History of Wigan   (Help with ancient and recent history.)

From Past Forward 55 p14-15

The Medieval Fields of Wigan

"Nowadays, few people passing Longshoot Health Centre in Wigan would be aware that the name 'Longshoot' is one of the last local reminders of a system of farming which was introduced at the time of the Viking invasions and lasted until the middle years of the nineteenth century. This was the open-field system, in which the arable land of a settlement consisted of a large number of strips, which were arranged in rectangular shaped groups known as 'furlongs', 'shots' or 'shoots'. The shoots could be of different lengths, so there were long shoots and short shoots. The shoots themselves were arranged in groups known as 'fields'. Each of these huge fields would have its own individual name."