| Wigan | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Aerial view of Wigan  The Face of Wigan,Believe Square .jpg) Wigan Market | |
  Wigan Location withinGreater Manchester | |
| Population | 107,732 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | SD583055 |
| • London | 176 miles (283 km) SE |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WIGAN |
| Postcode district | WN1–WN6 |
| Dialling code | 01942 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Wigan (/ˈwɪɡən/WIG-ən) is a town inGreater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities ofManchester, 16 miles (25.7 km) to the south-east, andLiverpool, 17 miles (27 km) to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in theMetropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town has a population of 107,732[1] and the wider borough of 330,714.[2] Wigan is part of thehistoric county ofLancashire.
Wigan was in the territory of theBrigantes, an ancientCeltic tribe that ruled much of what is nowNorthern England. The Brigantes were subjugated in theRoman conquest of Britain and the Roman settlement ofCoccium was established where Wigan lies. Wigan was incorporated as aborough in 1246, following the issue of acharter byKing Henry III of England. At the end of theMiddle Ages, it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established byroyal charter. TheIndustrial Revolution saw a dramatic economic expansion and rapid rise in population. Wigan became a majormill town and coal mining district; at its peak, there were 1,000 pit shafts within 5 miles (8 km) of the town centre.[3][4] Coal mining ceased in the later 20th century.
Wigan Pier, a wharf on theLeeds and Liverpool Canal, was made famous by the writerGeorge Orwell. In his bookThe Road to Wigan Pier (1937), Orwell highlighted the poor working and living conditions of inhabitants in the 1930s. Following the decline ofheavy industry, Wigan Pier's warehouses and wharves became a local heritage centre and cultural quarter. TheBrick Community Stadium (formerly known as DW Stadium) is home toWigan Athletic Football Club andWigan Warriors Rugby League Football Club.
The name of the town has been recorded variously asWigan in 1199,Wygayn in 1240, andWygan in numerous historical documents.[5]
The nameWigan is probably aCeltic place-name: it might be a diminutive form of Brittonicwīg 'homestead, settlement" (laterWelshgwig), plus the nominal suffix-an (compare with numerous places in France namedLe Vigan); the place name may refer to a Latinvicus.[6][7][8] It has also been suggested directly a Celtic personal nameWigan, a name corresponding toGaulishVicanus,Old WelshUuicant orOld BretonUuicon.[9]
Similar place-names to the EnglishWigan exist in France, such asLe Vigan, Gard (Avicantus, Roman inscription;Locus de Vicano 1050) of unknown origin[10] andLe Vigan, Lot, from Latinvicanum, derived form ofvicus 'town' + suffix-anum,[11] and the hamlets inNormandy such as (Le) Vigan (L'Oudon, Calvados) and Manoir du Vigan that derive from a Celtic given-name*Wigan, found asfeodum Wigani in the 12th century orturres Wiguen atThaon (Calvados) and survives in the Norman surnameVigan (still in use in Calvados).[12]
There is very little evidence of prehistoric activity in the area, especially pre-Iron Age.[13] In the 1st century, the area wasconquered by the Romans during which time, it was in the territory of a Celtic people known as theBrigantes.[14] The late 2nd-centuryAntonine Itinerary mentions a Roman settlement calledCoccium 17 miles (27 km) from theRoman fort at Manchester (Mamucium) and 20 miles (32 km) from the fort atRibchester (Bremetennacum). Although the distances are slightly out, it has been assumed that Coccium is Roman Wigan.[15] Possible derivations of Coccium include from the Latincoccum, meaning "scarlet in colour, scarlet cloth", or fromcocus, meaning "cook".[16] 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.[17] In 2005 investigations ahead of theGrand 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.[18] 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 36 by 18 metres (118 by 59 ft) in size with stone walls and a tiled roof. It contained around nine or ten rooms including three withhypocausts. It had a colonnadedportico 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 abath-house.[19] A timber building excavated at the Joint Service Centre (top of the Wiend) has been interpreted as a barrack block. This suggests aRoman fort occupied the crest of the hill, taking advantage of the strategic position overlooking the River Douglas.[20] 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.[21]
