 Celtic Round House* (Castell Henllys, Pembrokeshire) |
At the time of the Roman conquest (1st century AD) the Wigan area was occupied by a Celtic tribe known to the Romans as the Brigantes. Their extensive territory included southern Scotland and northern England.
The continued presence of Celtic place names in the area suggests a lingering Celtic population in the face of Anglo-Saxon incursion.
The town's original name was possibly "TrefWigan", consisting of two Celtic elements - "Tref" meaning homestead and "Wigan" which was possibly a personal name. The equivalent Anglo-Saxon would have been "Wiganton". For other possible explanations of the derivation of the name "Wigan" see Newsletter 15.
There are other Celtic place names in the Wigan area. These include "Bryn" meaning hill, "Makerfield" and "Ince" meaning water meadow or island. In addition, Pemberton and Shevington possibly contain initial Celtic elements - "penno" meaning hill and "cefn" meaning ridge.
In the 18th century evidence of a battle between the Celtic British and Saxons was thought to have been found in the area of Wigan Pier (for more details see Q and A - Ancient Battle Site).
*Picutre from Castell Henllys Web site http://castellhenllys.pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk
Article by Adrian Morris