Wigan
Wigan is a large town in the
North West of
England, in the
metropolitan county of
Greater Manchester, lying in the historic county of
Lancashire. It is the largest town in the
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, with a population of 89,876 (2004 estimate). Other neighbouring towns are
Chorley,
St Helens,
Bolton and
Warrington and it is roughly equidistantly placed between the cities of
Liverpool,
Manchester and
Preston.
Wigan is twinned with
Angers in France.
Origins
The first people reported to have settled in the Wigan area were the
Brigantes. The
Romans took over "Chochion", as it was then known, in around 79 AD during one of many
wars with the
Celts and renamed the settlement "Coccium". The Romans left some time in the 5th century.
|
The Arms of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council |
By the time of the Middle Ages, Wigan had become a constituent manor of the Barony of Makerfield, and received its Royal Charter from King Henry III in 1246 when it was made into a Borough in its own right. Its new status as a Royal Borough is reflected in the insignia of the town Coat of Arms.
The earliest incorporation of the Town is actually mentioned in the report of the Norry King of Arms in 1613, that "The Towne and Bourrough of Wiggin was antiently incorporated by the most noble Kinge, Kinge Hen, the first, in the first year of his raygne," i.e. the year 1100. If so, this would make the borough the oldest in Lancashire, and one of the oldest in the country.
How the town got its name is mysterious, although we know that it was named after 1086 (it is not mentioned in the
Domesday Book). Some suggest the name is old
Welsh Gwigan, meaning settlement whilst others attribute the name to
Saxon English or
Viking. Some sources cite Wigan as deriving from Old English
wig /
wiga 'warrior' (not meaning the same as modern English
wig!) or
wicga 'insect', but this is as yet unverified
Due to its loyalty to the crown during the civil war, the town was bestowed by royal decree with the motto "Ancient and Loyal" which remains the oldest such motto, in the English language.
Industry
Wigan was once important for
coal mining and
cotton textile production. The Leeds-Liverpool
canal was used extensively to transport local produce. 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 of
child labour. After the 1914-18 war there was a boom followed by a slump from which Wigan's textile industry did not recover. The last working cotton mill, the
May mill, closed in 1980. The novel
Rose by
Martin Cruz Smith is centered around the
Victorian era coal mining in Wigan.
The town has enjoyed a complex relationship with this association. Sometimes embracing it, the Orwellian link has provided the area with a modest tourist base over the years. However, most regard the insinuation that Wigan is in fact no better now than it was as the Victorian era slum with objection and frank hostility. A recent TV documentary about Orwell visited Wigan, and made a comparison to less-affluent areas such as
Platt Bridge, commenting that not much had changed. This was met with widespread local disapproval.
Local government
Wigan was one of the few industrial towns of the
19th century to already be a borough. It was reformed by the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and was one of the boroughs to be granted the status of
county borough by the
Local Government Act 1888.
Pemberton, previously an independent
urban district was annexed to the borough in 1904.
Music
Wigan has been well known for its
popular music since the days of
George Formby Snr and
George Formby Jnr. It was the birthplace of
The Eight Lancashire Lads a dancing troupe who gave a young
Charlie Chaplin his professional debut. One of the troupe was a John Willie Jackson, The "John Willie" who George Formby would often refer to in his songs.
Local bands that gained wider repute include The Railway Children, Witness, The Tansads,
Limahl of
Kajagoogoo and (more recently)
Starsailor. More recently,
The Verve were one of the most important British rock groups of the 1990s, finding success in the UK and abroad (even touring on the USA's famous
Lollapalooza alternative rock festival). Lead vocalist
Richard Ashcroft comes from the Wigan district of
Billinge, and the rest of the band hailed from the nearby town of
Up Holland.
The
Wigan Casino was, from 1973, the location for Wigan's weekly
Northern Soul all-nighters, until it was demolished in
1983 after a mysterious fire gutted it. Wigan remains a centre of popular music for young people in the
Lancashire area, with the annual
Haigh Hall music festival and a number of alternative pubs/clubs in the town centre.
The town also has a music collective which exists to promote the scene and help out local musicians and bands. They host weekly gigs at The Tavern and also host various other activities such as the annual
Haigh Hall music festival, recording sessions and gig advice for young musicians.
Rail
There are two main rail stations in Wigan. These are located virtually across the street from each other in Wallgate, on the southern fringe of the town centre.
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Wigan North Western is on the
electrified north-south
West Coast Main Line.
Virgin Trains provides express trains to
London Euston,
Birmingham,
Lancaster,
Carlisle,
Edinburgh and
Glasgow.
Northern Rail has trains to
Preston and
Blackpool and a regular local service along the line to
St Helens and
Liverpool Lime Street.
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Wigan Wallgate serves lines running east and west from Wigan.
Northern Rail provides trains to
Southport and
Kirkby (with connections to
Liverpool Central and the
Merseyrail system). A frequent local service also operates to
Bolton and
Manchester (
Victoria and
Piccadilly), with most trains from Wigan continuing through to other destinations such as
Manchester Airport,
Stockport,
Oldham and
Rochdale.
In addition to the two town centre stations, there are stations served by local trains at
Bryn,
Pemberton,
Orrell,
Gathurst,
Appley Bridge,
Ince and
Hindley.
Buses
of local buses serves Wigan and district, co-ordinated by
Greater Manchester PTE and departing from a bus station in the town centre.
Since deregulation and privatisation of the bus industry in the 1980s and 90s, a number of different companies have operated in Wigan, some big, some small.
At present the two larger national operators are:-
*
First Manchester, which operates routes generally to the north-east, east and south-east of the town, including buses to
Leigh,
Bolton and
Manchester.
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Arriva, which operates north and west of Wigan to
Preston,
Skelmersdale,
Southport,
St Helens and
Warrington.
Smaller locally-based bus companies also provide local services around the area.
Wigan has long been a heartland of the National Union of Labour Clubs, having at one time thirty Labour Clubs in the town. In recent years this has reduced to about twenty.The NULSC has also used Haigh Hall for an annual festival.
Wigan's main sports teams are
Wigan Athletic (
football) and
Wigan Warriors (
rugby league). The two teams now share the
JJB Stadium.
Wigan Athletic were elected to the
Football League only in
1978 and had little success for many years, but they have recently gained promotion to the
F.A. Premier League and the 2005/06 season was their first ever in the top flight. The team was in the top half of the table for the entire season, finishing tenth, and made it to the League Cup Final in February 2006.
As Wigan RLFC, the "Warriors" in the
eighties and
nineties were England's leading
rugby league team. Recent changes to the structure and organisation of the game have diluted their dominance yet they are making a major comeback after being at the foot of super league's table for most of this season. It is now likely that they will make the top 6.
Wigan is one of relatively few towns in the UK to have an international-standard swimming pool in the town centre. The pool itself having been built to exact Olympic standards, but has never been used for official Olympic sanctioned competition. The resident swimming club,
Wigan Wasps, which has now changed its name to
Wigan BEST[
1] has produced Olympic standard swimmers, including medal winner
June Croft.
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Andrew Farrell, former Great Britain Rugby League captain and Wigan Warriors captain
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Billy Boston, Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee.
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Kay Burley, TV Newscaster
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Rob Wojcik, wealthiest man in Wigan.
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Alan Bamford, artist
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George Stubbs, artist
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Gerrard Winstanley, founder of the 17th century
Diggers*
Mrs Hemans, poet
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Edward Entwistle, engineer and the world's first passenger train driver
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George Formby, comedian
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Lawrence Isherwood, artist
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Limahl, AKA Chris Hamill, pop singer
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Michael Marks, founder of Marks & Spencer.
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Frank Randle, comedian
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Ted Ray, comedian
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John Rylands, philanthropist
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Leslie Cannon, trade union leader
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Joe Gormley, trade union leader
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Wallace and Gromit, fictional inventors [
2]
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Dave Whelan, businessman and owner of the Wigan Warriors, Wigan Athletic and JJB Sports
*
Sir Ian McKellen, Hollywood actor
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Roy Kinnear, Comedy actor
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Stuart Maconie, Journalist/Broadcaster
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Davinia Taylor, actress
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Davey Boy Smith, professional wrestler. Held various
World Wrestling Federation championships
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Richard Ashcroft, solo artist and lead singer of the 1990's Brit pop group
The Verve.
Business connections to the town include
JJB Sports,
Uncle Joe's Mint Balls, Better Bathrooms[
3] and
Pataks.
Michael Marks (of Marks & Spencer) was a Smallware dealer at 152 Great George Street before starting in business with Thomas Spencer.
The extraordinary (Thomas)
Beecham family and the
Lindsay art connoisseurs are connected with the town, as is
John Charnley's famous hip replacement department.
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Online borough guide*
Web page for three local Wigan newspapers*
A great Wigan link, lots of photographs