In theAnglo-Saxon period, the area was probably under the control of theNorthumbrians and later theMercians.[22] Celtic names in the area around Wigan—such asAshton in Makerfield andInce—indicate a continued Celtic presence in the area in the face of Anglo-Saxon incursions.[14] In the early 10th century there was an influx of Scandinavians expelled from Ireland. This can be seen in place names such asScholes— a part of Wigan—which derives from the Scandinavianskali meaning "hut". Further evidence comes from some street names in Wigan which have Scandinavian origins.[22]
Wigan is not mentioned in theDomesday Book, possibly because it was included in the Neweton barony (nowNewton-le-Willows). It is likely that the mention of the unnamed church in themanor of Neweton isWigan Parish Church and not the church of St.Oswald (Winwick) which is specifically named in theDomesday Book.[22] The rectors of the parish church werelords of the manor of Wigan, asub-manor of Neweton, until the 19th century. Wigan was incorporated as a borough in 1246 following the issue of acharter byKing Henry III toJohn Maunsell, the local church rector and lord of the manor.[22] 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.[5] The town is recorded on the earliest-surviving map of Britain, theGough Map made around 1360, which highlights its position on the main western north–south highway with distance markers toPreston andWarrington.[25]
Edward II visited Wigan in 1323 in an effort to stabilise the region which had been the source of theBanastre Rebellion in 1315. Edward stayed in nearbyUpholland Priory and held court in the town over a period of several days.[26] During the medieval period Wigan expanded and prospered and in 1536,antiquarianJohn Leland described the town, saying "Wigan paved; as big asWarrington and better builded. There is one parish church amid the town. Some merchants, some artificers, some farmers".[5]
In theEnglish Civil War, most people in the town wereRoyalists andJames Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, 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,[5] despite fortifications built around the town, Wigan was captured byParliamentarian 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 underJames Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, occupied Wigan after they had been defeated byOliver Cromwell at theBattle 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".[5]
TheBattle of Wigan Lane was fought on 25 August 1651 during theThird English Civil War, between 1,500 Royalists under the command of theJames Stanley, Earl of Derby marching to join the King at Worcester and 3,000 of theNew Model Army under the command of ColonelRobert Lilburne 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.[27] David Craine states, "those who did not fall in the fighting [were] hunted to their death through the countryside".[28] A monument on Wigan Lane marks the place whereSir 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.[27]
In 1698Celia Fiennes described Wigan as "a pretty market town built of stone and brick".[29] In 1720 themoot 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.[5][30] Prior to its final destruction in 1869, the hall was rebuilt in 1829.[30] Wigan's status as a centre for coal production, engineering and textiles in the 18th century led in the 1740s to theDouglas Navigation - the canalisation of part of the River Douglas, and later to theLeeds and Liverpool Canal. 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 thePort of Liverpool. Construction restarted in the 1790s, after a pause of some decades, 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.
As amill town, Wigan was an important centre oftextile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, 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.[32] In 1818 William Woods introduced the first power-looms to the Wigan cotton mills. These mills swiftly became infamous for their dangerous and unbearable conditions, low pay and use ofchild labour.[33] 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.[34]
In the 1830s Wigan became one of the first towns in Britain to be served bya railway; the line had connections toPreston and theManchester and Liverpool Railway.[32] This was the first in a network of public andindustrial railways whichserved the town during the period, much of which has since closed.[35] Wigan began to dominate as a cotton town in the late 19th century, and this lasted until the mid-20th century.[32]
Wigan has had a large Irish community.[36] Being almost equal distance from Liverpool and Manchester, it received high immigration rates of Irish people in the 1800s following theGreat Famine (Ireland). According to ‘Wigan World’ website,[37][better source needed] Wigan's population (including Ince and Pemberton townships) doubled from 39,000 in 1851 to 77,000 in 1881 with the immigration of Irish to the town the biggest factor. The Irish mainly settled in the central areas of the town such as Scholes and Ince with the area around Belle Green Lane referred to as Irishtown. St Patrick's church in Scholes was built in 1847 on the back of huge swathes of Irish immigration.
