John Jarvis Broughton (later JJ Bradburn) and was bought and expanded by businessman
Dave Whelan
David Whelan (born 24 November 1936) is an English businessman and former footballer. During his football career, he played for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra. Whelan is the former owner of club Wigan Athletic, having also been the chai ...
.
DW Sports Fitness
DW Sports Fitness was a British retailing and fitness business, founded as a result of Dave Whelan's purchase of 50 JJB Sports fitness clubs with attached retail stores for £83.4 million in March 2009. The business would later encompass more th ...
another nationwide sports retailer and
fitness business owned by Dave Whelan is headquartered in the town. The bakery chain
Galloways Bakers, and William Santus & Co. Ltd, the confectioner and producer of
Uncle Joe's Mint Balls
Uncle Joe's Mint Balls are mints produced by William Santus & Co. Ltd. in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England since 1898. Despite their name, the mints are not truly spherical but oblate spheroids. The ingredients of Uncle Joe's Mint Balls are p ...
, are both based in Wigan.
According to the 2001 UK census, the industry of employment of residents aged 16–74 was 22.4% retail and wholesale, 18.8% manufacturing, 10.2% health and social work, 8.6% construction, 8.0% property and business services, 7.4% transport and communications, 6.5% education, 5.2% public administration, 4.1% hotels and restaurants, 2.7% finance, 0.7% energy and water supply, 0.4% agriculture, 0.1% mining, and 4.8% other. Compared to national figures, Wigan had high rates of employment in retail and wholesale (16.9% in England) and manufacturing (14.8% in England), and relatively low levels of employment in agriculture (1.5%). The census recorded the economic activity of residents aged 16–74, 1.9% students were with jobs, 2.9% students without jobs, 5.9% looking after home or family, 10.2% permanently sick or disabled, and 3.2% economically inactive for other reasons.
Landmarks
![Taylor Gallery at the Museum of Wigan Life](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Taylor_Gallery_at_the_Museum_of_Wigan_Life.jpg)
There are 125
listed buildings in Wigan
Wigan is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The town, together with the outlying townships of Pemberton, Scholes, Whelley, Worsley Mesnes, Winstanley, and Goose Green, (the former Wigan County Borough ...
out of the 216
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s in the wider borough with nine at
Grade II*
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in the town.
As well as being a Grade II* listed structure,
Mab's Cross
Mab's Cross, in Wigan, Greater Manchester, is a stone cross probably dating from the 13th century with its first recorded mention taking place in 1277 . It is one of four stone crosses originally used as waymarkers along the medieval route fro ...
is the only
Scheduled Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
in Wigan itself, out of the 12 in Wigan Borough. It is a medieval stone cross that probably dates from the 13th century. There is a legend surrounding the cross that Lady Mabel Bradshaigh, wife of Sir William Bradshaigh, did penance by walking from her home,
Haigh Hall
Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Built between 1827 and 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, it replaced an ancient manor house and was a Lindsay family home until 1947, when it was ...
, to the cross once a week barefoot for committing
bigamy
In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
. There is no evidence the legend is true, as there is no record that Lady Mabel was married to anyone other than Sir William Bradshaigh, and several facets of the story are incorrect. Haigh Hall was built in 1827–1840 on the site of a medieval manor house of the same name, which was demolished in 1820. The hall is surrounded by a country park, featuring areas of woodland and parkland. The former Old Town Hall, Wigan, town hall was a Grade II listed building.
[
]
Designed by John McClean, Mesnes Park, Wigan, Mesnes Park was opened in 1878; McClean was chosen to design the park through a competition. There is a pavilion in the centre and a lake. The Heritage Lottery Fund has donated £1.8 million to regenerate the park and Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council added £1.6 million to that figure. The pavilion and grandstand will be restored. The Mesnes Park is north-west of Wigan town centre. It receives two million visitors a year and used to host the Wigan One World Festival.
Wigan's war memorial was unveiled in 1925. Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and funded through public donations, the monument is now a Grade II* listed building and commemorates the fallen soldiers from the town in the World War I, First World War and other conflicts. In 2006, the plaques bearing the names of the dead were stolen; a year later they were replaced through council funding. There is also a memorial on Wigan Lane which marks the site where Sir Thomas Tyldesley died in 1651 at the Battle of Wigan Lane.
The Museum of Wigan Life (formerly Wigan Central Library) opened in 1878. A one-year restoration programme began in 2009 costing £1.9 million. George Orwell used it to research ''The Road to Wigan Pier''. , the Wigan Pier
Wigan Pier is an area around the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south-west of the town centre. The name has humorous or ironic connotations since it conjures an image of a seaside pleasure pier, whereas Wigan is ...
