Wigan

The name of the town has been recorded variously as {{lang|enm|Wigan}} in 1199, {{lang|enm|Wygayn}} in 1240, and Wygan in numerous historical documents.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Farrer|Brownbill|1911|pp=68–78}}

The name Wigan is probably a Celtic place-name : it might be a diminutive form of Brittonic {{lang|cel-x-combrit|wīg}} 'homestead, settlement" (later Welsh {{lang|cy|gwig}}), plus the nominal suffix -an has also been suggested (compare with numerous places in France named Le Vigan); the place name may refer to a Latin {{lang|la|vicus}}.{{Cite book |last=James |first=Alan G. |url=http://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary.pdf |title=The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence |volume=2: Guide to the Elements |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813011121/http://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary.pdf |archive-date=13 August 2017}}{{Citation |title=Newsletter 15: Wigan – What's in a name? |date=15 July 1998 |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/content/News_Letters/news015.htm |access-date=18 November 2008 |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}}{{Citation |last=Mills |first=A.D. |title=A Dictionary of British Place-Names |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?entry=t40.e13974&srn=1&ssid=595401713#FIRSTHIT |year=2003 |place=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-852758-9}} {{Subscription required}} It has also been suggested directly a Celtic personal name Wigan, a name corresponding to Gaulish {{lang|xtg|Vicanus}}, Old Welsh {{lang|owl|Uuicant}} or Old Breton {{lang|obt|Uuicon}}.{{Cite book |last=Ekwall |first=Eilert |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028039588 |title=The Place Names Of Lancashire |date=1922 |publisher=Manchester University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028039588/page/n120 103]}}

Similar place-names to the English Wigan exist in France, such as Le Vigan, Gard ({{lang|la|Avicantus}}, Roman inscription ; {{lang|la|Locus de Vicano}} 1050) of unknown originPaul Fabre, Dictionnaire des noms de lieux des Cévennes, éditions Bonneton, 2009, p. 155 and Le Vigan, Lot, from Latin {{lang|la|vicanum}}, derived form of {{lang|la|vicus}} 'town' + suffix {{lang|la|-anum}},Gaston Bazalgues, À la découverte des noms de lieux du Quercy : Toponymie lotoise, Éditions de la Bouriane et du Quercy, Gourdon, 2002, p. 126 and the hamlets in Normandy such as (Le) Vigan (L'Oudon, Calvados) and Manoir du Vigan that derive from a Celtic given-name *Wigan, found as {{lang|la|feodum Wigani}} in the 12th century or {{lang|la|turres Wiguen}} at Thaon (Calvados) and survives in the Norman surname Vigan (still in use in Calvados).François de Beaurepaire, Les Noms de lieux du Calvados (annoté par Dominique Fournier), Paris, L'Harmattan, 2022, p. 379.

There is very little evidence of prehistoric activity in the area, especially pre-Iron Age.{{Citation |title=Prehistoric Wigan |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/how.html#PWigan |access-date=18 November 2008 |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}} In the 1st century, the area was conquered by the Romans during which time, it was in the territory of a Celtic people known as the Brigantes. The late 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary mentions a Roman settlement called Coccium {{convert|17|mi|km}} from the Roman fort at Manchester (Mamucium) and {{convert|20|mi|km}} from the fort at Ribchester (Bremetennacum). Although the distances are slightly out, it has been assumed that Coccium is Roman Wigan.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Waddelove|2001|p=299.}} Possible derivations of Coccium include from the Latin coccum, meaning "scarlet in colour, scarlet cloth", or from cocus, meaning "cook".{{Citation |title=Coccuim: Minor Romano-British Settlement: Wigan, Lancashire |url=http://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/coccium/ |publisher=Roman-Britain}} Over the years chance finds (coins and pottery) provided clear indications that a Roman settlement existed at Wigan, although its size and status remained unknown.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Oxford Archaeology North|2011|p=14.}} In 2005 investigations ahead of the Grand Arcade development, and in 2008 at the Joint Service Centre development, have proven that Wigan was a significant Roman site in the late first and second centuries AD.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Oxford Archaeology North|2011|p=2.}} The excavated remains of ditches at Ship Yard off Millgate were consistent with use by the Roman military and possibly formed part of the defences for a fort or a temporary camp. More remains were excavated to the south, in the area of McEwen's Yard (opposite the baths), where foundations of a large and important building were discovered, together with many other Roman features. The building is {{convert|36|by|18|m|ft}} in size with stone walls and a tiled roof. It contained around nine or ten rooms including three with hypocausts. It had a colonnaded portico on the northern side, which presumably formed the main entrance. The structure's ground-plan and the presence of the hypocausts show it may have been a bath-house.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Oxford Archaeology North|2011|p=30.}} A timber building excavated at the Joint Service Centre (top of the Wiend) has been interpreted as a barrack block. This suggests a Roman fort occupied the crest of the hill, taking advantage of the strategic position overlooking the River Douglas.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Oxford Archaeology North|2011|page=40}} The evidence gained from these excavations shows that Wigan was an important Roman settlement, and was almost certainly the place referred to as Coccium in the Antonine Itinerary.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Oxford Archaeology North|2011|page=38}}

In the Anglo-Saxon period, the area was probably under the control of the Northumbrians and later the Mercians.{{Citation |last=Bill Aldridge |title=Medieval Wigan |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/how.html#Medieval |access-date=19 November 2008 |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}} Celtic names in the area around Wigan—such as Bryn, Makerfield and Ince—indicate a continued Celtic presence in the area in the face of Anglo-Saxon incursions.{{Citation |title=Celtic Wigan |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/how.html#Celtic |access-date=18 November 2008 |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}} In the early 10th century there was an influx of Scandinavians expelled from Ireland. This can be seen in place names such as Scholes—now a part of Wigan—which derives from the Scandinavian skali meaning "hut". Further evidence comes from some street names in Wigan which have Scandinavian origins.

File:All Saints Church Wigan.jpg was substantially rebuilt between 1845 and 1850.{{NHLE |desc=Church of All Saints, Wigan |num=1384556 |access-date=19 November 2008|mode=cs2}}{{Citation |title=Wigan Parish Church: History and restoration |url=http://www.wiganparishchurch.org/index_files/Page751.htm |access-date=19 November 2008 |publisher=Wiganparishchurch.org}}]]

Wigan is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, possibly because it was included in the Neweton barony (now Newton-le-Willows). It is likely that the mention of the unnamed church in the manor of Neweton is Wigan Parish Church and not the church of St.Oswald (Winwick) which is specifically named in the Domesday Book. The rectors of the parish church were lords of the manor of Wigan, a sub-manor of Neweton, until the 19th century. Wigan was incorporated as a borough in 1246 following the issue of a charter by King Henry III to John Maunsell, the local church rector and lord of the manor. The borough was later granted another charter in 1257–1258, allowing the lord of the manor to hold a market every Monday and two annual fairs. The town is recorded on the earliest-surviving map of Britain, the Gough Map made around 1360, which highlights its position on the main western north–south highway with distance markers to Preston and Warrington.{{Citation |title=Full record: Wigan |url=http://www.goughmap.org/settlements/7935/ |access-date=4 July 2013 |publisher=goughmap.org}}

Edward II visited Wigan in 1323 in an effort to stabilise the region which had been the source of the Banastre Rebellion in 1315. Edward stayed in nearby Upholland Priory and held court in the town over a period of several days.{{Citation |title=Newsletter 3: Murder & Mayhem in Medieval Abram |date=April 1997 |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/content/News_Letters/news003.htm |access-date=20 December 2008 |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}} During the medieval period Wigan expanded and prospered and in 1536, antiquarian John Leland described the town, saying "Wigan paved; as big as Warrington and better builded. There is one parish church amid the town. Some merchants, some artificers, some farmers".