The local amateur rugby league clubWigan St Patricks has the Irish shamrock on the club badge with green and black being the club colours.
The Wigan accent has even been affected by the great number of Irish coming to the town. The local word "moidered", known elsewhere as "mithered", is said to have derived from pronouncing the wordmithered in an Irish accent.
The Brian Boru Club in Ashton-in-Makerfield was established in 1889 and is the oldest Irish club in the UK.
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".[5] After theSecond World War 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.[32] The last working cotton mill,May Mill, closed in 1980.[33]In 1937, Wigan was prominently featured inGeorge Orwell'sThe Road to Wigan Pier which dealt, in large part, with the living conditions of England'sworking poor. Some have embraced the Orwellian link, as it has provided the area with a modest tourist base over the years.[38] 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.[39]
Since 2004, the town of Wigan has been divided between five of the twenty-fivewards of the metropolitan borough, each returning three councillors to the 75-member borough council. The five wards are: Douglas, Pemberton, Wigan Central, Wigan West andWorsley Mesnes.[40] The metropolitan council provides the local services.[41]
At the Norman Conquest, the settlement of Wigan was part of the larger parish of Wigan, the majority of which was within the hundred ofNewton.[42] On 26 August 1246, Wigan was granted a Royal Charter, making the town a free borough.[5] This happened after the granting of royal charters began in the 13th Century as a way of establishing corporations and defining their privileges and purpose. InLancashire,Liverpool was granted in 1207,Salford in 1230 followed by Manchester in 1301.[43][44] As a borough, Wigan was represented in theModel Parliament from 1295 to 1306 by twoburgesses –freemen of the borough.[45] The Charter allowed taxes to be made on transactions made in the borough by tradesmen and permitted the local burgesses to establish aguild 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.[5] 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.[5]
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 andcommon land and allowing construction on this land, running courts, and mining coal. A compromise was reached, dividing some power between the two parties.[5]
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Under theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835, the town was reformed and was given acommission of the peace. The borough was divided into fivewards with a town council of forty members: twoaldermen and sixcouncillors 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.[5] TheLocal Government Act 1888 constituted allmunicipal boroughs with a population of 50,000 or more as "county boroughs", 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 ofPemberton Urban District was annexed to theCounty Borough of Wigan in 1904, adding four extra wards to the borough.[5] In 1974 the County Borough of Wigan was abolished and its former area became part of theMetropolitan Borough of Wigan.[43] The currentWigan Town Hall was opened by thePrincess of Wales in November 1991.[46] In April 2011, the borough along with the entirety of the county of Greater Manchester became one of 10 constituent councils of theGreater Manchester Combined Authority.[47]
Wigan is in theWigan Parliamentary constituency, which was recreated in 1547 after having covered the borough in the late 13th century.[5] From 1640 until theRedistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency returned two Members of Parliament (MPs); from then on it had only one.[48] Since 1918, the constituency has been represented by theLabour Party.Lisa Nandy is the incumbent Member of Parliament for Wigan, having first been elected in the2010 general election.[49]
Wigan Council takes part in thetown twinning scheme, and in 1988 twinned withAngers in France.[50]
At53°32′41″N2°37′54″W / 53.54472°N 2.63167°W /53.54472; -2.63167 (53.5448, −2.6318), Wigan lies respectively to the west and north ofHindley andAshton-in-Makerfield, and is about 16 miles (26 km) west ofManchester city centre and 12 miles (19 km) north ofWarrington.
