1338 Lady Mabel founds a chapel in Wigan Parish Church, Sir William is buried in it
1642 English civil war begins
1714 King George I succeeds to the throne
1727 King George II succeeds to the throne
1736 James Watt born in Greenock
1742 Douglas Navigation completed to Miry Lane Wigan
1748 Matthew Low's Pit opened
1750 Alexander Lindsay 6th Earl of Balcarres born
1756 Composer Mozart born in Austria
1760 King George III succeeds to the throne
1762 Earl of Bute becomes Prime Minister
1764 Hargreaves invents spinning jenny
1766 John Dalton (atomic theory) born in Eaglesfield Cumberland
1769 Matthew Low's Pit closed - James Watt patents condensing boiler to improve steam engines designed by Thomas Savery and Thomas Newcomen
1772 Alms Houses built off Hall Lane by Lady Dorothy Bradshaigh
1773 Boston Tea Party
1775 Matthew Boulton owner of SOHO Engineering works Birmingham succeeds John Roebuck as James Watt's partner
1780 Alexander Lindsay 6th Earl of Balcarres marries his cousin Elizabeth Bradshaigh Dalrymple
1781 Burscough to Tarleton branch of Leeds/Liverpool canal opened to replace lower Douglas Navigation
1783 William Pitt becomes Prime Minister - James Lindsay 7th Earl of Balcarres and 24th Earl of Crawford born
1783 Bellingham Lodge rebuilt and extended by Lady Dorothy Bradshaigh - Steam power introduced to cotton mills
1784 Liverpool to Wigan section of the Leeds/Liverpool canal opened (Douglas Navigation from Gathurst)
1785 Elizabeth Bradshaigh Dalrymple inherits Haigh estates from Lady Dorothy widow of Sir Roger Bradshaigh 4th Baronet
1788 Haigh Ironworks established at Leyland Mill by 6th Earl of Balcarres with partners, his brother Robert Lindsay and James Corbett
1788 Haigh Ironworks partners take over Brock Mill Forge - James Watt develops centrifugal or flyball governor to regulate speed of steam engines
1789 French revolution starts
1790 James Corbett dies (Haigh Ironworks partner)
1791 Composer Mozart died
1792 Composer Rossini born
1793 James Lindsay and Company set up to run Haigh Ironworks, Alexander Haliburton from Inverkeithing as manager
1798 Nelson's battle of the Nile - Lancaster canal completed Bark Hill to Chorley
1799 French revolution ends - Napoleonic Wars begin
1800 Winter of famine serious rioting in Wigan - Combination Laws passed banning unions
1801 Henry Addington Becomes Prime Minister - Nelson's battle of Copenhagen - Yard Coal Pit opens
1802 Alexander Lindsay 6th Earl of Balcarres moved his family to Haigh
1804 William Pitt becomes Prime Minister
1804 Robert Daglish appointed chief engineer at Haigh Foundry set up at Leyland Mill in some of the buildings turned over to steam engine and other types of machinery manufacture
1805 Nelson's battle of Trafalgar
1806 Lord Grenville becomes Prime Minister - Meadow Pit (cannel) closed
1807 Duke of Portland becomes Prime Minister
1808 Alexander Lindsay becomes 23rd Earl of Crawford
1809 Spencer Perceval becomes Prime Minister
1811 Lord Lindsay marries Hon Maria Margaret Frances Pennington (heir to Lord Muncaster)
1812 Lord Liverpool becomes Prime Minister - Serious rioting in Wigan
1812 Alexander William Crawford Lindsay 8th Earl of Balcarres and 25th Earl of Crawford born - Charles Dickens born
1815 Napoleonic Wars end - Brinks Pit opens
