We celebrate the knowledge of a much-missed Wigan expert with a trip into our archives and the origins of local place names

David Heyes, who had the wonderful title of address management officer, was the go-to person for knowing about the origins of the borough’s streets and place names. Last year the dad of one, who had worked for the council for 20 years, received a peer award for services to Geoplace and its users. Colleagues say the 58-year-old, who died after a long illness, was a very knowledgeable man and will be much missed.

In tribute we at Wigan Today thought we might revive an article that has only appeared in print before – six years ago in the Wigan Observer – which involved a major contribution from Dave.

Here, with his family’s blessing, it is:

DRIVE around the borough or flick your way through the index of the Wigan A to Z atlas and local history will flash before your eyes.

Names fly by at such a rate and often with such familiarity that we often don’t give them a second thought.

But many of the monikers afforded our local streets and places have a story behind them, although some may forever be cloaked in mystery.

There is some debate about the origins of the word Wigan itself. Wikipedia says it can be dated to at least as far back as the seventh century and probably meant a “village” or “settlement.” But it has also been suggested that it has a Celtic pedigree and named after a person called Wigan.

As for the thousands of roads which criss-cross our borough, some have clearly just been dreamt up by council planners with little regard for local history.

And so in both Worsley Mesnes and Greenhills a random bunch of famous British authors was drawn on for inspiration, Lake District beauty spots loom large all over the place (Coniston, Windermere etc) and in Whelley/Scholes some town hall wag once thought it would be a good idea to have some fish-themed streets!

A former deputy chief executive of Wigan Council once confessed that he named the rather anonymous Stonehouse Road on the Martland Park industrial estate after nothing more Wigan-relevant than Stonehouse in Gloucestershire because that was where he lived when at university!

Other highways and by-ways are self-evident in their etymological origins, simply named after features they are now or were once near - such as Railway Street - or because they are the main routes to another place, for instance the manifold Warrington and Liverpool Roads. And there are few British towns that don’t have a High Street.

But what of the others? We can be pretty sure that some were named after local politicians, land-owners, industrialists or others who were deemed to have made significant and positive contributions to the area.

But betwixt and between your Hazel Groves and Highfield Roads, there are some very peculiar names indeed, each with a story to tell.

We went to David Heyes, Wigan Council’s address management officer, to see if we could find some answers to the less common street nomenclature involving planks, poles, frogs, druids and Vulcans to name but a few.

We gave him a selected number of street names and this is what he said:

“Firstly some background. Under the terms of the following legislation the Council and its predecessors have been responsible for allocating road names and property numbers: the 1847 Town Improvement Clauses Act; the 1907 Public Health Act and the 1981 Greater Manchester Act.

“While street names did exist prior to 1847 many street names will have been created following the 1847 legislation. In 1847 the responsibility for naming streets under was undertaken by the old urban district councils (UDC) predecessors of Wigan Council.

“I suspect that many of the UDCs named streets after local individuals, manufacturing works or associated products, geographical features or historical acts or use of the land. Regrettably no old UDC street naming documents remain so it’s very difficult to put an exact meaning on old street names.” Most of the following pre-date 1849.

Bag Lane, Atherton

There used to be a Bag Lane railway station. No large mills producing textiles or bags present in 1849. I can’t be sure but if I had to take a guess it probably has something to do with nail-making which was carried on in the townships surrounding Wigan from the 14th century and died out in the early 20th century in the face of competition from machine-made nails.

Flapper Fold Lane, Atherton

Again I cannot pinpoint its origins but if I had to take a guess it probably has something to do with the existence of an area of land shown on 1849 plans known as Flapper Fold (“fold” meaning a slight hill or hollow in the ground) so the lane leading to this area of land was called Flapper Fold Lane. Know idea where the name Flapper comes from though.

Frog Lane, Wigan

More guesswork but it could well have something to do that from 1872 Wigan had a workhouse on Frog Lane.

A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded local workhouses in operation in Wigan (for up to 200 inmates) Dalton (20), Pemberton (60), and Standish with Langtree (40).

Giants Hall Road, Standish Lower Ground

The old colliery there was named after the adjacent hall called Giants Hall which existed prior to 1849. The Hall, one of the oldest buildings in Wigan and dating back to 1675, is a Grade II star listed building now known as Giants Hall Farm Cottage. It might sound daft but given its age I’d guess the original owner was actually a very large man or the name could be derived from a Norman name following settlement after 1066.

