A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



became a county borough, and in the following year 

 a rearrangement of the wards was authorized ; the 

 borough was divided into ten wards, each with one 

 alderman and three councillors, the membership of 

 the council being thus unchanged in number. 85 The 

 inclusion of Pemberton in 1904 has caused the in- 

 crease of the council to fifty-six members, chosen from 

 fourteen wards. 



The old town hall, rebuilt in 1720 at the expense 

 of the members for the borough, stood at the western 

 side of the market-place. It was pulled down and 

 rebuilt in the first half of last century. It stood on 

 pillars, the space underneath being subsequently filled 

 with shops. The moot-hall, a stone building in 

 Wallgate, with meeting-room above and shops below, 

 was demolished in 1869, and 'the new town hall' in 

 1882, the present town hall and borough courts 

 having been finished in 1867. Anew council cham- 

 ber was opened in 1890. The county police courts 

 date from 1888. The Fish-stones, which were at the 

 northern side of the market place, were removed in 

 1866. The new market hall was opened in 1877; 

 there is a separate fish market. The ancient cloth 

 hall was superseded by a commercial hall in the 

 market-place, erected in 1 8 1 6. 



The Public Libraries Act was adopted in 1876, 

 and two years later there was opened the new free 

 library building, presented to the town by Thomas 

 Taylor, who died in 1892. A Powell Boys' Reading- 

 room, presented by the member for the borough, was 

 added in 1895. A school board was created in 1872. 

 The mining college was founded in 1858 ; in 1903 

 the present mining and technical building was opened. 



The corporation have acquired or inaugurated a 

 number of works and institutions for the health and 

 convenience of the people. The first Wigan Water 

 Act was passed in 1764 ; the waterworks were pur- 

 chased by the corporation in 1855 ; the gasworks, 

 established in 1822, were acquired in 1875 ; and the 

 tramways, opened in 1880, in 1902. An electric- 

 power station was erected in 1 900, and the following 

 year the corporation electric tramways started run- 

 ning. The Mesnes Park was opened in 1878, the 

 sewerage works in 1881, public baths in 1882, and a 

 sanatorium in 1889. Victoria Hall was built in 

 1902. The cemetery was established in 1856. 



A dispensary was started in 1798, and a building 

 in King Street provided in 1801, now the Savings 



Bank. The Royal Albert Edward Infirmary was 

 opened by the King, then Prince of Wales, in 1873. 



A court of quarter-sessions was granted to the 

 borough in 1886. 



Impressions of the borough seal of the I5th century 

 are known. 86 The device upon it the moot-hall 

 is used as a coat of arms for the borough. 



As a borough Wigan sent two burgesses to the 

 Parliaments of 1295 and 1306, but not again until 

 1547. From this year the borough regularly returned 

 two members until 1885, except during the Common- 

 wealth, when owing to its royalist tendencies it was 

 disfranchised by Cromwell. 87 In the I7th century 

 the burgesses were of two classes in and out ; the 

 latter were principally neighbouring gentry, and do 

 not seem to have availed themselves to any great extent 

 of the privilege of voting. On the other hand a large 

 number of the townsmen made strenuous efforts to 

 obtain a vote, and in 1639 the mayor, bailiffs, and 

 burgesses prepared a memorial to Parliament on the 

 subject. This stated that they were ' an ancient cor- 

 poration by prescription, and that all such persons as 

 are or have been burgesses of that corporation have 

 always been received into that corporation by election 

 made by the burgesses for the time present of that 

 corporation, and have been afterwards sworn and en- 

 rolled as burgesses in the burgess roll,' and that from 

 time immemorial only such enrolled burgesses had 

 voted for the burgesses who served in the Parliament ; 

 but at the recent election, after the choice had been 

 made but apparently before a formal declaration 

 ' divers inferior persons, labourers, and handicrafts- 

 men, being free only to trade within the said town 

 and not enrolled burgesses,' demanded voices. The 

 mayor and bailiffs had replied asking them ' to make 

 it to appear that they or any others of their condition 

 had any time formerly any voices in election of the 

 burgesses for the Parliament ' ; they could not prove 

 anything of the sort, and so their votes were not 

 allowed ; but the mayor and bailiffs, at the instance of 

 the elected burgesses, judged it right to inform the 

 Parliament concerning the matter. 88 By the Redistri- 

 bution Act of 1885 Wigan was allowed but one 

 member instead of two as previously. 