1816 Leeds/Liverpool canal completed using southern section of Lancaster canal
1818 James Joule born in Salford
1819 Serious rioting in Wigan - Lancaster canal reaches Kendal
1819 James Watt dies
1820 King George IV succeeds to the throne - James Lindsay becomes MP for Wigan
1824 Combination Laws banning unions repealed - Alexander Haliburton leaves Haigh Ironworks to become colliery proprietor
1825 Alexander Lindsay 6th Earl of Balcarres and 23rd Earl of Crawford died - James succeeds to title 7th Earl of Balcarres 24th Earl of Crawford
1826 James created Baron Wigan of the United Kingdom by George III
1827 George Canning becomes Prime Minister followed by Viscount Goderich - Building work started on present Haigh Hall
1828 Duke of Wellington becomes Prime Minister
1830 King William IV succeeds to the throne - Earl Grey becomes Prime Minister - Colliers Union formed - Godfrey Pits No 1 and 2 opened
1830 Morris Lane Pit opens - Moor Pit No 3 opens - Liverpool Manchester Railway opens
1831 Colliers Union strike for increased wages - Bradshaw Pits opened
1832 William Peace becomes Lord Crawford's chief mining agent - Wigan Branch Railway opens Parkside to Wigan
1834 Lord Melbourne becomes Prime Minister followed by Sir Robert Peel - Wigan Branch Railway becomes North Union Railway
1835 Lord Melbourne becomes Prime Minister - Haigh Foundry and Brock Mill Forge leased to Evans, Ryley, Burrows partnership
1837 Queen Victoria succeeds to the throne
1838 Wigan - Preston and Springs railway branches open, North Union Railway
1840 Bawkhouse Colliery begins operation
1840 Crawford Pits 1 & 2 (Moor Pits 1 & 2) sunk to Cannel Seam 88yds and King Seam at 100yds later No 1 deepened to Yard Seam at 186yds and No. 2 to Arley Seam at 318yds
1841 Sir Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister
1842 Disturbances involving 10000 Chartists
1844 John Dalton dies
1845 Kirkless Hall Coal & Cannel Co sink two shafts to Arley Seam at 286yds and one to Yard at 161yds - Irish Potato Famine starts
1846 Lord John Russell becomes Prime Minister
1847 James Ludovic Lindsay 9th Earl of Balcarres and 26th Earl of Crawford born
1847 Ralph Thicknesse MP president of Manchester Geological and Mining Society
1848 Kirkless Hall Co sink California Pit (Pennington Green) to Cannel - Moor Pit No 5 opened
1849 Ralph Thicknesse MP succeeded by James Heywood as president of Manchester G & M Society
1849 Building of present Haigh Hall completed
1850 Irish Potato Famine ends - 1850c Holland colliery opens Crawford village founded
1850 'Act for the inspection of Coal Mines ' becomes law - Hindley Deep Pit and California Pit opened
1851 Bridge Pit (downcast) and Dairy Pit (upcast) sunk to Arley Seam 130yds and 200yds respectively
1851 Meadow Pit re-opened and sunk to the Arley Seam at 315yds
1852 Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister followed by Earl of Aberdeen
1853 Lindsay Pits 1 and 2 sunk followed a little later by No 3
1853 Serious unrest in the coalfield Welsh and Irish blacklegs brought in to keep up production. Billeted at the Sawmills at New Springs and under the protection of troops from Manchester, they were often attacked by the mob and were taken to work at Moor Pits in covered wagons pulled by locomotive.