Quarter is at the heart of a regeneration programme that began in 2006 to revitalise the area. Part of Wigan's industrial heritage, Trencherfield Mill
Trencherfield Mill is a cotton spinning mill standing next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1907. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courta ...
was built in 1907 and is a Grade II listed building. It houses a steam engine over 100 years old which was restored with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The quarter is also home to the Wigan Pier Theatre Company, which was founded in 1986. The Face of Wigan, located in the town centre since 2008, is a stainless steel sculpture of a face. Created by sculptor Rick Kirby, The Face stands at and cost £80,000.
Sport
The 25,138-capacity DW Stadium
The DW Stadium is a stadium in Robin Park, in Wigan, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ground is owned and managed by Wigan Football Company Limited, which is 85% owned by Wigan Athletic and 15% owned ...
, originally called the JJB Stadium, is located in the Newtown area of Wigan and is shared by professional association football club Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Athletic with professional rugby league, rugby league football club Wigan Warriors. The Latics moved into the stadium upon its completion in 1999 from their former home, Springfield Park (Wigan), Springfield Park. The Warriors also moved into the stadium in 1999 from their previous home, Central Park (Wigan), Central Park.
The 1,200-capacity multi-use Robin Park arena is located next to the DW Stadium.
Rugby league football
Rugby football has been played in the town since 1872. Wigan Warriors, originally called Wigan FC, were formed out of the Wigan Cricket Club to provide a sport to play during the winter months. During the rugby football schism of 1895, Wigan FC, along with the other leading northern clubs at the time, split from the Rugby Football Union to form the Rugby Football League, Northern Union. Wigan have been a rugby league club ever since and added the Warriors suffix to their name in 1997, shortly after rugby league had switched to a summer sport in 1996. The club are the most successful English club in the sport, winning 22 league championships and 20 challenge cup titles, as well as being crowned world club champions on four occasions. The club currently play in the Super League.
Liverpool Stanley were a professional rugby league club formed in the Highfield area of Wigan in 1902 as Wigan Highfield. The club didn't stay long in Wigan, however, relocating around England several times.
Blackpool Borough briefly played in Wigan at Wigan Athletic's Springfield Park from 1987 to 1988 under the name Springfield Borough. The club is now defunct.
Amateur rugby league is popular in the town, with Wigan St Patricks, Wigan St Judes and Ince Rose Bridge all playing in the National Conference League, the amateur game's top level.
Association football
Association football initially struggled to take hold in Wigan with non-league clubs Wigan County F.C., Wigan County (1897–1900) and Wigan Town A.F.C., Wigan Town (1905–1908) both folding within a few years of their creation. Wigan Borough F.C., Wigan Borough, emerged from the amateur side Wigan United A.F.C., Wigan United (1896–1914), in 1920 and became the town's first club to play in the Football League when in 1921 they became founder members of the Football League Third Division, Football League Third Division North. The club left the Football League and folded in 1931. They were replaced a year later by Wigan Athletic, the town's current professional football club.
Wigan Athletic was elected to the English Football League, Football League in 1978, and the club were promoted to the Premier League, the top division of English football, in 2005. The club were relegated to the EFL Championship, Championship in 2013, the same season they won the 2012–13 FA Cup, 2013 FA Cup, defeating Manchester City F.C., Manchester City 1–0 in the 2013 FA Cup Final, final. In 2020, the club went into Administration (British football), administration but was later taken over by new owners. After several periods in EFL League One, League One, the club currently play in the Championship.
The semi-professional football team Wigan Robin Park F.C., Wigan Robin Park also played in the town between 2005 and 2015.
Other sports
American Football club Wigan Warhawks compete in the BAFA flag league in the MEC Central division. In 2016, the Warhawks made the playoffs in their rookie season and in 2017 lifted their first silverware, winning the Coventry Cougars Charity Tournament.
Amateur club Wigan R.U.F.C. represents the town in rugby union.
Wigan's international-standard swimming pool was demolished in 2008. A new pool opened in September 2011 in the Wigan Life Centre development. The original pool was built in 1966 at a cost of £692,000 (£ as of ), Wigan BEST, named Wigan Wasps until 2004, is the town's swimming club. It has produced Olympic standard swimmers, including medal winner June Croft.
Wigan Wheelers, a cycling club established in 1919, is based in the town.
Wigan has staged motorcycle speedway and Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing at two venues. The Poolstock Stadium was the home of Wigan (speedway), Wigan Speedway in 1947. The team moved to Fleetwood in 1948, although they raced at Poolstock in 1960. The Woodhouse Lane Stadium was used briefly in the early 1950s when the team was known as the Panthers.
