2nd November, 2007

Hallgate, 1849

Hallgate is one of Wigan's ancient streets. Its name comes from Old Norse and means the street which leads to the Hall. The lower part runs along the rear of the bus station and contains the G.P.O. sorting office, Groundwork and the Anvil pub amongst other smaller buildings. It then doglegs towards Market Street. It is quite a pleasant area of Wigan.

In medieval times Hallgate was on the edge of the town and contained small fields named Upper Croft and Lower Croft (sometimes referred to as Top Croft and Bottom Croft). With the advent of the industrial revolution these patches of green were infilled with poor quality housing although they retained their rural sounding names.

In 1849 an inquiry by the General Board of Health found that this housing was "...the worst cottage property in the town".

The area was unpaved, so the streets and courts would have had clay surfaces - difficult for passage in any weather, near impossible on a wet winter's day.

The worst aspect of the district was the drainage system. The report states that:

"...the filth from the homes and privies of Upper Croft drains over an unpaved surface into an open ditch, which runs along the back of the houses of the Lower Croft."

Sounds horrendous, but even worse:

"This ditch is about 3 feet above the floor of the houses, and its contents ooze through the walls, and in wet weather overflows into the windows."

Add to this the odd pig sty and dung-heap and the picture is complete. It is no surprise that Top Croft and Bottom Croft were "...returned as seats of fever."

A weaver named Beamish worked on a hand-loom in a cellar in Lower Croft. The cellar was often flooded and the unfortunate weaver was obliged to work the treadle on his loom while his foot dipped in and out of "putrescent filth".

The irony of the situation becomes apparent on page 4 of the report, where it states:

"Excepting always Lancaster, no town in this great county can boast a finer position, one more naturally healthy, or one better suited for a complete and cheap supply of water, or a perfect system of drainage..."

It seems that Wigan in 1849 should have been a pleasant place to live but many of its inhabitants were obliged to live and work in appalling conditions.