1853 Crimean War begins
1855 Lord Palmerston becomes Prime Minister
1856 Crimean War ends
1856 Haigh Foundry leased to Henry Birley, Robert Thompson partnership trading as Haigh Foundry Company, concentrating on mining machinery
1857 Wigan Mining College established - Ladies Lane Pit opens
1858 Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister
1859 Lord Palmerston becomes Prime Minister - Frederick Henry Birley joins Haigh Foundry Company partnership
1860 Bamfurlong Pits opened - California Pits deepened to Arley Seam
1860 William Peace dies aged 50 and is buried at Haigh church - Alfred Hewlett becomes Lord Crawford's chief mining agent
1860 Low Hall Pits opened - Railway opened between Lindsay Pits and Haigh Foundry and Brock Mill Forge
1861 American Civil War starts - Cotton Famine begins
1864 Sovereign Pit opened
1865 Lord John Russell becomes Prime Minister - American Civil War ends
1865 Cotton Famine ends - Hewlett Pits opened
1865 Wigan Coal and Iron Company formed, Alfred Hewlett becomes managing director
1866 Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister
1868 Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister followed by William Gladstone - Composer Rossini died
1869 James Lindsay 7th Earl of Balcarres and 24th Earl of Crawford died - Lancashire Union Railway opens Ince Moss - Haigh Jct for goods
1869 New line opened from Haigh Jct to Brock Mill Forge to replace the loss of the line from Lindsay Pit to Brock Mill, cut by the Lancashire Union Railway
1869 Fir Tree House Jct to Platt Bridge Jct rail connection opened - De Trafford Jct to Hindley L & Y coonection opened
1869 LU Rose Bridge and Round House Jcts to Kirkless Ironworks opened
1870 Bradshaw Pit closes - Charles Dickens died
1871 David Alexander Edward Lindsay 10th Earl of Balcarres and 27th Earl of Crawford born - Priestners Pits opened
1872 Aspull Pumping Pit opened - Whelley Station opens on the Lancashire Union Railway
1873 Royal Albert Edward Infirmary opened by Prince and Princess of Wales who stayed at Haigh Hall
1873 Alexandra Pit (named in honour of the Princess of Wales) sunk to Pemberton 4ft Seam
1874 Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister - James Ludovic elected MP for Wigan
1874 Woodshaw Pits sunk to work the Haigh Yard Seam
1875 Red Rock School built by Lord Crawford
1879 Earl of Crawford & Balcarres becomes president of Manchester G & M Society
1880 William Gladstone becomes Prime Minister
1880 Earl of Crawford & Balcarres succeeded as president of MGMS by Sir Hugh J Kay- Shuttleworth MP
1880 Alexander William Crawford Lindsay 8th Earl of Balcarres and 25th Earl of Crawford died at his house in Florence
1880 James Ludovic succeeds to title 9th Earl of Balcarres and 26th Earl of Crawford
1880c Brock Mill Forge converted to 'Blue Printers'
1882 LU Whelley Jct to Standish Jct opened
1883 LU Railways absorbed by LNWR
1884 Eatocks Pits opened
1885 Marquis of Salisbury becomes Prime Minister - Haigh Foundry Company ceases trading
1886 William Galdstone Becomes Prime Minister followed by Marquis of Salisbury
1886 Kirkless has 10 blast furnaces 5 - 80ft high, 5 - 65ft high, 670 beehive coke ovens
1887 Alexandra Pit deepened to Arley Seam - LNWR Amberswood East Jct to Standish Jct opened for passengers
1890 Steelworks opens with 5 open hearth furnaces
1891 Hindley Deep Pit and California Pits close
1892 William Gladstone becomes Prime Minister - Wigan Central station opens - Maskell William Peace becomes president of MGMS
1892 Middle Pit opens
1893 Maskell William Peace succeeded by William Scott at MGMS
1894 Earl of Rosebery becomes Prime Minister
1895 Marquis of Salisbury becomes Prime Minister - Maypole Colliery shaft sinking begins (Isiah Pigot)
1896 Holland colliery sold to White Moss Coal Co Ltd for £29,000
1898c Patchcroft and Gorses Pits close
1899 Boer War starts - Haigh Foundry premises taken over by JJ Petford Ltd manufacturers of bedsteads
1900 Robert Alexander Lindsay 11th Earl of Balcarres and 28th Earl of Crawford born
1901 King Edward VII succeeds to the throne
1901c Yard Coal, Brinks, Tuckers Hill Freezlands and Morris Lane Pits close
1902 Estates Office erected in Higher Lane at Haigh - Arthur Balfour becomes Prime Minister
1902 Replacement of coke ovens with 3 batteries of 44 Semet-Solvay type completed 1908 - Woodshaw Pit closes - Boer War ends
1905 Henry Campbell Bannerman becomes Prime Minister
1907 Ernest Rutherford (New Zealand) becomes professor of physics at Manchester University
1908 Herbert Asquith becomes Prime Minister - Coal Mines Regulation (8 hours) Act becomes law
1908 Maypole Colliery explosion 75 men lost 3 escape, flooded to put out fires - Ladies Lane Pit closes
1908 JJ Petford Ltd in liquidation, the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres takes over the whole Haigh Foundry premises at Leyland Mill, later leases them to a variety of small firms
1910 King George V succeeds to the throne
1911 Alexandra Colliery Pit head gear collapses in to shaft
1912 Coal Mines Minimum Wage Act becomes law (6/6d for a collier)
1913 James Ludovic Lindsay 9th Earl of Balcarres and 26th Earl of Crawford died - Record tonnage output for British mining achieved
1914 First World War begins
1916 David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister
1918 First World War ends
1919 Bawkhouse Colliery closes - Line between Haigh Jct and Brock Mill, Haigh Foundry and Leyland Mill Coal Yard dismantled
1919 Rutherford splits the atom at Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge
1921 Coal strike
1922 Andrew Bonar law becomes prime Minister
1923 Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister - Moor Pit No 5 closes - LNWR becomes LMSR
1924 James Ramsay Macdonald becomes Prime Minister followed by Stanley Baldwin - LMSR De Trafford Jct to Hindley for passengers opened
1925 Meadow and Sovereign Pits close
1926 Coal strike
1928 Crawford Pits close
1929 James Ramsay Macdonald becomes Prime Minister - Industrial depression starts
1930 Hewlett Pits close - Coal Mines Act to regulate prices becomes law
1930 Wigan Coal Corporation and Lancashire Steel Corporation formed from Wigan Coal and Iron Company, Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Company, Partington Steel and Iron Works Ltd, Moss Hall Coal Company Ltd, Wigan Junction Colliery Company Ltd, and Rylands Bros Ltd
1930 'Blue Printers' in liquidation - LMSR Round House Jct to Kirkless Iron works closes
1931 Lindsay 1 and 2 and Low Hall Pits close - Industrial depression ends
1931 Cross Tetley & Co go bankrupt, Bamfurlong and Mains Collieries aquired by Wigan Coal Corp.
1932 Middle Pit and Aspull Pumping Pit closes - Kirkless Workshops - New Springs stretch of Springs Branch railway line closed
1934 Priestners Pits close
1935 Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister
1936 King Edward VIII succeeds to the throne - King George VI succeeds to the throne - Bamfurlong and Eatock Collieries close
1937 Earl of Crawford & Balcarres becomes president of Manchester G & M Society - Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister
1937 Ernest Rutherford dies and is buried in Westminster Abbey
1938 Maypole Colliery shafts 1 and 2 deepened to Yard and Arley Seams - Rose Bridge Jct to Kirkless Hall Jct closes
1939 Earl of Crawford & Balcarres succeeded as president of MGMS by F S W Dobbs
1940 Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister - David Alexander Edward Lindsay 10th Earl of Balcarres and 27th Earl of Crawford died
1945 Clement Atlee becomes Prime Minister
1947 Haigh Hall and Plantations sold to Wigan Corporation
1951 Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister
1952 Queen Elizabeth II succeeds to the throne
1952 Whelley loop single tracked between Haigh Jct and Whelley Jct
1955 Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister
1957 Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister
1958 Belle Green Lane - Kirkless Hall Jct stretch of the Springs Branch railway line closed, Rose Bridge Jct - Kirkless Hall Jct reopened
1958 Central Wagon Works - Kirkless Hall Jct stretch of the Springs Branch railway line closed
1959 Maypole Colliery closes
1960 Mains Colliery closes
1964 Amberswood East Jct to De Trafford Jct to Standish Junction closed for seasonal passengers
1965 Kirkless Hall Jct - Kirkless Workshops stretch of the Springs Branch railway line closed
1967 Haigh Jct to Whelley Jct railway line closed
1969 Hindley to De Trafford Jct to Standish junction closed for regular passengers
1969 Ince Moss to Amberswood West, and Fir Tree House Jct to Platt Bridge Jct rail connections closed
1972 Hindley to De Trafford Jct to Standish junction closed for seasonal passengers and goods
1972 Amberswood West Junction to Standish Jct closed for goods
1973 Parkside - Wigan - Preston railway line electrified
1975 Robert Alexander Lindsay 11th Earl of Balcarres and 28th Earl of Crawford died
1975 Robert Alexander Lindsay 12th Earl of Balcarres and 29th Earl of Crawford succeeded to title
1979 Springs Branch Jct - Central WagonWorks and Ince Forge stretch of the Springs Branch railway line closed
