The business records are available to view at Wigan Archives.
Many local businesses are documented in these collections. Notably the papers of the Leigh cotton spinners J. and J. Hayes (DDY/Ha) dating from the early nineteenth century.
Walker brothers of Wigan were, for many years, leading manufacturers of mining machinery and general engineering products. Contract books and ledgers are held from the 1860s to the early years of the twentieth century (DDY/Pag).
The Wigan Coal and Iron Company, (DDY/WC) was formed in 1865 by the amalgamation of Lord Crawford’s collieries, with those of the Kirkless Hall and Standish companies. This became the Wigan Coal Corporation in 1930 following reorganisation, and remained thus until nationalisation.