Wigan Museum gets £249k National Lottery funding

Wigan Museum has secured £249,000 to deliver an ambitious new vision for its main gallery and learning space.

Funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will create a new project “Our Northern Soul: A New Vision for Wigan Museum” which will transform the ground floor of the Library Street building.

It will refresh existing exhibition displays, create new interactive content and flexible activity zones, and see the adjourning learning space, known as the Discovery room, revamped.

Councillor Chris Ready, cabinet member for communities and neighbourhoods, said: “It is fantastic we have been able to secure this funding from the Heritage Fund which will help reinvigorate the museum and take it in a new direction.

“Wigan Museum is a celebration of Wigan’s cultural, social and industrial past, present and future.

“Our Northern Soul project will bring together countless stories and collections that celebrate the great and the everyday in Wigan.”

Plans include a more welcoming entrance to the museum, creating a new activity zone within the gallery which will house the reception, and creating a retail and flexible space for film shows, programmes, and school and community sessions.

The new approach will see the display areas themed by Wigan personality traits – each featuring stories and objects linked to Wigan’s rich heritage.

Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We’re thrilled to support Wigan Museum in their aim to improve the visitor experience through the revitalisation of the building’s ground floor, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players.

“It’s great news that the transformation of the spaces will allow the museum to share the fascinating heritage of the town in a way that resonates with everyone.”

Co-developed in consultation with community partners throughout the borough, including Wigan Council’s Youth Cabinet, Wigan Youth Zone, Thrive CIC, Brian Boru Irish Club, Happy Smiles, RNIB, For Tyldesley and Wigan Local History & Heritage Society and more, the personality traits aim to explain what it is like to be a Wiganer.

Ben Whittaker, Business Manager for Culture, Arts and Heritage at Wigan Council, said: “The museum’s new displays will explore and celebrate the histories of our whole borough, from Aspull to Atherton, Haigh to Higher Fold, and Wigan to Leigh.

“Through Wigan personality traits such as ‘rebellious’, ‘passionate’ or industrious’, we can explore stories and collections in exciting and fresh new ways. For example under the ‘rebellious’ theme we could feature stories as diverse as the miner’s strikes, Wigan’s punk scene and the Diggers Movement.”

New artworks, co-created with communities and local residents, will form part of the new content. A new curved projection dome will also feature in the activity area, to enable opportunities for digital, socially-engaged artistic commissions.

Wigan Museum’s current exhibition, Wigan’s Voice will remain open until Saturday 25July. The main gallery will close to develop “Our Northern Soul” which is expected to open early summer of 2027. Wigan Local Studies will remain open for much of the period when the main gallery is being redeveloped.

During the gallery closure period, consultations will open for residents to get involved in the project, with an opportunity to help develop the exhibition and gallery design including shaping the Wigan character traits.

Museum staff will also be going out into the community to hold drop-in workshops, visiting venues across the borough to collect objects, photos, stories and memories linked to key themes in the project. More information will be released about this soon.

Entry to Wigan Museum, housed in Wigan’s first public library on Library Street, is free.

For more information and opening times, visit the Wigan Museum webpages.

To find out more about The National Lottery Heritage Fund visit the Heritage Fund website (external link).