The township covered 2,221 acres of mostly level ground. The underlying rocks contained strata of cannel and coal and many collieries were sunk, the early pits were 120 to 900 feet deep, and subsequently to 1,800 feet. Its coal pits included Moss, Ince Hall, Rose Bridge and Ince Collieries. Mining left a legacy of spoil heaps and flashes which were known as the Wigan Alps. Stone was also quarried and used to build bridges on the railway. Ince became heavily industrialised in the Industrial Revolution. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the North Union and Liverpool and Bury railways passed through the township and a cotton mill was built. Transport Ince is served by Ince railway station on the Manchester to Southport line, however to distinguish it from Ince & Elton in Cheshire, on destination boards it is displayed as Ince(Manchester) Ince was once criss-crossed by railway lines on the London and North Western Railway's Warrington to Wigan, Eccles to Wigan, Wigan to St Helens and Springs Branch to Haigh and Aspull lines, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's Bury to Liverpool line and the Great Central Railway line from Glazebrook to Wigan (on which Lower Ince station was located, between 1884 and 1964); as well as local colliery lines. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes through Higher Ince and 16 of the Wigan flight of locks are within the township. Industry Ince had a railway wagon works until 1980. First opened in the 1870s by Richard & John Olive it became the Ince Waggon & Iron Works Co. in July 1883. In January 1933 it came under control of the Central Wagon Company who owned it until closure. As the need for new build wagons diminished in the 1960s the company continued to repair wagons but also diversified to scrap redundant British Railways rolling stock (wagons and carriages) and steam locomotives. It is recorded that they cut up qty 315 BR steam locomotives from the mid to late 1960s. See also Listed buildings in Ince-in-Makerfield St Mary's Church, Lower Ince Rose Bridge Academy Makerfield List of mining disasters in Lancashire References Bibliography External links Towns in Greater Manchester Unparished areas in Greater Manchester Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan