List of collieries in Lancashire since 1854 explained

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.

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 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.

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

Westhoughton

Bury, Bacup and Radcliffe

Bacup

Birtle

Bury

Radcliffe

Leigh area

Astley

Atherton

Hindley

Leigh and Golborne

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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Applied geological mapping for planning and development: An example from Wigan, UK. 10.1144/1470-9236/03-053. 2004. Forster. A.. Lawrence. D.J.D.. Highley. D.E.. Cheney. C.S.. Arrick. A.. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology. 37. 4. 301–315. 2004QJEGH..37..301F . 110127393.
  2. Rees. Henry. A Growth Map for the Manchester Region. Economic Geography. 23. 2. 136–142. April 1947. 10.2307/141320. 141320.
  3. Book: Winstanley, Ian G . Weep Mothers, Weep: The Wood Pit Explosion, Haydock, 1878 . 1989 . Landy . 80 pages . 0-9507692-4-X.
  4. Book: Inspector of Mines . List of Mines in England and Wales . 1880.
  5. Book: Dickenson, Joseph. Report of HM Inspector of Mines . 1854.
  6. Book: Inspector of Mines . List of Mines in England and Wales . 1945.
  7. Book: Harris, Peter . 2013 . Mining in Turton . . 14 . 978-1-904974-36-9 .
  8. Book: Inspector of Mines . List of Mines in England and Wales . 1908.
  9. Book: Gerrard, John . Report of HM Inspector of Mines (North and East). 1896.
  10. Book: Inspector of Mines . List of Mines in England and Wales . 1938.
  11. Book: Hall, Henry . Report of HM Inspector of Mines (Liverpool District) . 1896.
  12. Book: National Coal Board . List of Mines in England and Wales . 1980.
  13. Book: The Coal Authority . Guide to Coalfields . 1993.
  14. Web site: History of Bold Colliery, St.Helens | History of Old Sutton in St.Helens | Sutton Beauty & Heritage . 2011-01-27 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100801022159/http://www.suttonbeauty.org.uk/suttonhistory/bold_colliery.html . 2010-08-01 . Sutton History, Bold Colliery