SM 46 – Mar 15

The area of Wigan around Mesnes Park is traditionally known as The Mesnes, after the old manorial demesne land.   It was purchased for the Wigan Corporation for £2,000 by the then Mayor, Nathaniel Eckersley, a local mill owner, under the Wigan Rectory Glebe Act of 1871, with provisions for a public park and a Grammar School in the southwest corner.   The total area of the land was approximately thirty acres, and responsibility for its development was delegated to a sub-committee of the Council. Continue reading “1878 – Mesnes Park, Wigan, Lancashire” →