List of collieries in Lancashire since 1854

Last updated

The Lancashire Coalfield was one of the most prolific in England. The number of shafts sunk to gain coal number several thousand, for example, in 1958, Wigan undertook a survey of old shafts and located 500. In 1995 following several years of redevelopment across the Wigan Metropolitan Borough by the British Geological Survey (BGS), in association with the planning consultants Roger Tym & Partners, the list had grown to over 1000 with no real idea of the total. [1] Similar surveys in Bolton and Manchester have also produced long lists of undocumented shafts.

Contents

The proliferation of mines resulted from its accessibility at the start of the Industrial Revolution and the climate which was ideal for cotton mills. Coal fed the boilers of the cotton mill towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Darwen, Oldham and Rochdale as well as the Rossendale Valley. The first industrial revolution coal mines supplied coal locally and to Liverpool, along the River Mersey via the Sankey Canal. On the Manchester Coalfield, the early collieries were those of the Duke of Bridgewater in Worsley, where the Bridgewater Canal was built to transport coal from his mines to Manchester. [2]

Lancashire miners used terms in different ways to other coal mining areas. [3] A mine in Lancashire refers to a coal seam, so the Doe mine refers to the Doe seam. The term pit was used for the shaft sunk to the access the mine and the term colliery was used to describe the whole of the surface area including the headgear, wash-houses, offices, trams etc. An example is: Garswood Hall Colliery consisting of three pits: the number 9, the number 2 and the number 3 working the Ravin, Orrell Four Foot and Arley mines.

In 1880, the Mines Inspector reported 534 coal pits in the Lancashire field. In 1947 when the industry was nationalised, there were 108 collieries Parkside Colliery in Newton le Willows was the last pit to be sunk in Lancashire, production started in 1960 and was the last to close in 1993. [4]

The list has been compiled from the official reports of the Mines Inspector and lists of mines produced by National Coal Board and the Coal Authority.

The list gives the name of the pit which by convention did not usually use the word pit after it followed by the location and date of closure if known, e.g. Chadderton, Chadderton is the Chadderton Pit located in Chadderton.

Bolton area

Blackrod

Bolton

Farnworth and Kearsley

Harwood

Horwich and Rivington

Middle and Over Hulton

Darcy, Great and Little Lever

Ladyshore Colliery, 1968 Ladyshore Colliery 1968 Paul Hindle a.JPG
Ladyshore Colliery, 1968

Westhoughton

Bury, Bacup and Radcliffe

Bacup

Birtle

Bury

Radcliffe

Leigh area

Astley

Astley Green Colliery Museum Astley Green pit gates and headgear.jpg
Astley Green Colliery Museum

Atherton

Hindley

Leigh and Golborne

Parsonage Colliery, Leigh 1980 Parsonage Colliery 1980.jpg
Parsonage Colliery, Leigh 1980
Bickershaw Colliery 1990 Bickershaw Colliery, shortly before closure - geograph.org.uk - 82162.jpg
Bickershaw Colliery 1990

Tyldesley

Manchester and Salford

Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge

Little Hulton

Manchester

Pendlebury, Clifton and Pendleton

Worsley

Burnley area

Oldham area

Rochdale area

St Helens area

Wigan area

Aspull

Ashton in Makerfield

Billinge

Coppull

Haigh

Hindley, Abram and Platt Bridge



Ince in Makerfield

Pemberton

Standish and Shevington

Uphollhand and Orrell

Wigan

Winstanley


West Lancashire

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashton-in-Makerfield</span> Town in Greater Manchester, England

Ashton-in-Makerfield is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Wigan. As of the 2021 census, there was a population of 26,380.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Wigan</span> Borough of Greater Manchester, England

The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town, Wigan but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Leigh and Tyldesley. The borough also covers the villages and suburbs of Abram, Aspull, Astley, Bryn, Hindley Green, Lowton, Mosley Common, Orrell, Pemberton, Shevington, Standish, Winstanley and Worsley Mesnes. The borough is also the second-most populous district in Greater Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orrell, Greater Manchester</span> Human settlement in England

Orrell is a suburb of Wigan in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The population of the ward had fallen at the 2011 Census to 11,513. The area lies 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west of Wigan town centre. The area is contiguous with Pemberton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspull</span> Human settlement in England

Aspull is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, Aspull, along with Haigh, is surrounded by greenbelt and agricultural land, separated from Westhoughton, on its southeast side, by a brook running through Borsdane Wood. The ground rises from south to north, reaching 400 feet (122 m), and has views towards Winter Hill and the West Pennine Moors. It has a population of 4,977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ince-in-Makerfield</span> Human settlement in England

Ince-in-Makerfield or Ince is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the Ince ward at the 2011 census was 13,486, but a southern part of Ince was also listed under the Abram ward. Adding on this area brings the total in 2011 to 15,664.

