An early industry in the town was the manufacture of nails, which was continued by nut and bolt manufacturing in the 19th century.
Power-loom weaving eventually came to Atherton and, in the middle of the century, coalmining. The name associated with both these industries is Fletcher, owners of Atherton Collieries. They built a model estate for their workers at Howe Bridge, which has now been designated a conservation area.
One of the biggest ever pit disasters happened just outside Atherton on 21st December, 1910, when there was an explosion of fire damp in the Pretoria Pit. Three hundred and thirty three men were killed, of whom 28 came from Atherton.
In 1999, Wigan Council won government regeneration funding for Atherton, and the resulting Atherton Building Communities project has revitalised the shopping centre, local mills and the nearby Hag Fold housing estate.
This page provides up to date crime and demographic statistics for the Atherton Ward area. All statistics have been taken from the 2001 Census. Full census breakdown can be found by visiting the national statistics website (external link).
Demographics
The demographic make up of an area can influence how much crime is experienced within that area. The more densely populated an area is the more likely it is to experience higher levels of Crime and disorder. The Atherton Ward includes the areas of: Atherton, Hagfold and Hindsford. The ward has an overall population of 13,735 spread across 5,864 Households, giving an average of 2.3 people per household.
Deprivation
The level of deprivation is measured by various factors such as levels of unemployment, health and education. Research suggests that the level of deprivation in an area is strongly linked to the level of crime. Super Output Areas (SOAs) are nationally defined boundaries which were constructed to compare statistics on a small scale. They have an average of 1500 residents in each SOA, there are 200 SOAs in the Wigan Borough. There are 9 lower level super output areas (SOA) within the Atherton ward, 4 score in the bottom 10% of SOAs for deprivation nationally. Further indicators of deprivation there are 342 households in the Atherton ward without Central Heating, and 2078 Households without access to a car.
Look for more information about Health and Employment statistics
Education
Improving Educational achievement and attendance is key to helping Wigan reduce levels of offending among our youth population. Find out how children are performing in your ward
