| Description | The Wigan Gaslight Company was established in 1822 by Deed of Settlement and the works built on Chapel Lane alongside the railway and canal. A second company, the Wigan Gas Meter and Fitting Co was formed in 1855 and operated from the same Chapel Lane works. In 1861 an Act of Parliament incorporated the Wigan Gas Meter and Fitting Co as the Wigan Gas Co and the earlier Wigan Gaslight Co was dissolved and its assets transferred to the new company. The area of supply was defined as including Ince with Makerfield and Ashton-in-Makerfield and parts of Hindley (excluding those parts already supplied by the Hindley Gas, Coke, Meter and Fitting Co Ltd). The Chapel Lane works were extended several times and by 1880 had crossed the river Douglas which divided the works into two sections. In 1874 the undertaking was purchased by the Wigan Local Board and a series of Acts were passed to increase the capital and further improve the works. In 1949 the undertaking joined the South Lancashire Group of the NWGB. The main series in this collection is estate and property records. There are site plans, architectural drawings and technical drawings of plant. There are also two items relating to distribution. |