In the English Civil War, most people in the town were Royalists and James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, a prominent and influential Royalist in the civil war, made Wigan his headquarters. His forces successfully captured Preston but failed in assaults on Manchester and Lancaster and two attempts to capture Bolton. Abandoning attempts to secure Lancashire, he took his forces to the Isle of Man to secure his holdings there. The Earl of Derby was absent when Wigan fell, despite fortifications built around the town, Wigan was captured by Parliamentarian forces on 1 April 1643, the takeover was complete in two hours and the town was pillaged before the defences were broken down and the Parliamentarians retreated. In 1648, Royalist forces under James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, occupied Wigan after they had been defeated by Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Preston. The soldiers looted the town as they retreated to Warrington, and afterwards, it experienced pestilence. Cromwell himself described Wigan as "a great and poor town, and very malignant".

File:Tyldesley monument, Wigan.jpg

The Battle of Wigan Lane was fought on 25 August 1651 during the Third English Civil War, between 1,500 Royalists under the command of the James Stanley, Earl of Derby marching to join the King at Worcester and 3,000 of the New Model Army under the command of Colonel Robert Lilburne hunting them. Lilburne arrived at Wigan to find the Royalists leaving to march towards Manchester but with his force consisting mostly of cavalry recognised it would be dangerous to engage in the narrow lanes around the town and decided to wait for his foot soldiers to arrive and flank the town. The Royalists seeing an opportunity to engage the divided force turned around to engage but Lilburne decided to hold his ground deploying cavalry on Wigan Lane and infantry in the hedgerows to the sides, The Royalists made several charges but after two hours were unable to break the Parliamentarian line and were forced to flee after being overwhelmed by superior numbers. Although Stanley was injured he managed to find refuge in the town.{{Citation |last=Adrian Morris |title=The Battle of Wigan Lane |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/how.html#Civil |access-date=20 November 2008 |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}} David Craine states, "those who did not fall in the fighting [were] hunted to their death through the countryside".{{Citation |last=Craine |first=D. |title=Manannan's Isle |year=1956 |publisher=The Manx Museum and National Trust}} A monument on Wigan Lane marks the place where Sir Thomas Tyldesley a Major General commanding the Royalist troops fell, it was erected 28 years after the battle in 1679 by Alexander Rigby, Tyldesley's standard bearer.

Wigan was described by Celia Fiennes, a traveller, in 1698 as "a pretty market town built of stone and brick".{{Citation |last=Morris |first=Adrian |title=The Heritage of Wigan |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/how.html |access-date=1 August 2009 |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}} In 1720, the moot hall was rebuilt, funded by the members of the borough. It was used as the town hall and the earliest reference to it dates from the 15th century.{{Citation |last=Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council |title=Mayors Handbook – Looking Back – A Brief History |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/Mayoralty/MayorsHandbook/HandbookLookingBack.htm |access-date=1 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707194106/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/Mayoralty/MayorsHandbook/HandbookLookingBack.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan.gov.uk |archive-date=7 July 2007}} Prior to its final destruction in 1869, the hall was rebuilt in 1829. Wigan's status as a centre for coal production, engineering and textiles in the 18th century led to the Douglas Navigation in the 1740s, the canalisation of part of the River Douglas and later the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The canal from Liverpool to Leeds was originally to serve Wigan on a spur, transporting cloth and food grown on the West Lancashire Plain to the Port of Liverpool. When construction restarted in the 1790s, after decades pause, as coal was rising in importance due to the progress of the Industrial Revolution. The route was altered at the request of mill owners, with the spur becoming the primary route and Wigan a hub for transport of coal from the Lancashire coal pits to Liverpool and Leeds.

File:Trencherfield Mill 2008.jpg

As a mill town, Wigan was an important centre of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, but it was not until the 1800s that cotton factories began to spread into the town. This was due to a dearth of fast-flowing streams and rivers in the area, but by 1818 there were eight cotton mills in the Wallgate part of Wigan.{{Harvard citation no brackets|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=66.}} In 1818 William Woods introduced the first power looms to the Wigan cotton mills. These mills swiftly became infamous for their dangerous and unbearable conditions, low pay and use of child labour.{{Citation |title=Later textiles in Wigan |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/how.html#LText |access-date=13 February 2012 |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}} As well as being a mill town, Wigan was also an important centre for coal production. It was recorded that in 1854 there were 54 collieries in and around the town, about a sixth of all collieries in Lancashire.{{Harvard citation no brackets|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=65.}}

In the 1830s Wigan became one of the first towns in Britain to be served by a railway; the line had connections to Preston and the Manchester and Liverpool Railway. This was the first in a network of public and industrial railways which served the town during the period, much of which has since closed.{{Cite book |last=David St. John Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8q8SAAAAMAAJ |title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The North West |date=1986 |publisher=David & Charles |isbn=978-0-7153-6208-2}} Wigan began to dominate as a cotton town in the late 19th century, and this lasted until the mid-20th century.

Wigan has had a large Irish community.{{cite web|url=https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/books-by-orwell/the-road-to-wigan-pier/wigan/|accessdate=2 March 2025|title=Wigan|website=The Orwell Foundation|date=18 February 2011 }} Being almost equal distance from Liverpool and Manchester, it received high immigration rates of Irish people in the 1800s following the Great Famine (Ireland). According to ‘Wigan World’ website,{{cite web|title=Irish diaspora mid 1800s|url=https://wiganworld.co.uk/communicate/mb_message.php?opt=f2&msd=1485605&page=1&subject=Irish%20diaspora%20mid%201800s#google_vignette|accessdate=2 March 2025}}{{Better source needed|date=March 2025}} Wigan's population (including Ince and Pemberton townships) doubled from 39,000 in 1851 to 77,000 in 1881 with the immigration of Irish to the town the biggest factor. The Irish mainly settled in the central areas of the town such as Scholes and Ince with the area around Belle Green Lane referred to as Irishtown. St Patrick's church in Scholes was built in 1847 on the back of huge swathes of Irish immigration.

The local amateur rugby league club Wigan St Patricks has the Irish shamrock on the club badge with green and black being the club colours.

The Wigan accent has even been affected by the great number of Irish coming to the town. The local word "moidered", known elsewhere as "mithered", is said to have derived from pronouncing the word mithered in an Irish accent.

The Brian Boru Club in Ashton-in-Makerfield was established in 1889 and is the oldest Irish club in the UK.

In 1911 the town was described as an "industrial town ... occupying the greater part of the township, whilst its collieries, factories ... fill the atmosphere with smoke". After the Second World War there was a boom followed by a slump from which Wigan's textile industry did not recover. While the town's cotton and coal industries declined in the 20th century, the engineering industry did not go into recession. The last working cotton mill, May Mill, closed in 1980.

File:Wigan Market (geograph 5781841).jpg

In 1937, Wigan was prominently featured in George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier which dealt, in large part, with the living conditions of England's working poor. Some have embraced the Orwellian link, as it has provided the area with a modest tourist base over the years.{{Cite news |last=Vallely |first=Paul |date=30 April 2003 |title=On the road again |work=The Independent |location=London |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article117176.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930192137/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article117176.ece |archive-date=30 September 2007 |quote=It seems funny to celebrate Orwell for highlighting all our bad points, but Wigan wouldn't be anywhere near as famous without him," says the Wigan Pier Experience's manager, Carole Tyldesley. "In the end George Orwell has proved to be a strong marketing tool.}} Others regard this connection as disappointing, considering it an insinuation that Wigan is no better now than it was at the time of Orwell's writing.{{Cite news |last=Vallely |first=Paul |date=30 April 2003 |title=n the road again |work=The Independent |location=London |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article117176.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930192137/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article117176.ece |archive-date=30 September 2007 |quote=What he wrote still colours people's views of Wigan ... But if Wigan is going to grow it's got to leave Orwell behind and sell all that.}}

File:Wigan Civic Centre.jpg

Since 2004, the town of Wigan has been divided between five of the twenty-five wards of the metropolitan borough, each returning three councillors to the 75-member borough council. The five wards are: Douglas, Pemberton, Wigan Central, Wigan West and Worsley Mesnes.{{Cite web |title=Ward Boundaries |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/pub/council/maps/wardmap.htm |access-date=22 February 2009 |publisher=Metropolitan Borough of Wigan}} The metropolitan council provides the local services.{{Citation |last=Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council |title=Article 1 – The Constitution |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/Constitution/Article1.htm |access-date=1 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113143857/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/Constitution/Article1.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan.gov.uk |archive-date=13 November 2007}}

At the Norman Conquest, the settlement of Wigan was part of the larger parish of Wigan, the majority of which was within the hundred of Newton.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Farrer|Brownbill|1911|pp=57–68}} On 26 August 1246, Wigan was granted a Royal Charter, making the town a free borough. This happened after the granting of royal charters began in the 13th Century as a way of establishing corporations and defining their privileges and purpose. In Lancashire, Liverpool was granted in 1207, Salford in 1230 followed by Manchester in 1301.{{Citation |title=Greater Manchester Gazetteer |url=http://www.gmcro.co.uk/Guides/Gazeteer/gazzt2w.htm |df=dmy |access-date=9 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718144311/http://www.gmcro.co.uk/Guides/Gazeteer/gazzt2w.htm |url-status=dead |at=Place Names T to W |publisher=Greater Manchester County Record Office |archive-date=18 July 2011}}{{Harvard citation no brackets|Cooper|2005|p=12.}} As a borough, Wigan was represented in the Model Parliament from 1295 to 1306 by two burgesses – freemen of the borough.{{Citation |title=A Brief Chronology of the House of Commons |date=November 2006 |url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/g03.pdf |page=2 |access-date=1 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217192940/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/g03.pdf |url-status=dead |publisher=Parliament.uk |archive-date=17 December 2008}} The Charter allowed taxes to be made on transactions made in the borough by tradesmen and permitted the local burgesses to establish a guild that would regulate trade in the borough. Non-members of the guild were not allowed to do business in the borough without permission from the burgesses. It is thought that when the Charter was reconfirmation in 1350 it was changed, allowing the election of a mayor of Wigan for the first time. Three burgesses were elected to be presented to the lord of the manor who would choose one man to be mayor for a year.

File:Wigan seal.png

There was a rivalry between the lords of the manor and borough. The lord of the manor complained in 1328 that the burgesses were holding private markets, from which he gained no revenue. The rivalry continued in the 16th century, with Bishop Stanley unsuccessfully challenging the right of the burgesses to hold markets, believing it should be the right of the lord of the manor. In 1583 the corporation of the borough attempted to usurp the lord of the manor by laying claim to the lordship. They did so because they felt they were fulfilling the duties of the lord: to improve waste and common land and allowing construction on this land, running courts, and mining coal. A compromise was reached, dividing some power between the two parties.

File:Town Hall (Formerly Wigan And District Mining And Technical College) And Railings.jpg]]

Under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, the town was reformed and was given a commission of the peace. The borough was divided into five wards with a town council of forty members: two aldermen and six councillors representing each ward. Rectors from the local parish church were the lords of the manor since records began until 2 September 1861. On this date, the borough corporation bought the rights associated with the lordship. The Local Government Act 1888 constituted all municipal boroughs with a population of 50,000 or more as "county boroughs", exercising both borough and county powers. Wigan accordingly became a county borough on 1 April 1889, giving it independence from Lancashire County Council. Ward boundaries were altered, and the county borough was divided into ten wards, each electing one alderman and three councillors. The former area of Pemberton Urban District was annexed to the County Borough of Wigan in 1904, adding four extra wards to the borough. In 1974 the County Borough of Wigan was abolished and its former area became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. The current Wigan Town Hall was opened by the Princess of Wales in November 1991.{{Cite web |title=Royal Visits to Wigan |url=https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Docs/PDF/Resident/Leisure/Museums-and-archives/archives/Royal-visits/Royal-Visits-to-Wigan.pdf |access-date=6 August 2020 |publisher=Wigan Council}} In April 2011, the borough along with the entirety of the county of Greater Manchester became one of 10 constituent councils of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.{{Cite web |last=Association of Greater Manchester Authorities |author-link=Association of Greater Manchester Authorities |date=March 2010 |title=Greater Manchester Combined Authority Final Scheme |url=http://www.agma.gov.uk/cms_media/files/greater_manchester_combined_authority_final_scheme.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216012318/http://www.agma.gov.uk/cms_media/files/greater_manchester_combined_authority_final_scheme.pdf |archive-date=16 December 2010 |access-date=30 March 2010 |publisher=agma.gov.uk}}

Wigan is in the Wigan Parliamentary constituency, which was recreated in 1547 after having covered the borough in the late 13th century. From 1640 until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency returned two Members of Parliament (MPs); from then on it had only one.{{Citation |last=John Bartholomew |title=Wigan |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=645&st=wigan |work=Gazetteer of the British Isles |year=1887 |access-date=23 November 2008}} Since 1918, the constituency has been represented by the Labour Party. Lisa Nandy is the incumbent Member of Parliament for Wigan, having first been elected in the 2010 general election.{{Citation |title=Wigan |url=http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/0,,-1437,00.html |work=The Guardian |access-date=7 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704202050/http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/0%2C%2C-1437%2C00.html |url-status=dead |place=London |archive-date=4 July 2008}}

Wigan Council takes part in the town twinning scheme, and in 1988 twinned with Angers in France.{{Cite web |title=Town twinning with Angers |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Council/Town-Twinning/Town-twinning-with-Angers.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508042725/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Council/Town-Twinning/Town-twinning-with-Angers.aspx |archive-date=8 May 2014 |website=wigan.gov.uk |df=dmy-all}}

{{further|Geography of Greater Manchester}}

File:Wigan skyline 2008.jpg

At {{coord|53|32|41|N|2|37|54|W|type:city}} (53.5448, −2.6318), Wigan lies respectively to the west and north of Hindley and Ashton-in-Makerfield, and is about {{convert|16|mi|km}} west of Manchester city centre and {{convert|12|mi|km}} north of Warrington.

The historic town of Wigan forms a tightly integrated conurbation along with the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan districts of Orrell and Ince-in-Makerfield; this is connected by ribbon development to Standish and Abram. These areas, together with the West Lancashire town of Skelmersdale, are defined by the Office for National Statistics as the Wigan Urban Area, with a total population of 166,840.{{Citation |title=Census 2001 Key Statistics – Urban area results by population size of urban area |date=22 July 2004 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211152 |work=ons.gov.uk |access-date=1 August 2009 |at=[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area-ks01-usual-resident-population.xls KS01 Usual resident population] {{XLSlink}} |publisher=Office for National Statistics}} The town is part of the Manchester Larger Urban Zone.

{{Areas of Wigan}}

{{Update|section||date=October 2024}}

{{further|Demographics of Greater Manchester}}

According to the Office for National Statistics, at the time of the 2001 United Kingdom census, Wigan had a population of 81,203. The 2001 population density was {{convert|11474|PD/sqmi|0}}, with a 100 to 95.7 female-to-male ratio.{{Citation |title=Census 2001 Key Statistics – Urban area results by population size of urban area |date=22 July 2004 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211152 |work=ons.gov.uk |access-date=20 November 2008 |at=[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area-ks01-usual-resident-population.xls KS01 Usual resident population] {{XLSlink}} |publisher=Office for National Statistics}} Of those over 16 years old, 28.9% were single (never married) and 45.0% married.{{Citation |title=Census 2001 Key Statistics – Urban area results by population size of urban area |date=22 July 2004 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211152 |work=ons.gov.uk |access-date=20 November 2008 |at=[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area-ks04--marital-status.xls KS04 Marital status] {{XLSlink}} |publisher=Office for National Statistics}} Wigan's 34,069 households included 29.7% one-person, 38.9% married couples living together, 8.5% were co-habiting couples, and 10.8% single parents with their children.{{Citation |title=Census 2001 Key Statistics – Urban area results by population size of urban area |date=22 July 2004 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211152 |work=ons.gov.uk |access-date=20 November 2008 |at=[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area-ks20--household-composition.xls KS20 Household composition] {{XLSlink}} |publisher=Office for National Statistics}} Of those aged 16–74, 38.5% had no academic qualifications,{{Citation |title=Census 2001 Key Statistics – Urban area results by population size of urban area |date=22 July 2004 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211152 |work=ons.gov.uk |access-date=5 August 2008 |at=[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area-ks13--qualifications-and-students.xls KS13 Qualifications and students] {{XLSlink}} |publisher=Office for National Statistics}} a figure significantly higher than the average for the borough as a whole and England.{{Citation |title=Wigan Metropolitan Borough key figures |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=276785&c=Wigan&d=13&e=16&g=356907&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1227147833078&enc=1 |access-date=20 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081125064225/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=276785&c=Wigan&d=13&e=16&g=356907&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1227147833078&enc=1 |url-status=dead |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk |archive-date=25 November 2008}}

In 1931, 9.4% of Wigan's population was middle class compared with 14% in England and Wales, and by 1971, this had increased to 12.4% compared with 24% nationally. Parallel to this slight increase in the middle classes of Wigan was the decline of the working class population. In 1931, 38.7% were working class compared with 36% in England and Wales; by 1971, this had decreased to 33.5% in Wigan and 26% nationwide. The rest of the population was made up of clerical workers and skilled manual workers or other miscellaneous. The slow decrease in the working class goes against the trend for a steeper national decline, reinforcing the perception of Wigan as a working-class town.{{Citation |title=Wigan social class |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_SOC&data_cube=N_RGSOC_G&u_id=10109206&c_id=10001043&add=Y |access-date=8 December 2008 |publisher=Vision of Britain}}

At the 2001 UK census, 87.7% of Wigan's residents reported themselves as being Christian, 0.3% Muslim, 0.2% Hindu, and 0.1% Buddhist. The census recorded 6.2% as having no religion, 0.1% had an alternative religion and 5.4% did not state their religion.{{Citation |title=Census 2001 Key Statistics – Urban area results by population size of urban area |date=22 July 2004 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211152 |work=ons.gov.uk |access-date=5 August 2008 |at=[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area-ks07--religion.xls KS07 Religion] {{XLSlink}} |publisher=Office for National Statistics}} The town is part of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool.{{Citation |title=The Diocese of Liverpool about us |url=http://www.liverpool.anglican.org/index.php?p=38 |access-date=25 April 2009 |publisher=Liverpool.anglican.org}}{{Citation |title=The Archdiocese of Liverpool parishes |url=http://www.archdiocese-of-liverpool.co.uk/parishes/index.htm |access-date=25 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429090823/http://www.archdiocese-of-liverpool.co.uk/parishes/index.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Liverpool.anglican.org |archive-date=29 April 2009}}

{{Update|section|date=January 2019}}

File:Entrance to Grand Arcade shopping centre, Wigan (1).jpg, Town Centre]]

The Grand Arcade shopping centre was opened on 22 March 2007. Construction, which cost £120 million, started in 2005 on the site of Wigan Casino and The Ritz.{{Citation |title=A Grand opening! |date=23 March 2007 |url=http://www.wigantoday.net/wigannews/A-Grand-opening.2143986.jp |access-date=5 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503103446/http://www.wigantoday.net/news/local-news/a-grand-opening-1-169824 |url-status=dead |publisher=WiganToday.net |archive-date=3 May 2012}} The area around the pier is planned to be redeveloped, in a multimillion-pound project rebranding the area as the Wigan Pier Quarter.{{Cite web |date=16 April 2018 |title=Major plans for new Wigan Pier Quarter revealed |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/wigan-pier-regeneration-step-places-14537409 |publisher=Manchester Evening News}} Plans for the redevelopment of the area have been in place since 2006. Trencherfield Mill, at the centre of the pier development, has been refurbished and used for apartments and office space.{{Cite web |title=Wigan Pier Quarter Plan |url=https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Docs/PDF/Wigan-works/Developments/Wigan-Pier-Quarter-Vison-Desktop.pdf |publisher=Wigan Council}}

The Wigan Life Centre south building opened on 19 September 2011,{{Cite news |date=16 September 2011 |title=First Peek inside Life Centre |work=Wigan Observer |url=http://www.wigantoday.net/news/first_peek_inside_life_centre_1_3779746 |url-status=dead |access-date=26 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927072553/http://www.wigantoday.net/news/first_peek_inside_life_centre_1_3779746 |archive-date=27 September 2011}} housing office accommodation for Wigan Council, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust and NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan, Wigan Library and a swimming pool and fitness suite, with a walk of fame, "Believe Square", for local public figures and groups.{{Cite web |title=New stars announced in borough's International Women's Day celebrations |url=https://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Articles/2023/March/New-stars-announced.aspx |website=www.wigan.gov.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.wigantoday.net/news/people/wigan-youth-zone-gets-its-own-walk-of-fame-star-in-its-10th-anniversary-year-4166095|title=Wigan Youth Zone gets its own walk of fame star in its 10th anniversary year|date=June 2023 }} Plans for the 18-storey Tower Grand, which would have been the tallest building in Wigan, were scrapped after the Financial crisis of 2007–2008.{{Citation |title=Wigan's Eastern promise revealed |date=15 June 2007 |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/June2007/EasternGateway.htm |access-date=26 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223075557/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/June2007/EasternGateway.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan.gov.uk |archive-date=23 February 2012}}{{Citation |title=Tower Grand plans shelved |date=19 June 2008 |url=http://www.wigantoday.net/wigannews/Tower-Grand-plans-shelved.4203993.jp |access-date=26 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503102913/http://www.wigantoday.net/news/local-news/tower-grand-plans-shelved-1-187677 |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan Observer |archive-date=3 May 2012}} The Galleries Shopping Centre, which houses shops as well as an indoor market,{{Harvard citation no brackets|Pollard|Pevsner|Sharples|2006|p=671.}} was bought for £8 million by the council in 2018 as part of a regeneration plan due to long-term decline.

The former Westwood power station site was redeveloped in 2006 into the Westwood Park business parkhttp://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/December2006/westwood.htm Green light for green business park] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324170425/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/December2006/westwood.htm |date=24 March 2011 }} and features a large amount of Wigan MBC office space. However, plans for a £125 million {{convert|55|acre|ha|adj=on}} textiles centre on the site with {{convert|1000000|sqft|m2}} of manufacturing and research space,{{Citation |last=Simon Gooley |title=Chinese to develop industrial park in Wigan |date=20 February 2008 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/02/17/cnwigan117.xml |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=26 April 2009 |series=Personal Finance |place=London}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} in co-operation with the Chinese state-owned trading company Chinamex, fell through.{{Cite web |date=5 September 2011 |title=China dream is smashed |url=https://www.wigantoday.net/news/china-dream-is-smashed-1-3744803 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109062522/https://www.wigantoday.net/news/china-dream-is-smashed-1-3744803 |archive-date=9 January 2019 |access-date=8 January 2019 |publisher=Wigan Today}}

The Tote chain of bookmakers has its headquarters in Wigan,{{Citation |last=Alistair Osborne |title=Tote auction plans face big hurdles |date=17 June 2008 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/2791646/Tote-auction-plans-face-big-hurdles.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=23 November 2008 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/2791646/Tote-auction-plans-face-big-hurdles.html |url-status=live |place=London |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription}}{{cbignore}} providing about 300 jobs in the town.{{Citation |title=Tote auction plans face big hurdles |date=8 October 2008 |url=http://www.wigantoday.net/wigannews/39Takeover-will-secure-Tote-jobs39.4570517.jp |access-date=23 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503102935/http://www.wigantoday.net/news/local-news/takeover-will-secure-tote-jobs-1-191867 |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan Today |archive-date=3 May 2012}} H. J. Heinz is amongst the largest food manufacturers in Europe. Their {{convert|55|acre|ha|adj=on}} food manufacturing facility in Wigan is the largest food processing facility in Europe.{{Citation |title=Heinz Canning Plant Energy Efficiency Expansion |url=http://www.foodprocessing-technology.com/projects/heinz/ |access-date=13 December 2008 |publisher=Food Processing Technology}} JJB Sports, a former nationwide sports clothing retailer, was founded in Wigan as a sports shop by John Jarvis Broughton (later JJ Bradburn) and was bought and expanded by businessman Dave Whelan.{{Citation |title=Dave Whelan: From Wigan to Barbados, the incentive that's hard to beat |date=8 May 2005 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/dave-whelan-from-wigan-to-barbados-the-incentive-thats-hard-to-beat-490003.html |work=The Independent |access-date=26 April 2009 |place=London}} Retrieved 26 April 2009. DW Sports Fitness another nationwide sports retailer and fitness business owned by Dave Whelan is headquartered in the town.{{Cite web |date=31 August 2016 |title=Dave Whelan doubles size of DW empire in one go |url=https://www.wigantoday.net/news/whelan-doubles-size-of-dw-empire-in-one-go-1-8096540 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109062235/https://www.wigantoday.net/news/whelan-doubles-size-of-dw-empire-in-one-go-1-8096540 |archive-date=9 January 2019 |access-date=8 January 2019 |publisher=Wigan Today}} The bakery chain Galloways Bakers,{{Cite web |title=About Galloways Bakery |url=http://www.gallowaysbakers.co.uk/about-galloways-bakery/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109062340/http://www.gallowaysbakers.co.uk/about-galloways-bakery/ |archive-date=9 January 2019 |access-date=8 January 2019}} and William Santus & Co. Ltd, the confectioner and producer of Uncle Joe's Mint Balls, are both based in Wigan.{{Citation |last=Chris Arnot |title=Uncle Joe's mint balls are on a roll |date=1 September 1996 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/uncle-joes-mint-balls-are-on-a-roll-1361199.html |work=The Independent |access-date=26 April 2009 |place=London}}

According to the 2001 UK census, the industry of employment of residents aged 16–74 was 22.4% retail and wholesale, 18.8% manufacturing, 10.2% health and social work, 8.6% construction, 8.0% property and business services, 7.4% transport and communications, 6.5% education, 5.2% public administration, 4.1% hotels and restaurants, 2.7% finance, 0.7% energy and water supply, 0.4% agriculture, 0.1% mining, and 4.8% other.{{Citation |title=Census 2001 Key Statistics – Urban area results by population size of urban area |date=22 July 2004 |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211152 |work=ons.gov.uk |access-date=5 August 2008 |at=[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area/urban-area-results-by-population-size-of-urban-area-ks11a--industry-of-employment---all-people.xls KS11a Industry of employment – all people] {{XLSlink}} |publisher=Office for National Statistics}} Compared to national figures, Wigan had high rates of employment in retail and wholesale (16.9% in England) and manufacturing (14.8% in England), and relatively low levels of employment in agriculture (1.5%).{{Citation |title=Wigan Local Authority industry of employment |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=276785&c=Wigan&d=13&e=16&g=356907&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1240768032137&enc=1&dsFamilyId=119 |access-date=26 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428102933/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7 |url-status=dead |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk |archive-date=28 April 2019}} The census recorded the economic activity of residents aged 16–74, 1.9% students were with jobs, 2.9% students without jobs, 5.9% looking after home or family, 10.2% permanently sick or disabled, and 3.2% economically inactive for other reasons.

{{Main|Listed buildings in Wigan}}

File:Taylor Gallery at the Museum of Wigan Life.jpg]]

There are 125 listed buildings in Wigan out of the 216 listed buildings in the wider borough with nine at Grade II* in the town.{{Citation |title=Listed Buildings in Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B1128631-6DE1-4EC3-8669-85CA2ADD2BA9/0/ListedBuildings191Kb.pdf |page=24 |access-date=20 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327151839/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B1128631-6DE1-4EC3-8669-85CA2ADD2BA9/0/ListedBuildings191Kb.pdf |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan Metropolitan Borough Coulcil |archive-date=27 March 2009}} As well as being a Grade II* listed structure, Mab's Cross is the only Scheduled Monument in Wigan itself, out of the 12 in Wigan Borough.{{PastScape |mname=Mab's Cross |mnumber=41800 |access-date=30 December 2008}}{{NHLE |desc=Mab's Cross, Wigan |num=1384526 |access-date= 18 May 2008|mode=cs2}} It is a medieval stone cross that probably dates from the 13th century. There is a legend surrounding the cross that Lady Mabel Bradshaigh, wife of Sir William Bradshaigh, did penance by walking from her home, Haigh Hall, to the cross once a week barefoot for committing bigamy. There is no evidence the legend is true, as there is no record that Lady Mabel was married to anyone other than Sir William Bradshaigh, and several facets of the story are incorrect.{{Citation |last=Bob Blakeman |title="Mab's Cross" – legend and reality |url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/content/History/Mabs_Cross.htm |publisher=Wigan Archaeological Society}} Retrieved 19 June 2008. Haigh Hall was built in 1827–1840 on the site of a medieval manor house of the same name, which was demolished in 1820.{{PastScape|mnumber=41877 |mname=Haigh Hall |access-date= 30 December 2008}} The hall is surrounded by a {{convert|250|acre|ha|0|adj=on}} country park, featuring areas of woodland and parkland.{{PastScape|mnumber=1145831 |mname=Haigh Park |access-date=30 December 2008}}{{Citation |title=Welcome to Haigh Hall |url=http://www.wlct.org/haigh/haigh-hall.htm |access-date=13 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222023110/http://www.wlct.org/haigh/haigh-hall.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=wlct.org |archive-date=22 December 2011}} The former town hall was a Grade II listed building.

File:Boer War Memorial Wigan.jpg

Designed by John McClean, Mesnes Park was opened in 1878; McClean was chosen to design the park through a competition. There is a pavilion in the centre and a lake.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Pollard|Pevsner|Sharples|2006|p=668.}} The Heritage Lottery Fund has donated £1.8 million to regenerate the park and Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council added £1.6 million to that figure. The pavilion and grandstand will be restored.{{Citation |last=Charles Graham |title=Mesnes Park hits the jackpot |date=15 October 2008 |url=http://www.wigantoday.net/wigannews/Mesnes-Park-hits-the-jackpot.4592791.jp |access-date=28 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324062750/http://www.wigantoday.net/wigannews/Mesnes-Park-hits-the-jackpot.4592791.jp |url-status=dead |publisher=WiganToday.net |archive-date=24 March 2009}} Retrieved 28 December 2008. The {{convert|20|acre|ha|adj=on}} Mesnes Park is north-west of Wigan town centre.{{Citation |title=Mesnes Park, Wigan, England |url=http://www.parksandgardens.ac.uk/component/option,com_parksandgardens/task,site/id,2281/Itemid,292/ |access-date=13 February 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910033547/http://www.parksandgardens.ac.uk/component/option,com_parksandgardens/task,site/id,2281/Itemid,292/ |url-status=dead |publisher=Parks and Gardens UK |archive-date=10 September 2012}}{{Cite web |year=2002 |title=Department of Archaeology |url=http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/landscapes/ukpg/sites/mesnespa.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629192607/http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/landscapes/ukpg/sites/mesnespa.htm |archive-date=29 June 2007 |publisher=University of York}} Retrieved 28 December 2008. It receives two million visitors a year and used to host the Wigan One World Festival.{{Citation |title=Mesnes Park Restoration Plans Given £3.4m Boost |date=19 December 2007 |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/December2007/MesnesPark.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223075630/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/December2007/MesnesPark.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan.gov.uk |archive-date=23 February 2012}} Retrieved 28 December 2008.

Wigan's war memorial was unveiled in 1925. Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and funded through public donations, the monument is now a Grade II* listed building and commemorates the fallen soldiers from the town in the First World War and other conflicts. In 2006, the plaques bearing the names of the dead were stolen; a year later they were replaced through council funding.{{Citation |title=Pride Restored to Wigan's War Memorial |date=1 October 2007 |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/October2007/WarMemorial.htm |access-date=14 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023024627/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/October2007/WarMemorial.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan.gov.uk |archive-date=23 October 2010}} There is also a memorial on Wigan Lane which marks the site where Sir Thomas Tyldesley died in 1651 at the Battle of Wigan Lane.{{Citation |title=Council sheds light on Civil War memorial |date=1 July 2008 |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/July2008/WiganLaneMemorial.htm |access-date=14 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223075721/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/July2008/WiganLaneMemorial.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan.gov.uk |archive-date=23 February 2012}}

The former Wigan Central Library opened in 1878 and is now the Museum of Wigan Life. A one-year restoration programme began in 2009 costing £1.9 million. George Orwell used it to research The Road to Wigan Pier.{{Cite web |date=5 May 2010 |title=The Museum of Wigan Life reopens after a £1.9 million restoration project. |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/art78453 |access-date=15 October 2011 |publisher=Culture24}} {{As of|2019}}, the Wigan Pier Quarter is at the heart of a regeneration programme that began in 2006 to revitalise the area.{{Cite web |last=Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council |date=January 2006 |title=The Wigan Pier Quarter: Planning and Regeneration Strategy |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2FBFC27A-26FC-4DDB-9E86-AD24A65E3503/0/PierQuarterIntroduction886kb.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921004205/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2FBFC27A-26FC-4DDB-9E86-AD24A65E3503/0/PierQuarterIntroduction886kb.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2011 |access-date=15 October 2011 |publisher=Wigan.gov.uk}} Part of Wigan's industrial heritage, Trencherfield Mill was built in 1907 and is a Grade II listed building.{{NHLE |num=1384508|desc=Trencherfield Mill |access-date=15 October 2011}} It houses a steam engine over 100 years old which was restored with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund.{{Cite web |title=Trencherfield Mill Steam Engine |url=http://www.wlct.org/heritage-services/trencherfield-mill-engine.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122211742/http://www.wlct.org/heritage-services/trencherfield-mill-engine.htm |archive-date=22 November 2011 |access-date=15 October 2011 |publisher=Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust |df=dmy}} The quarter is also home to the Wigan Pier Theatre Company, which was founded in 1986.{{Cite web |title=Arts information |url=http://www.wlct.org/WLCT/Arts-and-Festivals/arts-information.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522163235/http://www.wlct.org/WLCT/Arts-and-Festivals/arts-information.htm |archive-date=22 May 2012 |access-date=15 October 2011 |publisher=Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust |df=dmy-all}} The Face of Wigan, located in the town centre since 2008, is a stainless steel sculpture of a face. Created by sculptor Rick Kirby, The Face stands at {{convert|18|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} and cost £80,000.{{Cite web |title=Face – The future |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/December2008/TheFace.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223075729/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/December2008/TheFace.htm |archive-date=23 February 2012 |access-date=6 November 2009 |publisher=wigan.gov.uk}}

File:Warm up at the DW Stadium, Wigan - geograph.org.uk - 2012508.jpg and Warriors share the DW Stadium]]

The 25,138-capacity DW Stadium, originally called the JJB Stadium,{{Citation |title=Wigan's JJB Stadium to be renamed |date=25 March 2007 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/7963855.stm |access-date=4 July 2009 |publisher=BBC}}{{Citation |title=How to find us |url=http://www.dwstadium.co.uk/find_us.php |df=dmy-all |access-date=3 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029111454/http://www.dwstadium.co.uk/find_us.php |url-status=dead |publisher=DWStadium.co.uk |archive-date=29 October 2009}} is located in the Newtown area of Wigan and is shared by professional association football club Wigan Athletic with professional rugby league football club Wigan Warriors. The Latics moved into the stadium upon its completion in 1999 from their former home, Springfield Park. The Warriors also moved into the stadium in 1999 from their previous home, Central Park.

The 1,200-capacity multi-use Robin Park arena is located next to the DW Stadium.

Rugby football has been played in the town since 1862. Wigan Warriors, originally called Wigan FC, were formed out of the Wigan Cricket Club in 1872 to provide a sport to play during the winter months. During the rugby football schism of 1895, Wigan FC, along with the other leading northern clubs at the time, split from the Rugby Football Union to form the Northern Union. Wigan have been a rugby league club ever since and added the Warriors suffix to their name in 1997, shortly after rugby league had switched to a summer sport in 1996. The club are the most successful English club in the sport, winning 24 league championships and 21 challenge cup titles, as well as being crowned world club champions on five occasions. The club currently play in the Super League.

Liverpool Stanley were a professional rugby league club formed in the Highfield area of Wigan in 1902 as Wigan Highfield. The club didn't stay long in Wigan, however, relocating around England several times.

Blackpool Borough briefly played in Wigan at Wigan Athletic's Springfield Park from 1987 to 1988 under the name Springfield Borough. The club is now defunct.

Amateur rugby league is popular in the town, with Wigan St Patricks, Wigan St Judes and Ince Rose Bridge all playing in the National Conference League, the amateur game's top level.

Association football initially struggled to take hold in Wigan with non-league clubs Wigan County (1897–1900) and Wigan Town (1905–1908) both folding within a few years of their creation.{{Cite web |year=2015 |title=1896-1919 The Early Years |url=http://springfieldparkmemorial.weebly.com/1896-1919-the-early-years.html |website=The Springfield Park Memorial}} Wigan Borough, emerged from the amateur side Wigan United (1896–1914), in 1920 and became the town's first club to play in the Football League when in 1921 they became founder members of the Football League Third Division North.{{Citation |title=Wigan Borough |url=https://www.fchd.info/WIGANB.HTM |access-date=7 July 2009 |publisher=Football Club History Database}} The club left the Football League and folded in 1931. They were replaced a year later by Wigan Athletic, the town's current professional football club.{{Cite web |title=The Wigan Borough Story |url=https://www.wiganathleticsupportersclub.co.uk/wigan-borough-story/ |access-date=17 October 2022 |website=www.wiganathleticsupportersclub.co.uk}}

Wigan Athletic was elected to the Football League in 1978, and the club were promoted to the Premier League, the top division of English football, in 2005. The club were relegated to the Championship in 2013, the same season they won the 2013 FA Cup, defeating Manchester City 1–0 in the final.{{Citation |title=Club History |url=https://wiganathletic.com/club/club-history/ |publisher=Wigan Athletic F.C. |accessdate=17 October 2022}} In 2020, the club went into administration but was later taken over by new owners.{{Cite news |last=Ben Fisher |date=13 August 2021 |title=Relief replaced by optimism at Wigan after perils of administration |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/aug/13/wigan-athletic-league-one-after-change-of-ownership}} As of the 2023–24 season, the club play in League One, having been relegated from the Championship the previous season.

The semi-professional football team Wigan Robin Park also played in the town between 2005 and 2015.{{Citation |title=Wigan Robin Park |url=https://www.fchd.info/WIGANRP.HTM |access-date=17 October 2022 |publisher=Football Club History Database}}

The town was historically known as a centre for wrestling in Britain. It was home to the Snake Pit, one of the world's most prominent catch wrestling gyms, founded by professional wrestler Billy Riley. The school has since moved to neighbouring Aspull and the original building was demolished after a fire. The Snake Pit has since held competitions in Wigan, including the British and World Championships for catch wrestling.

File:Former Wigan International Pool (geograph 2274426).jpg

American Football club Wigan Warhawks compete in the BAFA flag league in the MEC Central division. In 2016, the Warhawks made the playoffs in their rookie season and in 2017 lifted their first silverware, winning the Coventry Cougars Charity Tournament.

Amateur club Wigan R.U.F.C. represents the town in rugby union.

Wigan's international-standard swimming pool was demolished in 2008. A new {{convert|25|m|ft|adj=mid}} pool opened in September 2011 in the Wigan Life Centre development.{{Cite web |title=Wigan Life Centre |url=http://www.wlct.org/Sport-and-Healthy-Living/wiganlifecentre/wigan-life-centre-health-zone.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211101715/http://www.wlct.org/Sport-and-Healthy-Living/wiganlifecentre/wigan-life-centre-health-zone.htm |archive-date=11 December 2011 |url-status=dead}} The original {{convert|50|m|ft|adj=mid}} pool was built in 1966 at a cost of £692,000 (£{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|692000|1966|r=-5}}|0}} as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} Wigan BEST, named Wigan Wasps until 2004, is the town's swimming club. It has produced Olympic standard swimmers, including medal winner June Croft.{{Citation |title=25 things you never knew about Wigan |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/5FBC47BC-7E3B-4A42-947F-03C722E09FB4/0/final25thingsyouneverknewaboutwigan.pdf |access-date=2 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327151850/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/5FBC47BC-7E3B-4A42-947F-03C722E09FB4/0/final25thingsyouneverknewaboutwigan.pdf |url-status=dead |publisher=Wigan.gov.uk |archive-date=27 March 2009}}{{Citation |title=Wigan BEST website |url=http://www.wigan-best.org.uk/ |access-date=7 July 2009 |publisher=Wigan-Best.org.uk}}{{Citation |title=Wigan International Pool 1966–2008 |url=http://www.wigan-best.org.uk/uploads/105_08.pdf |access-date=7 July 2009 |publisher=Wigan-Best.org.uk |archive-date=5 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305101355/http://www.wigan-best.org.uk/uploads/105_08.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Wigan Wheelers, a cycling club established in 1919, is based in the town.{{Cite web |title=Wigan Wheelers |url=http://www.wiganwheelers.org/ |access-date=16 December 2016 |website=www.wiganwheelers.org}}

Wigan has staged motorcycle speedway and greyhound racing at two venues. The Poolstock Stadium was the home of Wigan Speedway in 1947. The team moved to Fleetwood in 1948, although they raced at Poolstock in 1960. The Woodhouse Lane Stadium was used briefly in the early 1950s when the team was known as the Panthers.{{Citation |title=Wigan Speedway |url=http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Wigan.htm |access-date=7 October 2009 |publisher=Defunct Speedway Tracks}}

Wigan Warlords are an Inline Hockey team.{{Citation |title=Wigan Warlords S.C.H. |url=http://wiganwarlords.googlepages.com |access-date=14 September 2009 |publisher=Wigan Warlords}}

Wigan's district badminton league consists of 30 teams across three divisions.{{Citation |title=Wigan & District Badminton League |url=http://www.wiganbadminton.co.uk/ |access-date=16 September 2011 |publisher=wiganbadminton.co.uk}}

Wigan Sailing Club operates from the {{convert|69|acre|adj=mid}} Scotman's Flash in Poolstock less than a mile from the centre of the town.

Wigan & District Motor Club, formed in 1973 by motorsports enthusiasts, runs stage rallies at Three Sisters Race Circuit.

{{further|List of schools in Wigan}}

Wigan and Leigh College, a further education college with over 8,000 total students, has three campuses in Wigan: Parsons Walk Centre, Wigan School for the Arts and the Engineering & Construction Centre of Excellence (Pagefield Centre).[https://www.wigan-leigh.ac.uk/campus-details/leigh-campus-2 Wigan Centres], Wigan and Leigh College, Retrieved 11 January 2018. There is also Wigan UTC, a university technical college, in the town centre. In the wider borough, there are two sixth form colleges, St John Rigby College and Winstanley College. High schools in the town are the Deanery High School, St. John Fisher Catholic High School, St. Peter's Catholic High School and Rose Bridge Academy (in Ince) with more throughout the borough.{{Cite web |title=Maps of schools in Wigan |url=https://apps.wigan.gov.uk/schools/SchoolMap.aspx |access-date=11 January 2018 |publisher=Wigan Council}}

File:George Formby with the army in France, 1940 cropped.jpg in France during WWII]]

Wigan has been well known for its popular music since the days of George Formby Sr and George Formby Jr.{{Citation |last=Richards |first=Jeffrey |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |year=2004 |access-date=16 December 2008 |contribution=Formby, George (1904–1961) |contribution-url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33205 |publisher=Oxford University Press}} It was the birthplace of the Eight Lancashire Lads, a dancing troupe who gave the young Charlie Chaplin his professional debut. One member of the troupe was John Willie Jackson, the "John Willie" to whom George Formby would often refer in his songs. Local bands that gained wider repute include the Verve, the Railway Children, Witness, the Tansads, Limahl of Kajagoogoo and Starsailor. The Verve were one of the most important British rock groups of the 1990s, finding success in the UK and abroad. The band was formed when the members met at Winstanley College in 1989. In 2021, the Lathums continued the town's popular music tradition by scoring a UK number one with their debut studio album How Beautiful Life Can Be and Torpedo Pig that split in 2019. {{Cite web |title=How beautiful life can be | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/how-beautiful-life-can-be/ |website=Official Charts}}

From 1973 to 1981, Wigan Casino was the location for Wigan's weekly Northern Soul all-nighters.{{Cite book |last1=Stephen Catterall |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328516667 |last2=Keith Gildart |title=Sounds and the City |chapter=Did Wigan Have a Northern Soul? |date=January 2019 |isbn=9783319940809 |pages=369–387 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-94081-6_18 |hdl=2436/622693 |s2cid=165289322}} The venue began as a dance hall called Empress Ballroom. Wigan Casino rose to prominence in the 1970s and, in 1978, it was named the "best disco in the world" by Billboard, an American music magazine. The building was gutted by fire in 1982 and was demolished the following year.{{Citation |last=Zoe Graham |title=Wigan Casino revisited – Northern Soul at the history shop |date=22 November 2004 |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/time/art24971 |publisher=24hourmuseum.org.uk}} Retrieved on 9 December 2008. This was the inspiration for the 1989 dance record Wigan by Baby Ford.

Since 1986, Wigan has hosted an international jazz festival.{{Cite web |title=About Wigan Jazz Festival |url=http://wiganjazzfest.co.uk/about/ |access-date=8 January 2019 |website=wiganjazzfest.co.uk |publisher=The Music Continuum}} Wigan remains a centre of popular music for young people, with a number of alternative pubs and clubs in the town centre. The town also had a music collective which existed to promote the scene and help out local musicians and bands; they host activities such as recording sessions and gig advice for young musicians.{{Citation |title=The Wigan Music Collective: Information |url=http://www.wiganmusic.com/info.html |access-date=27 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629120925/http://www.wiganmusic.com/info.html |archive-date=29 June 2007}} Throughout the early 1990s, The Den was a popular venue for bands with acts such as Green Day heading over to play.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}} A local tradition since the 1980s is Boxing Day fancy dress{{Cite web |date=12 January 2018 |title=Artist's search for Boxing Day fancy dress information |url=https://www.wigantoday.net/news/artist-s-search-for-boxing-day-fancy-dress-information-1-8955234 |publisher=Wigan Today}} which, in recent years, has received national media coverage.{{Cite web |date=27 December 2015 |title=Boxing Day fancy dress in Wigan – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/gallery/2015/dec/27/boxing-day-fancy-dress-wigan-in-pictures |website=The Guardian}}

File:Casino Stage at Feast at The Mills.jpg

From 2002, the annual Haigh Music Festival was held at Haigh Hall, Wigan, which attracted around 7,000 guests each year.{{Cite web |title=Article About Haigh Music Festival |url=http://wiganworld.co.uk/news/index.php?opt=NWLN&cid=1546 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921014715/http://wiganworld.co.uk/news/index.php?opt=NWLN&cid=1546 |archive-date=21 September 2016 |access-date=19 August 2016}} In 2011, Haigh Fest ended due to funding issues. Since 2012, the free Wigan Live Festival, held in the town centre, has taken its place.[http://wiganlivefestival.co.uk/about-us/ http://wiganlivefestival.co.uk].

The town currently has a host of venues putting on gigs for upcoming local bands, including Feast at The Mills, The Boulevard, The Old Courts and The Swinley. NXNW has hosted the annual Wigan Festival of Art, Music and Literature known as North By North Western Festival. The collective is a voluntary non-profit making organisation and the festival takes place at various venues across the town.{{Citation |title=What is NXNW? |url=http://www.nxnwfestival.co.uk/joomla/index.php/about |access-date=7 October 2009 |publisher=NXNWFestival.co.uk}}

Wigan Little Theatre is a community theatre, a charitable, voluntary organisation{{cite web|url=https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/251806/charity-overview|title=Charity number: 251806|website=Charity Commission for England and Wales}} that was founded in 1943.

Since 2010, the Wigan Diggers Festival has taken place on the second Saturday of September. The festival brings together a significant number of socialist organisations and sympathetic musicians to celebrate the life, ideas and influence of the Wigan-born, Gerrard Winstanley, founder of the Diggers (True Levellers) Movement.{{Cite web |date=28 March 2012 |title=Gerrard Winstanley & The Diggers |url=https://wigandiggersfestival.org/about/ |access-date=8 January 2019 |website=wigandiggersfestival.org}} Recent{{when|date=September 2022}} headliners have included significant Wigan bands The Railway Children and Merry Hell.

Wigan is home to the annual World Pie Eating Championship, which is usually held at Harry's Bar on Wallgate. The competition has been held since 1992 and, in 2006, a vegetarian option was added.{{Cite news |date=23 November 2006 |title=Pie-eating championship goes slimline |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/Story/0,,1955147,00.html |access-date=3 November 2008}} Wiganers are sometimes referred to as "pie-eaters"; the name is said to date from the 1926 General Strike when Wigan coal miners were starved back to work before their counterparts in surrounding towns and so were forced to metaphorically eat "humble pie".{{Citation |last=Robert Bottomley |title='Pie eaters' urged to get fit |date=27 September 2008 |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/health/s/1017898_pie_eaters_urged_to_get_fit |work=Manchester Evening News |access-date=2 July 2009}} A local dish is the Pie Barm, also known as a Wigan Kebab,{{Cite web |title=Pie Barm |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/pie-barm |access-date=5 November 2020 |website=tasteatlas |language=en}} consisting of a buttered bread roll sandwiching a meat and potato pie inside.{{Cite web |last=David Barnett |date=9 March 2017 |title=What is a pie barm? In Wigan, it's a way of life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/09/pie-barm-twitter-wigan-kebab |website=The Guardian}} Wigan is also the home town of the local confectionary Uncle Joe's Mint Balls.

In the television series Wallace and Gromit, the title characters live at the fictional 62 West Wallaby Street in Wigan.{{Cite web |date=16 November 2005 |title=A cracking town, Gromit |url=http://www.wigantoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=66&ArticleID=1255444 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020192538/http://www.wigantoday.net/wigan-news/A-cracking-town-Gromit.1255444.jp |archive-date=20 October 2007 |access-date=11 August 2018 |publisher=Wigan Today}}

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter.{{cite web |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Winter_Hill |title=Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter |date=May 2004 |publisher=UK Free TV |access-date=27 May 2024}}

The town is served by both BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Radio Lancashire. Other radio stations include Capital North West & Wales, Heart North West, Smooth North West, Greatest Hits Radio Wigan & St Helens (formerly Wish FM) and Countywide Radio, a community based station that broadcast from the town. {{Cite web |url=https://countywideradio.com/about/|title= Countywide Radio |access-date=27 May 2024}}

Local newspaper is the Wigan Evening Post. {{Cite web |url=https://www.wigantoday.net/|title= Wigan Today |access-date=27 May 2024}}

File:Virgin Class 390, 390112 "Virgin Star", Wigan North Western railway station (geograph 4499951).jpg]]

Wigan lies on the meeting point of two primary A roads, the A49 and A577, which link to the M6, M61 and M58 motorways. Increased traffic in recent years, encouraged by retail development, has resulted in very congested main roads for most of the day. This situation is linked to the town's geography, with river valleys and railway lines impeding road improvement.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

There are two railway stations in Wigan town centre: Wigan North Western and Wigan Wallgate. North Western is on the north–south electrified West Coast Main Line. Avanti West Coast provides express trains to London Euston, Birmingham, Lancaster, Carlisle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Northern operates trains to Preston and Blackpool North and a regular local service along the line to St Helens and Liverpool Lime Street.{{Citation |title=Station Facilities: Wigan North Western (WGN) |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/wgn/details.html |access-date=15 September 2009 |publisher=National Rail}}

Wigan Wallgate serves lines running east and west from Wigan. Northern operate trains to Southport and Kirkby, with connections to Liverpool Central and the Merseyrail system. Frequent local services also operate, in co-operation with TfGM, to Bolton and Manchester, with most trains from Wigan continuing through to other destinations such as Manchester Airport, Stockport and Rochdale.{{Citation |title=Station Facilities: Wigan Wallgate (WGW) |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/WGW/details.html |access-date=15 September 2009 |publisher=National Rail}} Pemberton station serves the Pemberton area of the town.{{Citation |title=Station Facilities: Pemberton (PEM) |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/pem/details.html |access-date=15 September 2009 |publisher=National Rail}}

A horse tramway was built in 1880 by the Wigan Corporation and leased to a succession of private companies to operate services to Pemberton, Aspull and towards Standish.Stretch, E. K. (1978). The tramways of Wigan. MTMS, Manchester Steam tram operation was introduced quickly, but the network always struggled to pay its way and just after the start of the 20th century Wigan Corporation gradually bought the operating leases and converted the network to electric tramcar operation. However, the network was saddled with a mix of standard gauge and narrow gauge lines, reducing efficiency and increasing costs; the last of the Wigan Corporation Tramways were closed in 1931 to be replaced by buses, which had begun as 'feeder' services to the trams but which had shown themselves to be faster and more flexible. Trolleybuses were operated on a single route from Wigan to Martland Mill from 1925 to 1931.{{Citation needed |date= January 2019}}

File:The new 2018 Wigan Bus Station.jpg in 2018]]

The town's tram, trolleybus and bus fleet was always painted in crimson and off-white colours, with ornate gold lining out until the outbreak of World War II. The buses were notable in that they never carried exterior advertisements, with the town's crest occupying the space between decks where other bus operators placed adverts; they carried two green lights on the front, to enable the town's ratepayers to see at night which was one of the town's own buses and not one of those of a competitor.Leyland Society (2003). The Leyland buses of Wigan Corporation. {{ISBN|978-0-9545216-0-8}} At local government reorganisation in April 1974, the Wigan Corporation Transport Department became part of Greater Manchester Transport.{{Cite web |title="Wigan Corporation Transport timeline" retrieved 6 July 2010. |url=http://www.gmts.co.uk/explore/history/district_wigan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208224238/http://www.gmts.co.uk/explore/history/district_wigan.html |archive-date=8 February 2011 |url-status=dead}}

The current network of local buses, coordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and departs from the Wigan bus station in the town centre. The bus station reopened in late 2018 after a £15.7 million, two-year redevelopment.{{Cite news |last=James Illingworth |date=30 October 2018 |title=The developments changing Wigan town centre - including the opening of new £15.7m bus station |publisher=Manchester Evening News |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/wigan-bus-station-high-street-15343732}} Local buses serve Wigan and district with National Express long-distance coach services. Wigan's bus services were included in the first tranche of TfGM bus franchises under the Bee Network integrated transport network, with services tendered to bus operator Go North West launching in the town on 24 September 2023.{{cite magazine |author= |date=26 September 2023 |title=Greater Manchester's Bee Network takes flight |url=https://cbwmagazine.com/greater-manchesters-bee-network-takes-flight/ |magazine=Coach & Bus Week |location=Peterborough |publisher=Emap |access-date=6 January 2024}}{{cite news |last=Vesty |first=Helena |title=I got up at 3.30am to travel on the first revolutionary Bee Network bus... this is what it was like |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/up-330am-travel-first-revolutionary-27776553 |access-date=6 January 2024 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=24 September 2023}}

Wigan is on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and is epitomised by Wigan Pier.{{Citation |title=Nicholson's Waterways Guide, 3, North |pages=39–42 |year=1981 |publisher=Robert Nicholson publications |isbn=978-0-905522-48-7}} There is also a branch of the canal from Wigan to Leigh, with a connection to the Bridgewater Canal linking Wigan to Manchester.

{{Main|List of people from Wigan}}

{{portal|Greater Manchester}}

• Listed buildings in Wigan
• Coat of arms of Wigan
• Mayor of Wigan
• Earl of Crawford
• List of mills in Wigan
• Wigan (fabric)
• List of mining disasters in Lancashire

Notes

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

Bibliography

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{{Refend}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/historywigan00sincgoog |title=The History of Wigan (Volume 1) |publisher=Kent and Co. |year=1882}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category|Wigan}}

{{Wikivoyage|Wigan}}

• [http://www.wigan.gov.uk wigan.gov.uk], Wigan Council

{{Greater Manchester}}

{{Buildings and structures in Wigan Borough}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Towns in Greater Manchester

Category:Market towns in Greater Manchester

Category:Unparished areas in Greater Manchester

Category:Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester

Category:Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan