THE grounds of a Wigan mansion are beginning to yield up their historic secrets.
Members of Wigan Archeological Society have been excited to discover traces not only the former cobbled route of Frog Lane from the 19th century, but also a much earlier cart track buried underneath.
Their excavations in the former parish church rectory, Wigan Hall, have also uncovered some kind of well.
And as there are records of there being a Wigan Rector at least as far back as 1199, they are also hoping to discover many other relics and remnants of the past - including a moat which is known to have surrounded a previous incarnation of the hall.
The building is in something of a state of limbo at present. The late Canon Malcolm Forest was the last Rector to live there and while it remains occupied now for security reasons, its future is uncertain after the neighbouring Deanery High recently dropped plans to turn it into a sixth form centre because the chance arose of a completely new campus under the Building Schools for the Future programme.
But this has given the archaeologists plenty of time to explore the hall’s extensive surroundings.
In centuries past the Rector was one of the area’s major landowners and an extremely influential figure. As lord of the manor his home was the focal point of the town and not only was the old rectory surrounded by a moat, but it also had a drawbridge and a jail.
Society secretary Bill Aldridge and his team don’t expect to find evidence of all these features but what has been discovered so far is most encouraging.
He said: “We have a map from 1849 which shows the route of Frog Lane before the present hall was built.
“In those days it was closer to the hall and you see it extending beyond the bottom of Hallgate but then ending in fields before you get to what is now New Market Street.
“We have found what looks like a well or water feature which may have been the drain from the old road. We think most of the cobbled sets from the old Frog Lane will have been taken up when it was re-routed at the time the present hall was built, but there are some well set stones next to the well which may be remnants of that road.
“Then we have been intrigued to discover what looks like a much older cart-track which probably followed a similar route to the old Frog Lane and may date back to the 18th century when they were starting to industrialise Standish Lower Ground and Douglas Bank Colliery.
“It is made of compacted grit; it’s well built and difficult to cut through.”
Bill said the work was far from over and the team had not given up on finding mediaeval relics.
Source: Wigan Today