The historic town of Wigan forms a tightly integrated conurbation along with theMetropolitan Borough of Wigan districts ofOrrell andInce-in-Makerfield; this is connected by ribbon development toStandish andAbram. These areas, together with theWest Lancashire town ofSkelmersdale, are defined by theOffice for National Statistics as theWigan Urban Area, with a total population of 166,840.[51] The town is part of theManchester Larger Urban Zone.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(October 2024) |
| 2001 UK census | Wigan[52] | Wigan (borough)[53] | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total population | 81,203 | 301,415 | 49,138,831 |
| White | 98.8% | 98.7% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 0.4% | 0.4% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2.3% |
According to theOffice for National Statistics, at the time of the2001 United Kingdom census, Wigan had a population of 81,203. The 2001 population density was 11,474 inhabitants per square mile (4,430/km2), with a 100 to 95.7 female-to-male ratio.[54] Of those over 16 years old, 28.9% were single (never married) and 45.0% married.[55] Wigan's 34,069 households included 29.7% one-person, 38.9% married couples living together, 8.5% wereco-habiting couples, and 10.8% single parents with their children.[56] Of those aged 16–74, 38.5% had noacademic qualifications,[57] a figure significantly higher than the average for the borough as a whole and England.[58]
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.[59]
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.[60] The town is part of theAnglicanDiocese of Liverpool and the Roman CatholicArchdiocese of Liverpool.[61][62]
| Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 82,428 | 89,152 | 89,421 | 85,357 | 81,662 | 84,560 | 78,690 | 81,152 | 88,901 | 85,819 | 98,438 | 103,363 | 107,732 |
| County Borough 1901–1971[63] • Urban Subdivision 1981–1991[64][65][66] Understanding towns in England and Wales: population and demography 2001-2019[1] | |||||||||||||
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2019) |
| 2001 UK Census | Wigan[67] | Wigan (borough)[68] | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population of working age | 59,215 | 220,196 | 35,532,091 |
| Full-time employment | 40.7% | 41.7% | 40.8% |
| Part-time employment | 12.7% | 11.9% | 11.8% |
| Self-employed | 5.3% | 6.2% | 8.3% |
| Unemployed | 3.7% | 3.2% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 14.0% | 13.7% | 13.5% |
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TheGrand Arcade shopping centre was opened on 22 March 2007. Construction, which cost £120 million, started in 2005 on the site ofWigan Casino and The Ritz.[69] The area around the pier is planned to be redeveloped, in a multimillion-pound project rebranding the area as theWigan Pier Quarter.[70] Plans for the redevelopment of the area have been in place since 2006.[71]Trencherfield Mill, at the centre of the pier development, has been refurbished and used for apartments and office space.[72]
TheWigan Life Centre south building opened on 19 September 2011,[73] housing office accommodation for Wigan Council, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust and NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan, Wigan Library and a swimming pool and fitness suite, with a walk of fame, "Believe Square", for local public figures and groups.[74][75] Plans for the 18-storeyTower Grand, which would have been the tallest building in Wigan, were scrapped after the2008 financial crisis.[76][77] TheGalleries Shopping Centre, which houses shops as well as an indoor market,[78] was bought for £8 million by the council in 2018 as part of a regeneration plan due to long-term decline.[79]
The formerWestwood power station site was redeveloped in 2006 into theWestwood Park business park[80] and features a large amount of Wigan MBC office space. However, plans for a £125 million 55-acre (22 ha) textiles centre on the site with 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of manufacturing and research space,[81] in co-operation with the Chinese state-owned trading companyChinamex, fell through.[82]
The Tote chain ofbookmakers has its headquarters in Wigan,[83] providing about 300 jobs in the town.[84]H. J. Heinz is amongst the largest food manufacturers in Europe. Their 55-acre (22 ha)food manufacturing facility in Wigan is the largest food processing facility in Europe.[85]JJB Sports, 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 businessmanDave Whelan.[86]DW Sports Fitness another nationwide sports retailer andfitness business owned by Dave Whelan is headquartered in the town.[87] The bakery chainGalloways Bakers,[88] and William Santus & Co. Ltd, the confectioner and producer ofUncle Joe's Mint Balls, are both based in Wigan.[89]
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.[90] 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%).[91] 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.[67]