Wigan Warlords are an Inline Hockey team.
Wigan's district badminton league consists of 30 teams across three divisions.
Wigan Sailing Club operates from the Scotman's Flash in Poolstock less than a mile from the centre of the town.
Wigan is also home of the Snake Pit, one of the world's oldest and most important Catch wrestling, Catch Wrestling schools, founded by professional wrestler Billy Riley.
Wigan & District Motor Club, formed in 1973 by motorsports enthusiasts, runs stage rallies at Three Sisters Race Circuit.
Education
Wigan and Leigh College, a further education college with over 8,000 total students, has three campuses in Wigan: Parsons Walk Centre, Wigan School for the Arts and the Engineering & Construction Centre of Excellence (Pagefield Centre). There is also Wigan UTC, a university technical college, in the town centre. In the wider borough, there are two sixth form colleges, St John Rigby College, Wigan, St John Rigby College and Winstanley College. High schools in the town are the Deanery High School, St. John Fisher Catholic High School (Wigan), St. John Fisher Catholic High School, St Peter's Catholic High School, St. Peter's Catholic High School and Rose Bridge Academy (in Ince) with more throughout the borough.
Culture
Wigan has been well known for its popular music since the days of George Formby (Senior), George Formby Sr and George Formby, Jr., George Formby Jr. It was the birthplace of The Eight Lancashire Lads, a dancing troupe who gave the young Charlie Chaplin his professional debut. One member of the troupe was John Willie Jackson, the "John Willie" to whom George Formby would often refer in his songs. Local bands that gained wider repute include The Verve, The Railway Children (band), The Railway Children, Witness (UK band), Witness, The Tansads, Limahl of Kajagoogoo and Starsailor (band), Starsailor. The Verve were one of the most important British rock groups of the 1990s, finding success in the UK and abroad; they toured on the USA's famous Lollapalooza alternative rock festival. The band was formed when the members met at Winstanley College in 1989. In 2021, The Lathums continued the town's popular music tradition by scoring a UK number one with their debut album ''How Beautiful Life Can Be''.
From 1973 to 1981, Wigan Casino
The Wigan Casino was a nightclub in Wigan, England. Operating between 1973 and 1981, it became known as a primary venue for Northern soul music. It carried forward the legacy created by clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, the Chateau ...
was the location for Wigan's weekly Northern Soul all-nighters. The venue began as a dance hall called Empress Ballroom. Wigan Casino rose to prominence in the 1970s and, in 1978, it was named the "best disco in the world" by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', an American music magazine. The building was gutted by fire in 1982 and was demolished the following year. This was the inspiration for the 1989 dance record ''Wigan'' by Baby Ford.
Since 1986, Wigan has hosted an international jazz festival. Wigan remains a centre of popular music for young people, with a number of alternative pubs and clubs in the town centre. The town also had a music collective which existed to promote the scene and help out local musicians and bands; they host activities such as recording sessions and gig advice for young musicians. Throughout the early 1990s, ''The Den'' was a popular venue for bands with acts such as Green Day heading over to play. A local tradition since the 1980s is Boxing Day fancy dress which, in recent years, has received national media coverage.
From 2002, the annual Haigh Hall#Haigh Country Park, Haigh Music Festival was held at Haigh Hall
Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Built between 1827 and 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, it replaced an ancient manor house and was a Lindsay family home until 1947, when it was ...
, Wigan, which attracted around 7,000 guests each year. In 2011, ''Haigh Fest'' ended due to funding issues. Since 2012, the free ''Wigan Live Festival'', held in the town centre, has taken its place.
The town currently has a host of venues putting on gigs for upcoming local bands, including Indiependence, The Boulevard, The Old Courts and The Swinley. NXNW has hosted the annual Wigan Festival of Art, Music and Literature known as North By North Western Festival. The collective is a voluntary non-profit making organisation and the festival takes place at various venues across the town.
Since 2010, the ''Wigan Diggers Festival'' has taken place on the second Saturday of September. The festival brings together a significant number of socialist organisations and sympathetic musicians to celebrate the life, ideas and influence of the Wigan-born, Gerrard Winstanley, founder of the Diggers (True Levellers) Movement. Recent headliners have included significant Wigan bands ''The Railway Children'' and ''Merry Hell''.
