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

Hi again Winder. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. One reason i was looking for pit information was from the genealogy side of things. ie my gt gt grandfather downwards for 3 generations were miners in this area - it's one area of the family research I haven't started on yet.
The other reason was to do with buying houses. We looked at a property at the bottom end of Cranleigh overlooking a pond which we were told was linked to the mining in the area. I was just wondering what were the 'pitfalls', if you'll pardon the pun, of buying property in the area. I am originally from Pem, so I know more about that area, but returning to my roots(ish) 35 years after moving away from the North West. Not decided on any area in particular at the moment. Centering our search within a 25 miles radius around Preston.