When the building, where George Orwell once researched his landmark book the “Road to Wigan Pier”, opens in April it will be renamed the Museum of Wigan Life. Restoration work has been made possible following a £500,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and match funding from Wigan Council and Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, who manage the building and heritage services on behalf of the council.
Wigan food gives flavour of the past
If ‘thars fur klempt’ why not try a nice bit of ‘jannock’ to placate that rumbling tum!
Struggling to understand the Lancashire lingo?... then perhaps a trip to the new Museum of Wigan Life might be in order!
When the former History Shop on Library Street opens its doors on April 9 it will mark a new beginning for the town’s first public library and it will tell a very local tale.
From the Roman fort of Coccium to the English Civil War’s brutal battle of Wigan Lane; from the days when cheese production in Leigh commanded a high price in London to when Benedictine nuns fled the French Revolution to settle in Orrell; Wigan life, its people and its pride, will be on display for all to see.
And if the thought is already whetting your appetite there’s also a special section for food lovers… or should that be “jack-bit” lovers?
“Food and drink is often at the heart of community activities and celebrations” says exhibition and display officer Lisa Keys.
“For instance pasty eating was a custom known to take place in Wigan when the nights started drawing in. Local pubs would hire expert women cooks from the neighbourhood to make and bake chicken, pork or rabbit pasties.
“In each they put a good luck charm in the shape of a small doll and whoever found it had to buy the next round of drinks!”
For those unfamiliar with “Lanky Speak” here’s a few starters. Klempt means hungry, Jack-bit equals food, jannock is a type of oatcake, milk pobs were made with small pieces of bread, boiled with milk and served with jam and sugar while lobby was a dish made from Sunday lunch leftovers.
“Wigan’s culinary history is much more than just pies,” adds Lisa. “This section of the exhibition will celebrate the taste treats Wiganers have enjoyed over the centuries.”
History Shop
Historic food facts
- Wiganers are called “pie-eaters”. No one knows for sure where this comes from. Some say that it dates from 1926 when there was a general strike to provide better wages and working conditions for miners. The Wigan miners were forced back to work in order to survive. They were said to have eaten ‘humble-pie’.
- Jannock – was a type of oatcake said to have been eaten in Leigh more than any other part of Lancashire. A recipe for Jannock from 1900 is: 1lb (450g) coarse oatmeal, 6oz (175g) lard, 2 tablespoons water and a good pinch of salt.
- ‘His no’an jannock’ is Lancashire speak for ‘not satisfactory.’
- Lobby – was made from Sunday leftovers. It often included cold meat and onions and was eaten with thick bread. Although no one really knows why, a nickname often given to people from Leigh was ‘lobbygobblers’.