There are 125 listed buildings in Wigan out of the 216 listed buildings in the wider borough with nine atGrade II* in the town.[92] As well as being a Grade II* listed structure,Mab's Cross is the onlyScheduled Monument in Wigan itself, out of the 12 in Wigan Borough.[93][94] 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, to the cross once a week barefoot for committingbigamy. 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.[95] Haigh Hall was built in 1827–1840 on the site of a medievalmanor house of the same name, which was demolished in 1820.[96] The hall is surrounded by a 250-acre (101 ha) country park, featuring areas of woodland and parkland.[97][98] The formertown hall was a Grade II listed building.[92]
Designed by John McClean,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.[99] TheHeritage 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.[100] The 20-acre (8.1 ha) Mesnes Park is north-west of Wigan town centre.[101][102] It receives two million visitors a year and used to host the Wigan One World Festival.[103]
Wigan's war memorial was unveiled in 1925. Designed byGiles 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 theFirst 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.[104] 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.[105]
The former Wigan Central Library opened in 1878 and is now theMuseum of Wigan Life. A one-year restoration programme began in 2009 costing £1.9 million. George Orwell used it to researchThe Road to Wigan Pier.[106] As of 2019[update], theWigan Pier Quarter is at the heart of a regeneration programme that began in 2006 to revitalise the area.[71] Part of Wigan's industrial heritage,Trencherfield Mill was built in 1907 and is a Grade II listed building.[107] It houses a steam engine over 100 years old which was restored with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund.[108] The quarter is also home to the Wigan Pier Theatre Company, which was founded in 1986.[109] The Face of Wigan, located in the town centre since 2008, is a stainless steel sculpture of a face. Created by sculptorRick Kirby, The Face stands at 18-foot-tall (5.5 m) and cost £80,000.[110]
The 25,138-capacityDW Stadium, (now the Brick Community Stadium) originally called the JJB Stadium,[111][112] is located in the Newtown area of Wigan and is shared by professionalassociation football clubWigan Athletic with professionalrugby league football clubWigan Warriors. The Latics moved into the stadium upon its completion in 1999 from their former home,Springfield Park. The Warriors also moved into the stadium in 1999 from their previous home,Central Park.
The 1,200-capacity multi-use Robin Park arena is located next to the DW Stadium.
Rugby football has been played in the town since 1862.
The town's most famous club isWigan Warriors, originally called Wigan FC, were formed out of theWigan Cricket Club in 1872 to provide a sport to play during the winter months. The club, who reformed in 1979 as Wigan Wasps before reverting to Wigan FC two years later, were one of 22 clubs involved in therugby football schism of 1895, which split from theRugby Football Union to form theNorthern Union. The club played atCentral Park for most of its history before moving into a ground share agreement withWigan Athletic at the newly builtJJB Stadium in 1999. The Warriors suffix came into their name in two years prior in 1997, shortly after rugby league had switched to a summer sport in 1996. The club is the most decorated in the sport's history and most successful club in England winning 24league championships, 21Challenge Cup titles, as well as being crownedWorld Club Challenge champions on five occasions. The club have played in the top tier ofBritish rugby league through their existence with the exception of a single relegation in 1980.
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, having 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, withWigan St Patricks,Wigan St Judes andInce Rose Bridge all playing in theNational Conference League, the amateur game's top level.
Source:[113]
Association football initially struggled to take hold in Wigan with non-league clubsWigan County (1897–1900) andWigan Town (1905–1908) both folding within a few years of their creation.[114]Wigan Borough, emerged from the amateur sideWigan United (1896–1914), in 1920 and became the town's first club to play in theFootball League when in 1921 they became founder members of theFootball League Third Division North.[115] The club left the Football League and folded in 1931. They were replaced a year later byWigan Athletic, the town's current professional football club.[116]
Wigan Athletic was elected to theFootball League in 1978, and the club were promoted to thePremier League, the top division of English football, in 2005. The club were relegated to theChampionship in 2013, the same season they won the2013 FA Cup, defeatingManchester City 1–0 in thefinal.[117] In 2020, the club went intoadministration but was later taken over by new owners.[118] As of the2023–24 season, the club play inLeague One, having been relegated from theChampionship theprevious season.
