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Wigan Pier |
Wigan Pier is the name given today to the area around the canal at the bottom of the Wigan flight of locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
The original "pier" at Wigan was a coal loading staithe, probably a wooden jetty, where wagons from a nearby colliery were unloaded into barges. The name was brought to popular attention by George Formby Senior in the Music Halls of the early twentieth century. It was given more serous acclaim with the publication in 1937 of George Orwell's book "The Road to Wigan Pier".
The original wooden pier is believed to have been demolished in 1929, with the iron from the tippler being sold as scrap. Because of the more recent pride in the area's heritage, a replica tippler has been erected at the original location (see below).
In the 1980s, the canal warehouses were restored and put into use as a museum, exhibition hall and pub. The nearby Trencherfield Mill was incorporated into the "Wigan Pier Experience", with a waterbus linking it to the main site.
The area is set to undergo a further transformation with the development of a cultural "Wigan Pier Quarter" which will include a performance centre and retail outlets.
"The Orwell" at Wigan Pier, formerly Gibson's warehouse, originally built in 1777, re-built in 1984.
"The Orwell" on the left, the Terminal Warehouse ahead with the canal to Leeds and Manchester through Pottery Bridge on the right.
Looking in the other direction from the Terminal Warehouse, with Pottery Bridge on the left.
The warehouse on the right houses "The Way We Were" - part of the Wigan Pier Experience.
On the opposite side, just past the warehouse, can be seen a replica of the original coal tippler that was on "Wigan Pier". It consists of two curved rails and was end of a tramway from a colliery. The wagons would be brought right to the edge of the canal to be tippled so that their contents went straight into the waiting barges.
Click for information about Wigan Pier or telephone 01942 323666.
Looking back from Wigan Pier to Pottery Bridge and Trencherfield Mill.
Looking west towards Wigan Pier. A water bus leaves Trencherfield Mill heading for Pottery Bridge and Wigan Pier in the distance. Trencherfield Mill houses the world's largest original working steam engine.
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