Wigan Local History & Heritage Society

Wigan’s rich history and heritage ... waiting to be uncovered!

funded and administered by Wigan Building Preservation Trust on behalf of the Society

Discovering and protecting our Wigan history and heritage.

If you are interested in becoming a member of Wigan Local History and Heritage Society you will be most welcome.
Online membership is also available.
The subscription is currently £10 per annum, from 1/11/21 - 30/10/22 reduced to £5 if joining after February, and benefits will include:

Benefits

Full access to the website and all resources and articles
Free entry and priority to membership presentations (except those of fee charging speakers when a small charge may be made to cover the costs)
Invitations to local History quiz nights, guided walks and visits.
Zoom presentations from time to time.
Access to online monthly members meetings where we discuss the business of the Society.
Associate membership of Wigan Archaeological Society at 50% subscription cost.
Full membership of Wigan Building Preservation Trust
Regular copies of Lancashire History Federation Newsletter and Wigan Archaeological Society Newsletters.
Group subscriptions to the Lancashire Federation for Local History and the British Association for Local History and access to the excellent resources available for members on those websites.

Online membership is also available and is designed for any member who is not able to access the presentation meetings in Wigan, benefits will include:

Full access to the website and all resources and articles
A link to recordings of the local history presentations where possible.
A link to recordings of local History quiz nights, guided walks and visits where possible.
Zoom presentations from time to time.
Access to online monthly members meetings where we discuss the business of the Society.
Associate membership of Wigan Archaeological Society at 50% subscription cost.
Regular copies of Lancashire History Federation Newsletter and Wigan Archaeological Society Newsletters.
Group subscriptions to the Lancashire Federation for Local History and the British Association for Local History and access to the excellent resources available for members on those websites.

Here is the link to an application form if you would like to Join Our Society. There is no need to sign into google.
Link

A Brief History of our Group provided by Sheila Ramsdale our President

Anne Cat

terall and I had been friends for over 20 years. We first met when Ann was doing a teacher training course at Wigan and Leigh College and I was one of her tutors. We discovered we had many things in common, not least a love of history and particularly Local History. Through the years we spent many hours researching local History down at the archives of Wigan Local Studies at the Museum of Wigan Life.
There we met Rita Fell and she became one of our partners in crime searching the catalogues for snippets of interesting information.. Once Ann retired our ambition was to set up a local history group to look at the people, industries, politics and other aspects of Industrial life that made up Wigan.
We held our first meeting in September 2013 at Book Cycle in Beech Hill, and we were delighted when over 15 people including Rita turned up for our first meeting. Since then the group went from strength to strength. As well as having guest speakers, such as Alan Davies with his vast knowledge of Mining, Yvonne Eckersley with her knowledge of feminists and local industry, we had speakers from further afield. We also went on visits to other Museums including, The Peoples History Museum at Manchester, The North West Labour History Museum in Salford and as far afield as The National Coal Mining Museum up in Wakefield.
Unfortunately Ann took ill suddenly and despite her tremendous courage she died from cancer on 6 April, 2015. We were all very shocked and u

pset.Right to the end Ann was discussing our projects and I promised her the group would carry on regardless and that we would achieve our goal of getting a mining statue erected in Wigan.
We set up a Charity out of our history group and this was named WHAMM (Wigan Heritage and Mining Monument), we had 8 trustees including our M.P. Lisa Nandy and the Leader of Wigan Council, David Molyneux.We also had other members of the committee who helped with our fund raising, this took us over three years to accomplish. However, we achieved our goal with help from the people of Wigan, Brighter Borough money from local Councillors and a very generous anonymous donation from a local benefactor.
Our finest event was when Maxine Peake came to St. Michaels Church. This was a sell out. We had a marvellous evening and made over £4,000 for WHAMM. The statues of a Miner, Pit Brow Girl and young boy were unveiled during lockdown by the Contractor Stuart and Sheila. We are intending to have an official unveiling once the Covid Virus becomes more manageable.

The Local History and Heritage Group have still continued meeting, but I decided to resign as Chairperson because of other commitments. Luckily, two of our members, Clare and Paul Kenyon agreed to take over the running of the group which has been a great success. What was once a cosy little group of friends has grown into a large society with a new dynamic web site and with a huge following on social media.

Sheila Ramsdale

New Content - recently added

Recent content added to our website.....

FIND YOUR STREET & NEIGHBOURS IN 1968

Find your parent's, grandparent's street and neighbours in 1968. May be even yourself!

Presentation on Roman Wigan

Presentation by Ian Miller on the archaeological investigations of Roman Wigan.

Roman Wigan

Worth a read........

Wigan Wallgate Station War Memorial

Research into the Wigan Wallgate Station War Memorial that once was on display in the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway loco sheds in Prescott Street, Wigan.

Humphrey J.G Walmesley of Westwood House, Ince, Wigan

Article by Andy Lomax on the life of Humphrey Walmesley.

A Book is Immortal......

A critique of author George Orwell and his book "The Road to Wigan Pier, by Tom Walsh.

The use of maps as an aid to historical research and the history of the Ordnance Survey

The use of maps as an aid to historical and family history research. The history of the Ordnance Survey and a look at Wigan on a 1951 OS map. By Graham Taylor.

Standish Medieval Stone Cross Bases

Locations of the three Grade II Listed stone cross bases in Standish. By Graham Taylor

Two Wallgaters at War

The story of two friends from Wallgate who were to meet up again in WW1. One was to survive, the other died on active service but left behind a famous sporting dynasty. By Graham Taylor.

Wigan Volunteer Light Horse

The origins of the Wigan Volunteer Light Horse during the early part of the 19th century, and its evolution over the next 200 years to the Army’s modern day successor, still based in Wigan, the Queens Own Yeomanry. By Graham Taylor.

Life of Thomas Wall & family - founder of the Wigan Observer

An interesting article by Malcolm Ryding on the life of Thomas Wall and family, founder of the Wigan Observer in 1853.

Winstanley Moated Homesteads

Hundreds of years before Winstanley Hall was built the Winstanley family lived in a moated homestead. Explore the extensive evidence for this produced by Derek Winstanley, also evidence of another Winstanley moated homestead.

Rylands Sidings

Reminiscences of Rylands Sidings at Whitley from sixty years ago, the association with a cotton magnate and their place in the war time history and industrial heritage of Wigan. By Graham Taylor.

Springfield Hall

An in depth look at the lives of the families known to have lived at Springfield Hall between 1813 and its demolition in 1937. It is one of the many halls in the Wigan area that have been lost and have now disappeared into history. By Graham Taylor.

Wigan Election Riots of 1831

A detailed look at the reasons for the election riots in Wigan in May 1831, the backgrounds of the characters involved and the consequences for the perpetrators of the ensuing violence. By Graham Taylor.

Material that could assist in the research and appreciation of the history and heritage of Wigan.

Wigan & Leigh Archives

The Wigan Archives Service has well over 500,000 documents, photographs, maps and historic books in our collections.

Cemetery Index

Find graves at Wigan, Gidlow, Hindley, Ince and Westwood Cemeteries, with kind permission of wiganworld

wiganworld

An exceptional collection of photos, history and memories of Wigan

Wigan Buildings

Wigan Building Preservation Trust (WBPT) - All the Listed Buildings within Wigan Council area, including non-listed buildings that are of historical and architectural interest.

Haigh Hall - History

A collection of articles and resources relating to the history of the Hall, the people and the wider estate of Haigh

Old Maps

Ordnance survey maps of Wigan from the 1840's onwards

Films, Videos & Presentations

Films, videos and presentations on Wigan from 1900 to the present day. Enjoy!

Derek Winstanley

Although Derek has lived in Illinois, USA, for 40 years, he returns to Wigan nearly every year and has written extensively on local history.

Ken Scally

Some cameo pieces by one of our members - Images courtesy of Wigan Archives

Tom Walsh - Local Historian

Recollections and memories of growing up in Wigan in the 1950s & 1960s.

Graham Taylor - Local History & Military Historian

Graham Taylor specialises in military history, telling the stories of local regiments, the soldiers that served in them, and of their families and communities from the early 19th century to modern day. Also topics of local interest including heritage buildings, establishments and individuals.

Jim Meehan

Stories and presentations from Jim who is a retired civil servant with an interest in local and family history, as well as archaeology.

Introduction to "The Street That Was"

Wigan Local History & Heritage Society are very proud to be invited to contribute to the King Street Heritage Zone project.

Historic Buildings in the Heritage Action Zone

The Heritage Action Zone covers the area around King Street. It is packed with important historical buildings, there are already 10 listed buildings in the zone and at least another 20 that are historically important.

Lost Buildings of King Street

The Society believes it is important to identify the "Lost Buildings" of the Street to evoke the memories and the contribution of these buildings to the rich history and heritage of Wigan.