Articles

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.

Sarah Hartley, the young Wigan girl who had spent her adolescent years at Wigan Union Workhouse and Edgworth Children’s Home left an enduring legacy in Canada that is celebrated to this day. By Graham Taylor.

A chance meeting with a Wirral family leads to the significance of a chair, the Price of Wales pub in Scholes, the Union Street Burial Society and recollections of burials in the 1950's

History from WW2 to the present, and the reasons for the selection of the site as a munitions factory. By Graham Taylor.

History of the O&G Rushton business, the brothers and their Building.

Article by Derek Wistanley celebrating the 100 years since the town was awarded its "ancient and loyal" Coat of Arms, replacing the old Common Seal.

Thomas Skelton also known as "The Muncaster Fool" his time at Haigh Hall, the Bradshaigh portrait and his Will.

An article on the development and reasons for poor housing in Wigan in the C19.

This article by Graham Taylor explains the history of Poor Law, the formation of the Wigan Poor Law Union, the building of the new Workhouse in Frog Lane, the conditions inside and the regime followed by its inmates.

The WW1 diary of William Walls by Graham Taylor, with thanks to Wigan Archives volunteer, Susan Berry, for transcribing the diaries. A great effort to bring the vivid and personal "down to earth" experiences of war. The diaries were donated to the Archives by David and Joyce, the children of William Walls's youngest son Arthur Walls.

A 1942 letter from James Parkinson to his sons on reaching 70 years of age, and recalls the hardships and experiences of growing up in Victorian Wigan. By Graham Taylor.

An interesting article, by Julie Foster on the early days of the Wigan Infirmary and the contribution of these nurses and the lasting recognition they received.