The great town of Wigan is famous for many things: rugby league, Northern Soul, and of course, pies. But one higher brow mention Wigan has managed to capture is the 1936 novel by the inimitable George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier.
The Road to Wigan Pier begins: “The train bore me away, through the monstrous scenery of slag-heaps, chimneys, piled scrap-iron, foul canals, paths of cindery mud criss-crossed by the prints of clogs.” And this really sets the scene for what has become one of the most nuanced, realistic portrayals of working-class industrial life and poverty there has ever been.
Orwell’s famous book exposed the levels of poverty in which huge industrialised swathes of people in the north of the country were living in, to the unaware middle-class England. Coming up to the 90th anniversary of its publication, we’ve had a bit of a deep dive into The Road to Wigan Pier, with interests piqued for all things George Orwell.
What was Wigan like at the time George Orwell wrote The Road to Wigan Pier?
Like many industrial towns, Wigan was struggling in the 1930s. Pre-World War II, Wigan was on a comedown from the Industrial Revolution, which had led it to prosperity in the 150 years previously, with mills and factories closing and many working people being laid off. Poverty was rife, and with most men and boys working in the mines, severe illness and death were not uncommon; and otherwise, many were unemployed due to the closing down of the majority of mines, making general life pretty hard for most.
Of course, not everyone in the North was poor, in fact, out in the sticks you’d be able to find some of the richest people and estates around, but in the industrial mining towns like Wigan, Bolton and Bury, the picture was pretty grim – which is what Orwell picked up on.
What is the plot of The Road to Wigan Pier?
The Road To Wigan Pier is not fiction, nor is it a novel, but a series of very real accounts and political essays – a non-fiction collection, if you will. Orwell was commissioned to write the book for the Left Book Club, a publishing group that exerted a strong left-wing influence in Great Britain.
Where is Wigan Pier & can you visit it now?
The titular Wigan Pier does still exist, in a way, in the south west of Wigan town centre, where the Leeds and Liverpool Canal bows inward. As glamorous and tropical as it sounds, the original pier at Wigan was a coal loading staithe, probably a wooden jetty, where wagons from a nearby colliery were unloaded into waiting barges on the canal – a fittingly industrial landmark for Orwell’s account of poverty.
The original wooden pier is believed to have been demolished in 1929, with the iron from the tippler (a mechanism for tipping coal into the barges) being sold as scrap. Because of the more recent pride in the area’s heritage, a replica tippler has been erected – although several hundred metres from the original location. The former Wigan Terminus Warehouses were built in the eighteenth century and refurbished in the 1980s.
The main feature of the current Wigan Pier is Gibson’s Warehouse, which was built in 1777 and is now ‘The Orwell at Wigan Pier‘ – although the pub here closed in 2016. The area hasn’t been particularly redeveloped or used as of late, so you can visit, but you’ll just be having a look at the exterior of the buildings, rather than exploring the warehouses.
What else is George Orwell famous for?
Well… where do we start? George Orwell is perhaps best known for his ground-breaking, dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which was in fact only published in 1949, the year before he died of complications related to tuberculosis in 1950. The book was lauded for its political commentary, nuanced ideas about power dynamics in society, and was the most famous use of the everlasting concept of the panopticon, AKA ‘Big Brother’ surveillance.
Other Orwell works generally follow his interest in politics, poverty, and class, including:
- Animal Farm
- Homage to Catalonia
- Down and Out in Paris and London
- Politics and the English Language
- Keep the Aspidistra Flying
- A Clergyman’s Daughter
Where to visit in Wigan
Although Wigan has moved on significantly since George Orwell’s day, we still think it’s worth writing, singing, and shouting about. Recently named a ‘property hotspot‘ in Greater Manchester, Wigan is on the up and up. With plenty of pubs, clubs, and bars for a great night out that won’t leave you out of pocket, plus all the shops, cafes, and family activities you could want, Wigan is an underrated gem of the North West.
Why not pay a visit to Wigan’s Grand Central pub for a pint, tucked under the railway arches, or grab a famous pie from Galloways? What’s more, street food spot STACK is coming to the old Grand Arcade shopping centre, so you’ll be able to get your hands on a taste of pretty much any cuisine. If you’re looking to branch out from the town centre, treat yourself to a day out at Haigh Hall and Woodland Park, for a walk, an ice cream, and a mooch around the Georgian landmark.