Wigan is home to the annual World Pie Eating Championship, usually held at ''Harry's Bar'' on Wallgate. The competition has been held since 1992 and, in 2006, a vegetarian option was added. Wiganers are sometimes referred to as "pie-eaters"; the name is said to date from the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, 1926 General Strike when Wigan coal miners were starved back to work before their counterparts in surrounding towns and so were forced to metaphorically eat "humble pie". A local dish is the Pie Barm, also known as a Wigan Kebab, consisting of a buttered bread roll sandwiching a meat and potato pie inside. Wigan is also the home town of the local confectionary Uncle Joe's Mint Balls
Uncle Joe's Mint Balls are mints produced by William Santus & Co. Ltd. in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England since 1898. Despite their name, the mints are not truly spherical but oblate spheroids. The ingredients of Uncle Joe's Mint Balls are p ...
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In the television series ''Wallace and Gromit'', the title characters live at the fictional 62 West Wallaby Street in Wigan.
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Transport
Road
Wigan lies on the meeting point of two Primary status, primary A roads in Great Britain, A roads, the A49 road, A49 and A577 road, A577, which link to the M6 motorway, M6, M61 motorway, M61 and M58 motorways. Increased traffic in recent years, encouraged by retail development, has resulted in very congested main roads for most of the day. This situation is linked to the town's geography, with river valleys and railway lines impeding road improvement.
Rail
There are two railway stations in Wigan town centre: Wigan North Western and Wigan Wallgate. North Western is on the north–south Railway electrification system, electrified West Coast Main Line. Avanti West Coast provides express trains to Euston railway station, London Euston, Birmingham New Street railway station, Birmingham, Lancaster railway station, Lancaster, Carlisle railway station, Carlisle, Edinburgh Waverley railway station, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central station, Glasgow. Northern (train operating company), Northern operates trains to Preston railway station, Preston and Blackpool North railway station, Blackpool North and a regular local service along the line to St Helens Central railway station, St Helens and Liverpool Lime Street railway station, Liverpool Lime Street.
Wigan Wallgate serves lines running east and west from Wigan. Northern operate trains to Southport railway station, Southport and Kirkby railway station, Kirkby, with connections to Liverpool Central railway station, Liverpool Central and the Merseyrail system. Frequent local services also operate, in co-operation with Transport for Greater Manchester, TfGM, to Bolton railway station, Bolton and Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, with most trains from Wigan continuing through to other destinations such as Manchester Airport station, Manchester Airport, Stockport railway station, Stockport and Rochdale railway station, Rochdale. Pemberton railway station, Pemberton station serves the Pemberton area of the town.
Bus and tram
A Horsecar, horse tramway was built in 1880 by the ''Wigan Corporation'' and leased to a succession of private companies to operate services to Pemberton, Aspull and towards Standish. Steam tram operation was introduced quickly, but the network always struggled to pay its way and just after the start of the 20th century Wigan Corporation gradually bought the operating leases and converted the network to electric tramcar operation. However, the network was saddled with a mix of standard gauge and narrow gauge lines, reducing efficiency and increasing costs; the last of the Wigan Corporation Tramways were closed in 1931 to be replaced by buses, which had begun as 'feeder' services to the trams but which had shown themselves to be faster and more flexible. Trolleybuses were operated on a single route from Wigan to Martland Mill from 1925 to 1931.
The town's tram, trolleybus and bus fleet was always painted in crimson and off-white colours, with ornate gold lining out until the outbreak of World War II. The buses were notable in that they never carried exterior advertisements, with the town's crest occupying the space between decks where other bus operators placed adverts; they carried two green lights on the front, to enable the town's ratepayers to see at night which was one of the town's own buses and not one of those of a competitor. At local government reorganisation in April 1974, the Wigan Corporation Transport Department became part of Greater Manchester Transport. The former Corporation tram/bus garage in Melverley Street is still in use by First Greater Manchester.
The current network of local buses, coordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and departs from the Wigan bus station in the town centre. The bus station reopened in late 2018 after a £15.7 million, two-year redevelopment. Local buses serve Wigan and district with National Express Coaches, National Express long-distance coach services. Bus companies operating in the area include Stagecoach Manchester, Arriva North West, Diamond Bus North West, Maytree Travel, Wigan Buses and Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire.
Water
Wigan is on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and is epitomised by Wigan Pier
Wigan Pier is an area around the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south-west of the town centre. The name has humorous or ironic connotations since it conjures an image of a seaside pleasure pier, whereas Wigan is ...
. There is also a branch of the canal from Wigan to Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, with a connection to the Bridgewater Canal linking Wigan to Manchester.
Notable people
See also
* Listed buildings in Wigan
* Coat of arms of Wigan
* Mayor of Wigan
* Earl of Crawford
* List of mills in Wigan
* Wigan (fabric)
* List of mining disasters in Lancashire
References
Notes
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
wigan.gov.uk
Wigan Council
{{Authority control
Wigan,
Towns in Greater Manchester
Market towns in Greater Manchester
Unparished areas in Greater Manchester
Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan