More #Wigan facts

being the home to the worlds first coal mine

Wigan was once considered a venue for the Olympic games.

Famous Wigan food products include Heinz baked beans, Pataks Indian foods, Potters herbal remedies, Uncle Joe's Mint Balls, and De Roma ice cream.

Wigan was a key battle ground during the Civil War in the 17th century, and Cromwell's troops passed through the town twice. The town stayed loyal to the king, and was later rewarded with a ceremonial sword. Until local government reorganisation its motto was 'Ancient and Loyal'.

Chirpy songsters The Verve come from Wigan as well as moody shoe gazing indy star George Formby.

Wigan boasts the most false teeth per capita in Northern Europe.

There are some literary links with George Orwell apparently.

Wigan is twinned with the French city of Angers, in the Loire Valley. The two councils exchange 'ambassadresses' every year.

Wigan Metropolitan Borough is the 9th largest Metropolitan district in the country covering 77 square miles. In population terms the Borough is the 12th biggest in the country at around 310,000. Wigan itself has around 90,000 residents.

The first Jam Sandwich was invented in Wigan by the Earl of Jamsandwich during a marathon gambling session.

Wigan is the most westerly borough in the county of Greater Manchester, lying halfway between Liverpool and Manchester - although most residents still think of themselves as Lancastrians.

Haigh Hall is the ancestral home of the Lindsay family, Earls of Crawford and Balcarres. The present hall was built between 1827 and 1840.

Haigh woodlands were laid out in the 1860s, giving work to unemployed Wiganers during the cotton famine caused by the American civil war. In 1947 the hall and its grounds were bought by the then Wigan Corporation and it is now run by Wigan Council's leisure services department.

Wigan has one of the country's most famous swimming clubs - the Wigan Wasps - responsible for training scores of top swimmers, like former Olympic medallist June Croft.

Finally.. what's the link between an old-style red telephone box and Wigan's war memorial in the grounds of the Parish Church? The answer is that they were both designed by the same architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (who was also responsible for Liverpool Cathedral).

Posted By: Tombs, Apr 12, 19:27:45