Photo-a-Day  (Wednesday, 8th February, 2023)

It has got to be the houses were first.
Nobody in their wright mind would build a house in front of that dreadful mill.

The canal was built between1770 and1816 and the mill was only built in 1907. So I think the cottages served some form of function tied in with the canal before the mill was built.

The houses have been well maintained even if they were built first. Just shows what can be done with old houses.

Only because I have read what has been put in the first comments, I would say the houses came first; I wouldn't have realised that but for Alan and PeterP's comments but they make sense. I think the houses are lovely, whatever their setting. Good photo, Dennis.

There was a Trencherfield Mill on this location in the 1840s and possibly earlier, prior to the present mill building.
The cottages are Grade II listed, and the listing describes them as mid to late 19th century, so they certainly outdate the present mill building, but there's every chance the original Trencherfield mill predated them.

If that stretch of canal is the one that goes up towards Top Lock, it was opened in 1816.
Trencherfield Mill opened 1907!

As Peter says, residents of canal side cottages were usually employed by the canal company as lock keepers, weighbridge operators etc, so i imagine the residents of these would have had similar jobs on the canal.

Alan, that dreadful mill as you say gave good employment over many years for many Wiganers, is a listed building and quite famous too on a TV drama series.
Your right PeterP, they're what were British Waterways cottages, they are next to what was the canal offices and chandlers.

I'd imagine too that they would be a delivery drivers nightmare to find and deliver.

Prior to what became British Waterways offices I worked in them in the late 60s when employed by Swift Homes. The offices overlooked these houses on the other side of the canal and I have never seen rats as big as the ones seen regularly on the canal towpath immediately in front of these houses.

Wi don’t go fer breedin’ scrawny rats in Wiggin tha nose Derek.
If tha gooint have a rat tha met us weel have a gradley un.

Well, those definitely weren't scrawny, that's for sure DTease. Not heard that expression 'gradley' for the best part of some time, as they used to say.

Right on DTease, reminds me of the tale about the bin man when collecting the bin at a big house up Wigan Lane. The householder came out and asked if she could put something in the bin before it went, and the bin man for something to say, said to her, "I'll bet the rates here will be big," she replied, "oh they are, you know only this morning one was scurrying across the back lawn and at first glance I thought it was a young cat."

That was supposedly to be true.

Nothing less than Roland Rat for us Wiganers, DTease! Like Derek, I love the word "gradely" too!

I put an answer to "yon gradely rat", DTease, but it doesn't seem to have been added.