A number of families come into prominence from 

 time to time in the records. One of the early ones 

 took a surname from Wigan itself, 89 another from 

 Scholes. 90 Other surnames were Jew, 91 Botling, 98 



88 The central ward is called All Saints; 

 to the north is Swinley ward, and to the 

 west of both St. Andrew's ward. The 

 small but populous district in the south 

 has three wards, Victoria and St. Thomas, 

 on the west and east, being divided by 

 Wallgate ; and Poolstock, to the south of 

 the Douglas. Scholes has four wards : 

 St. Qeorge and St. Patrick the inner- 

 most, divided by the street called Scholes ; 

 and Lindsay and St. Catherine outside, 

 divided by Whelley. 



88 Lanes, and Ches. Hist, and Cental. 

 Notes, iii, 100 ; an impression of it occurs 

 among the De Trafford deeds. 



87 Pink and Beaven, Parl. Rep. of Lanes. 

 217, where an account of the members 

 will be found. 



88 Sinclair, Wigan, i, 222. 



89 In 1292 in various suits appear 

 Quenilda widow of Nigel de Wigan, 

 Thurstan de Wigan, Henry son of Hugh 

 de Wigan, and others ; Assize R. 408, 

 m. 54 d, 97, &c. 



About 1 290 Roger son of Orm de Wigan 

 was defendant ; De Banco R. 167, m. 

 8d. In 1307 Maud widow of Adam son 

 of Orm de Wigan claimed dower in Wigan 

 lands from Adam son of Roger son of 

 Orm; De Banco R. 162, m. 258 d.; 

 Assize R. 421, m. 4. Lands of Richard 

 son of Adam son of Orm are mentioned 

 in 1310; Crosse D. (Trans. Hist. Soc.), 

 no. 19. 



Margery widow of Roger de Wigan 

 (son of William son of Hugh de Wigan) 

 in 1331 claimed certain lands as her 

 inheritance. A deed granting portion of 

 them to her brother John atte Cross was 

 produced, but she denied it to be hers ; 

 De Banco R. 287, m. 106. 



90 In 1291 and 1292 Richardson of 

 Adam de Scholes claimed various tene- 

 ments in Wigan ; his legitimacy was 

 denied, but he appears to have recovered 

 possession ; Assize R. 407, m. i ; 408, 

 m. 3. 



91 Alice widow of Thomas the Jew, 



74 



and Alice wife of Robert the Jew, occur 

 in local suits in 1350 ; Assize R. 1444, 

 m. 4, 7. 



Robert son of Richard de Ince in 1352 

 granted land in the Scholes, adjoining 

 John de Longshaw's land, to Hugh son 

 of Henry the Jew ; Towneley MS. GG, 

 no. 2618. 



In 1383 William de Whittington re- 

 leased to William the Jew, chaplain, his 

 claim to the land called Jewsneld near 

 Whelley Cross; Add. MS. 32106, no. 

 1351. William the Jew was a trustee in 

 1417; Crosse D. (Trans. Hist. Sot.), no. 

 126. 



92 William Botling was a burgess about 

 1 300. Richard Botling made a feoffment 

 of his estate in 1333 ; Crosse D. no. 6, 

 44. 



John son of William Botling of Wigan 

 claimed three messuages, &c., from 

 Richard Botling and others in 1344 ; 

 Assize R. 1435, m. 45 d. 