The semi-professional football teamWigan Robin Park also played in the town between 2005 and 2015.[119]
The town was historically known as a centre for wrestling in Britain. It was home tothe Snake Pit, one of the world's most prominentcatch wrestling gyms, founded by professional wrestlerBilly Riley. The school has since moved to neighbouringAspull and the original building was demolished after a fire. The Snake Pit has since held competitions in Wigan, including the British and World Championships for catch wrestling.
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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 clubWigan R.U.F.C. represents the town in rugby union.
Wigan's international-standard swimming pool was demolished in 2008. A new 25-metre (82 ft) pool opened in September 2011 in the Wigan Life Centre development.[120] The original 50-metre (160 ft) pool was built in 1966 at a cost of £692,000 (£16.3 million as of 2023),[121] Wigan BEST, named Wigan Wasps until 2004, is the town's swimming club. It has produced Olympic standard swimmers, including medal winnerJune Croft.[122][123][124]
Wigan Wheelers, a cycling club established in 1919, is based in the town.[125]
Wigan has stagedmotorcycle speedway andgreyhound racing at two venues. ThePoolstock Stadium was the home ofWigan Speedway in 1947. The team moved to Fleetwood in 1948, although they raced at Poolstock in 1960. TheWoodhouse Lane Stadium was used briefly in the early 1950s when the team was known as the Panthers.[126]
Wigan Warlords are anInline Hockey team.[127]
Wigan's district badminton league consists of 30 teams across three divisions.[128]
Wigan Sailing Club operates from the 69-acre (28 ha)Scotman's Flash in Poolstock less than a mile from the centre of the town.
Wigan & District Motor Club, formed in 1973 by motorsports enthusiasts, runs stage rallies at Three Sisters Race Circuit.
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).[129] There is alsoWigan UTC, auniversity technical college, in the town centre. In the wider borough, there are twosixth form colleges,St John Rigby College andWinstanley College. High schools in the town are theDeanery High School,St. John Fisher Catholic High School,St. Peter's Catholic High School,Hawkley Hall High School andRose Bridge Academy (in Ince) with more throughout the borough.[130]
Wigan has been well known for itspopular music since the days ofGeorge Formby Sr andGeorge Formby Jr.[131] It was the birthplace ofthe Eight Lancashire Lads, a dancing troupe who gave the youngCharlie 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 includethe Verve,the Railway Children,Witness,the Tansads,Limahl ofKajagoogoo andStarsailor.The Verve were one of the most important British rock groups of the 1990s, finding success in the UK and abroad. The band was formed when the members met atWinstanley College in 1989. In 2021,the Lathums continued the town's popular music tradition by scoring a UK number one with their debut studio albumHow Beautiful Life Can Be and Torpedo Pig that split in 2019.[132]
From 1973 to 1981,Wigan Casino was the location for Wigan's weeklyNorthern Soul all-nighters.[133] 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" byBillboard, an American music magazine. The building was gutted by fire in 1982 and was demolished the following year.[134] This was the inspiration for the 1989 dance recordWigan byBaby Ford.
Since 1986, Wigan has hosted an international jazz festival.[135] 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.[136] Throughout the early 1990s,The Den was a popular venue for bands with acts such asGreen Day heading over to play.[citation needed] A local tradition since the 1980s isBoxing Day fancy dress[137] which, in recent years, has received national media coverage.[138]
From 2002, the annualHaigh Music Festival was held atHaigh Hall, Wigan, which attracted around 7,000 guests each year.[139] In 2011,Haigh Fest ended due to funding issues. Since 2012, the freeWigan Live Festival, held in the town centre, has taken its place.[140]
The town currently has a host of venues putting on gigs for upcoming local bands, including Feast at The Mills, 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.[141]
Wigan Little Theatre is acommunity theatre, a charitable, voluntary organisation[142] that was founded in 1943.
Since 2010, theWigan Diggers Festival has taken place on the second Saturday of September. The festival brings together a significant number ofsocialist organisations and sympathetic musicians to celebrate the life, ideas and influence of the Wigan-born,Gerrard Winstanley, founder of theDiggers (True Levellers) Movement.[143] Recent[when?] headliners have included significant Wigan bandsThe Railway Children andMerry Hell.
