[3] The building which now houses the Museum of Wigan Life was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and opened in 1878 as the town's first public library.

Dr Winnard's donation paid for the library's books, and portraits of the benefactors remain on display at the museum.

A Grade II listed building,[4][5] the architecture is largely in Elizabethan Revival style, embellished by some Gothic features such as its red brick arches.

[8] In 1990, due to an increasing need for space, the library was relocated to the New Town Hall, on site of Wigan Mining and Technical College.

The roof was re-tiled,[9] whilst the ground floor exhibition space was renovated to focus on aspects of Wigan life and culture.