Memorial service to be held at church to honour Wigan coal miners and Jamaican slaves

Ripton Lindsay is the four-times great-grandson of Alexander Lindsay, the 6th Earl of Balcarres and 23rd Earl of Crawford, who lived at Haigh Hall.

He learned about his family’s story when he was growing up in Jamaica and went on an extraordinary quest to uncover the past of his ancestors.

What he learned connected the borough and its much-loved grade-II listed landmark to the darker stories of Jamaica under the rule of the British Empire and a key site of slavery.

Now, Ripton will honour the past by holding a communal and memorial service at Wigan Parish Church, where the Earl of Balcarres was buried in the Crawford chapel.

It will start at 9.30am on Sunday and will be led by the Reverend Roland Harvey, with Ripton giving a speech.

He said: “The communal and memorial is in respect and acknowledgement to my ancestors, the slaves in Jamaica that were owned by my ancestors, the people in Wigan that laboured for the Crawford families at Haigh Hall, the coal miners who laboured in the mines and to all the above and their families along with the community of Wigan.

"I see this as a moment for truth, reconciliation, healing and moving towards a better society for our future generations and therefore, the service is open to all.

The Earl of Balcarres married Elizabeth Bradshaigh Dalrymple, who had inherited the Haigh Hall estate, and invested heavily in Wigan’s coal mining and engineering works, including founding Haigh Ironworks.

However, at the end of the 18th Century he was also governor of Jamaica, playing a leading role in the Second Maroon War, which lasted eight months and had a deep impact on the island. His time in the Caribbean also helped him amass his great fortune.

The present Haigh Hall building was constructed between 1827 and 1840 for his son James Lindsay, the 7th Earl of Balcarres, to replace an ancient manor house and remained the Lindsay family home until 1947 when it was sold to what is now Wigan Council.