Born in Wiltshire, William Arthur Wickham was ordained in 1873 and given charge of a church in a Staffordshire mining village. His affinity with mining community life resulted in him being offered ministership of St Andrews Parish Church, Wigan in 1878.

Close by his new vicarage was Douglas Bank Colliery and, due to the colliery manager being a member of his congregation, he very soon obtained access to the pit in order to make a photographic record of the miners and the conditions in which they worked.

At this time, few photographers had attempted to portray life underground and because of this fact, the Wickham archives (totalling over 1000 prints and negatives) are considered to be of national importance.

Douglas Bank Colliery was finally closed in the 1930s.