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Photo: Hindleyite, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Council-run museum depicts life in Wigan from the Roman settlement of Cocchium to its present status as an urban borough within Greater Manchester. Closed for refurbishment, reopening in Summer 2027.
The Museum of Wigan Life is a public museum and local history resource centre in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The nineteenth-century listed building is by the noted architect Alfred Waterhouse. It originally housed Wigan Library, where George Orwell researched his book The Road to Wigan Pier in 1936.
The famous pier is simply an old canal wharf, and the area has been redeveloped with apartments. Its centrepiece is the museum of Trencherfield Mill, which has a mighty steam engine restored to working order; but the museum is closed, probably throughout 2020. Even the pub "The Orwell" has closed.
"The Latics" were relegated in 2023 so they now play soccer in League One, England's third tier. Their home ground is DW Stadium (capacity 25,000), a mile west of town centre, which they share with Wigan Warriors RLFC. In 2022 this hosted games (along with Leigh Sports Village) in the Rugby League World Cup.