Wigan
Orwell's 'Road to Wigan Pier' (1937) documented coal mining poverty. 1,000+ pits at peak; last closed 1992. Now services and logistics. The 'pier' was a coal jetty—now a heritage site.
Wigan became famous for a pier that doesn't exist—or rather, for George Orwell's 1937 book about working-class life in northern England. The Road to Wigan Pier documented poverty in the coalfields and cotton mills; the 'pier' was a local joke about a coal-loading jetty on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
The joke obscured a serious industrial history. Coal mining dominated Wigan for centuries; at peak, over 1,000 pits operated in the surrounding coalfield. Cotton mills employed thousands more. The town was a crucible of the Industrial Revolution—and of its human costs. Orwell described conditions in the mines: 'Most of the work is done in a space you can't stand upright in, stooping down to a height you would imagine only a child could work in.'
The industries collapsed in sequence. Cotton faded after World War II; coal mining ended with the national pit closures of the 1980s and early 1990s. The last deep mine closed in 1992. Today, Wigan Pier itself is a heritage site—the coal staithes converted into museums and bars.
Wigan's modern economy relies on services, retail, and the logistics sector. The town sits on major motorway routes between Manchester and Liverpool. Healthcare and education are now the largest employers.
By 2026, Wigan offers a case study in post-industrial identity: can a town famous for suffering become known for something else?