11th November, 2006
Harrogate Street is quite short and lies at the bottom of Millgate. Wigan police headquarters were located there but now the building stands empty.
But why is it called Harrogate Street?
The unlikely reason is that a spa, whose mineral waters resembled those of Harrogate in Yorkshire, was located there - people came to Harrogate Street to "take the waters".
It has also been said that a holy well once existed in the same area.
The Holy Well
A deed of the Crosse family of Shawe Hill, Chorley, sometime before 1293 states the following:
"Grant from William fil' William del Sedheuyd to Adam de la Croz of a certain part of his land in the town of Wygan, called le Haly Welle Kar; rendering yearly three grains of pepper to the grantor and his heirs, and four pence of customary money to the lord of Wygan, for all his services, to be paid on the accustomed quarter days."
It seems that "le Haly Welle" means "holy well" and "kar" is a low-lying field. A later document also mentions "le haliwalle kar" and states that it was located "between the lands of Nicholas de Tildesleye and the waters of the Dogles (Douglas)". This is said to be somewhere near what is now Harrogate Street. The 1849 map shows two "spring wells" a short distance away but they are probably too far from the River Douglas for either of them to be the "haly welle" or "haliwalle" in question. Perhaps the holy well became the spa, although the article below seems to suggest that the spa water was discovered while boring for coal.
Harrogate Spa
The 1849 map shows that the spa buildings stood where the former police station car park is now, close to the magistrate's court.
The main source of information about the spa is in "England Described; or the Traveller's Companion" (1788) This is what it says:
"Wigan Spaw, or New Harrowgate is a strong sulphurous water, lately discovered in boring for coal in a field near the Scoles Bridge; it is said to greatly resemble the water of Harrowgate in Yorkshire, only that it does not contain so much saline matter as that does, it contains a considerable quantity of a very fine sulphur; and has been found useful in most complaints for which sulphur waters have been recommended: it has been made use of in a variety of complaints, and frequently with good effect: amongst others the following may particularly be mentioned; sore eyes, particularly those of long standing; old sore legs and other old sores; scald heads, the scurvy, itch and many other eruptions or cutaneous complaints scrofulus sores etc; in all these disorders patients have frequently been known to obtain a perfect cure by the use of this water. There is now a very elegant building erected for the use of those who resort to this spring, with convenience for drinking the water and for using it either as a hot or cold bath."