Wigan is home to the annualWorld Pie Eating Championship, which is usually held at Harry's Bar on Wallgate. The competition has been held since 1992 and, in 2006, avegetarian option was added.[144] Wiganers are sometimes referred to as "pie-eaters"; the name is said to date from the1926 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".[122][145] A local dish is the Pie Barm, also known as a Wigan Kebab,[146] consisting of a buttered bread roll sandwiching ameat and potato pie inside.[147] Wigan is also the home town of the local confectionaryUncle Joe's Mint Balls.[89]
In the television seriesWallace and Gromit, the title characters live at the fictional 62 West Wallaby Street in Wigan.[148]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC North West andITV Granada. Television signals are received from theWinter Hill TV transmitter.[149]
The town is served by bothBBC Radio Merseyside andBBC Radio Lancashire. Other radio stations includeCapital North West & Wales,Heart North West,Smooth North West,Greatest Hits Radio Wigan & St Helens (formerly Wish FM) and Countywide Radio, a community based station that broadcast from the town.[150]
Local newspaper is theWigan Evening Post.[151]
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Wigan lies on the meeting point of twoprimaryA roads, theA49 andA577, which link to theM6,M61 andM58 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.[citation needed]
There are two railway stations in Wigan town centre:Wigan North Western andWigan Wallgate. North Western is on the north–southelectrifiedWest Coast Main Line.Avanti West Coast provides express trains toLondon Euston,Birmingham,Lancaster,Carlisle,Edinburgh andGlasgow.Northern operates trains toPreston andBlackpool North and a regular local service along the line toSt Helens andLiverpool Lime Street.[152]
Wigan Wallgate serves lines running east and west from Wigan. Northern operate trains toSouthport andKirkby, with connections toLiverpool Central and theMerseyrail system. Frequent local services also operate, in co-operation withTfGM, toBolton andManchester, with most trains from Wigan continuing through to other destinations such asManchester Airport,Stockport andRochdale.[153]Pemberton station serves the Pemberton area of the town.[154]
Ahorse tramway was built in 1880 by theWigan Corporation and leased to a succession of private companies to operate services to Pemberton, Aspull and towards Standish.[155] 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 ofstandard gauge andnarrow gauge lines, reducing efficiency and increasing costs; the last of theWigan 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.[citation needed]
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.[156] At local government reorganisation in April 1974, the Wigan Corporation Transport Department became part ofGreater Manchester Transport.[157]
The current network of local buses, coordinated byTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and departs from theWigan bus station in the town centre. The bus station reopened in late 2018 after a £15.7 million, two-year redevelopment.[79] Local buses serve Wigan and district withNational Express long-distance coach services. Wigan's bus services were included in the first tranche of TfGM bus franchises under theBee Networkintegrated transport network, with services tendered to bus operatorGo North West launching in the town on 24 September 2023.[158][159]
Wigan is on theLeeds and Liverpool Canal and is epitomised byWigan Pier.[160] There is also a branch of the canal from Wigan toLeigh, with a connection to theBridgewater Canal linking Wigan to Manchester.[160]
Notes
It seems funny to celebrate Orwell for highlighting all our bad points, but Wigan wouldn't be anywhere near as famous without him," says the Wigan Pier Experience's manager, Carole Tyldesley. "In the end George Orwell has proved to be a strong marketing tool.
What he wrote still colours people's views of Wigan ... But if Wigan is going to grow it's got to leave Orwell behind and sell all that.
, 22 July 2004, retrieved1 August 2009, 22 July 2004, retrieved20 November 2008, 22 July 2004, retrieved20 November 2008, 22 July 2004, retrieved20 November 2008, 22 July 2004, retrieved20 November 2008, 22 July 2004, retrieved5 August 2008, 22 July 2004, retrieved5 August 2008, 22 July 2004, retrieved24 July 2008, 22 July 2004, retrieved31 December 2008, 22 July 2004, retrieved5 August 2008Bibliography
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