Ince was a parliamentary constituency in England which elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Ince-in-Makerfield and other towns south of Wigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Bus and Coach Services</span>

Blue Bus was a large independent bus company serving Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Sheriff of Lancashire</span> Ancient English office, now largely ceremonial

The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient office, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lancashire is the representative of the monarch in the county, and is the "Keeper of The King's Peace" in the county, executing judgements of the High Court through an Under Sheriff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancashire Coalfield</span> Coal mining region in England

The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago.

The Wigan Coal and Iron Company was formed when collieries on the Lancashire Coalfield owned by John Lancaster were acquired by Lord Lindsay, the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, owner of the Haigh Colliery in 1865. The company owned collieries in Haigh, Aspull, Standish, Westhoughton, Blackrod, Westleigh and St Helens and large furnaces and iron-works near Wigan and the Manton Colliery in Nottinghamshire.

The North West Men's League is a rugby league competition for clubs in the North West of England. It is a successor league for the Rugby League Conference also comprising clubs from the North West Counties League following most of the latter switching to summer to follow the National Conference League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Lancashire</span>

South Lancashire is a geographical county area, used to indicate the southern part of the historic county of Lancashire, today without any administrative purpose. The county region has no exact boundaries but generally includes areas that form the West Derby Hundred and the Salford Hundred, both of which formed the South Lancashire parliament constituency from 1832. This constituency was further divided in 1868 forming the South East Lancashire and South West Lancashire constituencies. Today the area is still recognized by the government and organisations, including the National Health Service. South Lancashire includes the cities of Manchester and Liverpool.

There are a number of listed buildings in Greater Manchester, England. In the United Kingdom, the term "listed building" refers to a building or structure designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance. Details of all the listed buildings are contained in the National Heritage List for England. They are categorised in three grades: Grade I consists of buildings of outstanding architectural or historical interest, Grade II* includes significant buildings of more than local interest and Grade II consists of buildings of special architectural or historical interest. Buildings in England are listed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on recommendations provided by English Heritage, which also determines the grading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnley Coalfield</span> Coal mining region in England

The Burnley Coalfield is the most northerly portion of the Lancashire Coalfield. Surrounding Burnley, Nelson, Blackburn and Accrington, it is separated from the larger southern part by an area of Millstone Grit that forms the Rossendale anticline. Occupying a syncline, it stretches from Blackburn past Colne to the Yorkshire border where its eastern flank is the Pennine anticline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ince-in-Makerfield Town Hall</span> Judicial building in Ince-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England

Ince-in-Makerfield Town Hall, also known as Ince-in-Makerfield Council Offices, is a municipal building in Ince Green Lane, Ince-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England. The building is currently used as a children's nursery.

References

  1. Forster, A.; Lawrence, D.J.D.; Highley, D.E.; Cheney, C.S.; Arrick, A. (2004). "Applied geological mapping for planning and development: An example from Wigan, UK". Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology. 37 (4): 301–315. Bibcode:2004QJEGH..37..301F. doi:10.1144/1470-9236/03-053. S2CID   110127393.
  2. Rees, Henry (April 1947). "A Growth Map for the Manchester Region". Economic Geography. 23 (Vol 23 (2)): 136–142. doi:10.2307/141320. JSTOR   141320.{{cite journal}}: |issue= has extra text (help)
  3. Winstanley, Ian G (1989). Weep Mothers, Weep: The Wood Pit Explosion, Haydock, 1878. Landy. pp. 80 pages. ISBN   0-9507692-4-X.
  4. Parkside Colliery (1957-1993), Northern Mines Research Society, retrieved 26 August 2016
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 Inspector of Mines (1880). List of Mines in England and Wales.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 Dickenson, Joseph (1854). Report of HM Inspector of Mines.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 Gerrard, John (1896). Report of HM Inspector of Mines (North and East).
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Inspector of Mines (1908). List of Mines in England and Wales.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Inspector of Mines (1945). List of Mines in England and Wales.
  10. Harris, Peter (2013). Mining in Turton. Turton Local History Society. p. 14. ISBN   978-1-904974-36-9.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 Hall, Henry (1896). Report of HM Inspector of Mines (Liverpool District).
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 Inspector of Mines (1938). List of Mines in England and Wales.
  13. 1 2 3 4 National Coal Board (1980). List of Mines in England and Wales.
  14. The Coal Authority (1993). Guide to Coalfields.
  15. "History of Bold Colliery, St.Helens | History of Old Sutton in St.Helens | Sutton Beauty & Heritage". Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2011. Sutton History, Bold Colliery