Ince today is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, but was a separate township in its own right in the past. It had not one, but three Manor Houses, none of which remain standing today.

One of them was in Warrington Road and belonged to the Gerrard Family of Ince, while another was the home of the Ince Family, who gave their name to the district. The Ince line died out when Frances Sobieski, (Daughter of Christopher Ince) married William Anderton of Euxton. After this union the Andertons take on the name Ince Anderton and live for a time at Ince Hall.

Both the Andertons of Euxton and the Inces were old Catholic and loyalist families who had suffered during the English Civil Wars. The Ince Andertons were responsible for the building of the first Catholic chapel in Ince in 1760. It was built just before the law allowing the construction of catholic chapels was passed that same year and was a rather austere, house-like building as the law still did not permit outward signs of a religious nature on the catholic chapels.

This chapel was in fact the first place of worship to be built of any denomination in the township of Ince. The chapel was closed, however, in 1818 when the Anderton family fixed their residence again at Euxton Hall. The catholic polulation of Ince then had to go to the churches of Wigan, Hindley or Ashton, depending on which was nearest to them until 1873 when a school was used for Catholic Mass.

A modest Catholic church in Ince was built in 1880 and the present Church of St. William dates from 1911.

Ince grew in population during the Industrial Revolution as it was in the heart of the Wigan coalfield. Mining was the main occupation throughout this period. On the 1881 census, my own branch of Andertons are living at 192, Belle Green Lane, Ince and one of the brothers is a Coal Merchant.

Belle Green Lane, Ince

Anderton

There are 52 people named Anderton living in Ince in 1881:

Other database entries for Ince: