Wigan

Sister cities

• Angers

History

The name of the town has been recorded variously as in 1199, in 1240 and Wygan in numerous historical documents. The name Wigan is probably a Celtic place-name; it might be a diminutive form of Brittonic 'homestead, settlement" (later Welsh ), plus the nominal suffix -an (compare with numerous places in France named Le Vigan); the place name may refer to a Latin . It has also been suggested directly a Celtic personal name Wigan, a name corresponding to Gaulish , Old Welsh or Old Breton . Similar place-names to the English Wigan exist in France, such as Le Vigan, Gard (, Roman inscription; 1050) of unknown origin and Le Vigan, Lot, from Latin , derived form of 'town' + suffix , 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 in the 12th century or at Thaon (Calvados) and survives in the Norman surname Vigan (still in use in Calvados). There is very little evidence of prehistoric activity in the area, especially pre-Iron Age. 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. Possible derivations of Coccium include from the Latin coccum, meaning "scarlet in colour, scarlet cloth", or from cocus, meaning "cook". 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. In 2005, investigations ahead of the Grand Arcade development, and at the Joint Service Centre development in 2008, have proven that Wigan was a significant Roman site in the late first and second centuries AD. The excavated remains of ditches at Ship Yard off Millgate were consistent with use by the Roman…

Geography

Wigan lies to the west and north of Hindley and Ashton-in-Makerfield, and is about north-west of Manchester city centre, west of Bolton and 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. The town is part of the Manchester Larger Urban Zone.