Wigan has a long and varied history.
- It was the location of "Coccium" in Roman times;
- one of the four Lancastrian "ancient boroughs" in the medieval period;
- and people came to "take the waters" in the 18th century.
The Industrial Revolution brought greater prosperity
with the expansion of the mining and textile industries
- but at a great social and environmental cost.
The second half of the 20th century saw a decline in industry and much unemployment,
but the new millennium brings a promise of renewed prosperity.
Medieval History
The Lost Land of Occleshaw, part 1
The Lost Land of Occleshaw, part 2
Medieval Norley Hall
feudal homage
Norse Settlement
Anglo-Saxons, part 1
Anglo-Saxons, part 2
Wigan in the Domesday Book
Wigan in the 11th century - part 1
Wigan in the 11th century- part 2
Which languge was spoken in Wigan in the 11th century?
Standish Copyholders
Crime and Punishment
Stocks
Poverty
Alice Battersby, apprenticed pauper (1805)
Betty Battersby, fallen woman (1795)
miners in 1842
John Bird, 1840
weavers in 1842
Hallgate in 1849
Privilege
privilege, Wigan area, 1664
mill owners
mine owners
Health
Infant Mortality, 1840s
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