Wigan North Western Station celebrates town’s rich heritage with unique mural

• Avanti West Coast welcomes community art mural at Wigan North Western station
• Local artist designs colourful mural that captures spirit of Greater Manchester town
• Bespoke artwork celebrates history, people, and places of Wigan

A bespoke mural celebrating the heritage of the local area has been unveiled at Wigan North Western station.  

The large-scale artwork is a special representation of the town and has been created by a local artist as part of a project by South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership.

Funded through Avanti West Coast’s Station Community Fund, the mural project aimed to transform the station’s underpass with a memorable feature – providing a welcoming gateway for everyone travelling to or from Wigan North Western by train.

Featuring words and phrases from the Wiganese dialect – a key characteristic of the town’s warm and spirited community – the artwork is decorated with a part of Wigan’s heritage or reflects those who have contributed to the artwork.

The A-to-Z mural design gives a vibrant introduction to Wigan – from the local delicacy (Wigan Kebab), and the town’s landmarks, as well as the local language Wiganers use in everyday conversations. It also offers the community an opportunity to rediscover their heritage.

Words and phrases were nominated by the community through workshops supported by organisations, including Wigan Youth Zone; social media; and purpose-made post-boxes hosted by independent businesses.

Lettering artist, Jess Riley, then used these as the basis of the artwork to capture the culture, personality, and rich industrial and social heritage of Wigan. QR codes displayed on the mural offer more information about the words, phrases and people behind the artwork once scanned.

Kerry Riley, Customer Experience Manager at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re proud to have played our part in the mural project and join local people to celebrate Wigan, as we want to champion the places and communities we serve.

“This unique artwork captures the vibrant, friendly spirit of the community – providing a warm welcome to people travelling to or from Wigan North Western by train. We’re sure it will bring a smile to the faces of our customers, local community and the Avanti West Coast team for many years to come.”

Dr Steph Dermott, Community Rail Development Officer at Wigan Community Rail, said: “It has been an amazing process to project manage and watch this mural come to life over the past few months. We hope it will give the local community great pride in their language and culture and give railway travellers a real taste of Wiganese!” 

Speaking about her involvement in the art mural, Jess Riley, said: “Through this mural project with South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership, we’re celebrating the unique Wigan dialect, known as ‘Wiganese’, and the iconic elements of our town. It has been great to work with the community to discover their favourite Wigan words, as well as other things that people love about the town, such as local landmarks of past and present, and combine these ideas in the mural itself.” 

For more information about the community art mural, visit: https://www.southeastlancscrp.org.uk/wigan-north-western-mural/

ENDS