Billinge was founded around 550 AD by an Angle tribe, the Varini, whose leading clan, the Billingas, gave the village and its first ruling family their names. Billinge retained its Anglo Saxon name and culture throughout the subsequent invasion and settlement by the Norsemen, 700 - 800. Around 1290, the Manor of Billinge divided into four. The ancient manor houses of Billinge, Birchley, Bispham and Winstanley are still standing. Billinge remained a comparatively isolated community for centuries, until the coal boom and the rise of Wigan and St Helens as industrial centres during the Industrial Revolution.
Stone was mined in Billinge as far back as the 11th century. The manor houses, churches, schools, farm buildings, pubs and houses were all built from locally quarried stone.
After the auction of the Winstanley Estate to meet death duties in 1951, Billinge Council allowed new housing estates to be built and many old stone buildings were abandoned, condemned or demolished…
Photo credit: Ian Bonnell Photography (full size).
Welcome to the Billinge History and Heritage Society Archives
This site contains about 1000 historic photos and 300 pages of written text to read for free. Happy Viewing.
Poetry Listen to poems by Billy Fagan spoken in Billinge dialect
History of Billinge video
You can download the written history and
read through it. Feel free to make additions, suggestions and corrections.
When you have looked through the site, feel free to contact us by
creating an issue.
Video clips of language samples
See more of our example videos showing the traditional language of Billingers (yes, it's English).
Our Nell's Jack
See the history sports picks to learn more about the Billinge champion skater remembered forever in this song.
Website created and maintained by F. Malina,
with help from Joe Taylor and volunteer contributors.
You can view and update the
website source code and images or
create an issue.