The local government records are available to view at Wigan Archives.
Wigan
Charters of 1314, 1662, 1685, 1832, 1836, 1974
Although most of Wigan’s official records were destroyed in the Civil War, the surviving borough records for the 17th and 18th century are very rich. These include burgess lists and the files of the Court Leet, 1626 - 1834, and the Borough Sessions, 1733 - 1971.
Leigh
Leigh town was divided between the separate townships of Bedford, Pennington and Westleigh until Leigh Local Board was formed in 1875. Leigh received its royal charter and became a Municipal Borough in 1899, which it remained until local government reorganisation in 1974 when it became part of the Wigan Metropolitan Borough. Archives of the former townships, Leigh Urban District Council (from 1894), Leigh Municipal Borough and Wigan Metropolitan Borough can be consulted in the archive.
Other areas
Archives of other townships, poor law records from the late 17th century, archives of the Local Boards and their successors, the Urban and Rural District Councils. These cover the following areas: Abram, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Aspull, Astley, Atherton, Billinge-and-Winstanley, Golborne, Haigh, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Pemberton, Shevington, Standish-with-Langtree and Tyldesley.