Hadbutt Lane, Tyldesley

The Lane leads to Hadbutt Farm so it I’m guessing it was named after the farm. However I’ve no idea why the Farm was called Hadbutt Farm other than it could be of Norman, Anglo Saxon or servant of the manor origins.

Hag Fold, Leigh

Hag Fold is actually an area lying north of Atherton, which includes Hindsford to the southeast, Howe Bridge in the southwest, and Hag Fold in the north, is generally low lying. Atherton is built around seven brooks: the Shakerley Brook forms the western boundary with Tyldesley; Chanters Brook flows through the area known as “The Valley”; Knight’s Brook (Bag Lane); Colliers Brook; Small Brook is the boundary with Westleigh; Westhoughton Brook forms the boundary with Daisy Hill; and Red Waters Brook.

The term Hag appears in Middle English, and was a shortening of hægtesse, an Old English term for witch, similarly the Dutch heks and German Hexe are also shortenings, of the Middle Dutch haghetisse and Old High German hagzusa respectively. All these words derive from the Proto-Germanic hagatusjon- which is of unknown origin, however the first element may be related to the word “hedge” So my best guess is that the name derives from an area of land on a slight hill or hollow in the ground bounded by a hedge.

Hell Nook, Golborne

Another street name that existed prior to 1849. The origin of Old English “hel” and Old Norse “hel” is “kel” which means “to cover or conceal” Nook also means a secluded or sheltered place. Therefore I’m guessing that the origins of this name mean a concealed hidden low place.

Little London, Wigan

Absolutely no idea on this one! Little London was an area and street with housing off Standishgate can only guise that the design of the houses may have replicated those in London but on a small scale but just a pure guess!

Pickley Green, Leigh

Old maps show an area of land called Pickley Green and also Pickley Heys. Sorry another one that I’ve no idea on despite the link to my surname!

Plank Lane, Leigh

This is the road that leads out of Leigh to Bickershaw and the canal. I’m guessing that maybe the road was originally either part made up of timber or used planks to cross or flooded low lying boggy land?

Progress Street, Hindley

Interesting one. This street was originally named Brook Lane in 1849 I suspect because of the adjacent Borsdane Brook. However sometime later this street has been renamed to Progress Street to reflect the old Hindley UDC coat or crest of arms.

Spindle Hillock, Garswood

This street is just over the Wigan boundary and in St Helens. No idea of the origin of Spindle Hillock but if I had to take a guess it’s probably got something to do with the geography of the area being on a the crest of a hillside.

Vulcan Road, Marsh Green

Housing estate built in the late ’50s early ’60s with three other streets named Valiant Road, Viscount Road and Comet Road. Named after British made aeroplanes two being part of the three infamous V bombers operated by the RAF during the cold war.

“From investigations it seems that the majority of the names above predate 1847/49 and are named after existing properties or areas of land to which the roads lead to or from. So the question now is now why were these properties or areas of land be given those names.

“I suspect many of the names derive from old English or Norman meanings and could also relate to names of lords or barons of the manor.

“It is though very difficult to prove this without many hours of research.”

Names that stumped David completely were Bulteel Street, Pemberton; Druid Street, Ashton; Nel Pan Lane, Leigh; Pole Street, Standish; and Twist Lane, Leigh; Wooddagger Close, Hindley.

* We had already rooted about in our own newspaper archives and found the answers to a few more street name mysteries that had previously been answered:

Armoury Bank, Ashton

The place where Lord Gerard’s Hussars were based in the 19th century.

Bessie’s Well Place, Standish

Named after a farm of the same name which used to be near Grove Lane. Most farms used to have wells and it is thought this may have been named after a 17th-century farmer’s wife.

Copperas Lane, Haigh

Named after a by-product of iron and coal production.

Hardybutts, Scholes

Named after grass mounds created in the Middle Ages so that arrows from soldiers’ archery practice didn’t hit passers-by!

Kid Glove Road, Golborne

Named after a former colliery of the same name which in turn was named after the owner’s wife who, in the late 1800s, wore kid gloves, when she cut the first sod.

Organ Street, Hindley

A tribute to the Hindley organ-builders Pendlebury and Bullough.

Pepper Lane, Standish

There used to be a clay tobacco pipe makers of Preston Road in the 18th century.

Thought “pepper” could be a corruption of “piper.”