Astley Green Colliery was a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

Astley, Greater Manchester Astley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is crossed by the Bridgewater Canal and the A580 East Lancashire Road. Continuous with Tyldesl ...

, then in the historic county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. It was the last colliery to be sunk in Astley. Sinking commenced in 1908 by the Pilkington Colliery Company, a subsidiary of the

Clifton and Kersley Coal Company The Clifton and Kersley Coal Company or Clifton and Kearsley Coal Company was a coal mining company that operated in Clifton and Kearsley on the south side of the Irwell Valley, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Its collieries ex ...

, at the southern edge of the

Manchester Coalfield The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South Lancashire Coalfield, the coal seams of which were laid down in the Carboniferous Period. Some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages, and extensively from the begi ...

, working the Middle

Coal Measures In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal ...

where they dipped under the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

age rocks under

Chat Moss Chat Moss is a large area of peat bog that makes up part of the City of Salford, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. It also makes up part of Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside and Warrington ...

. The colliery was north of the

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...

. In 1929 it became part of

Manchester Collieries Manchester Collieries was a coal mining company with headquarters in Walkden formed from a group of independent companies operating on the Manchester Coalfield in 1929. The Mining Industry Act of 1926 attempted to stem the post-war decline in coal ...

, and in 1947 was nationalised and integrated into the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...

. It closed in 1970, and is now Astley Green Colliery Museum.

Geology

Astley Green is the southernmost colliery on the

. It accessed the

coal seams Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

of the Middle

laid down over 300 million years ago in the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

Period and overlain by Permo-Triassic rocks. A layer of

alluvial deposits Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

consisting of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

and

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

overlay the rock. The coal seams dipped at 1 to 4.5 towards the south. The

Worsley Four Foot mine The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South Lancashire Coalfield, the coal seams of which were laid down in the Carboniferous Period. Some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages, and extensively from the begin ...

was reached at a depth of and the

Arley mine The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South Lancashire Coalfield, the coal seams of which were laid down in the Carboniferous Period. Some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages, and extensively from the begin ...

at 3360 feet (1020 m).

History

The Clifton and Kearsley Company's coal reserves were becoming depleted in the

Irwell Valley The Irwell Valley in North West England extends from the Forest of Rossendale through the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal. Geology Shallow seas covered most of south-east La ...

at a time when demand for coal on the

Lancashire Coalfield 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 Romans may have been the fir ...

was at its highest and in 1907 its subsidiary company sank a bore hole at Astley Green, north of the Bridgewater Canal to investigate untapped reserves of the concealed coalfield. The company acquired the mineral rights for of land accessing an estimated 140 million tons of coal under Chat Moss stretching beyond the

Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It was also the first railway to rely exclusively ...

and where the coal seams dip at 1 in 4.5 towards the south. Shaft sinking commenced in 1908 and proved difficult because of water and quicksand. The company contracted Haniel and Lueg of Düsseldorf-Düsseltal to sink the shaft. The

was reached in April 1910 and more water-bearing rock was anticipated before the

was reached. No 1 pit was sunk to 890 yards primarily to win coal from the

Trencherbone mine The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South Lancashire Coalfield, the coal seams of which were laid down in the Carboniferous Period. Some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages, and extensively from the begin ...

and No 2 pit was 833 yards deep. The shaft was 23 feet in diameter. The Crombouke and

Rams mine The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South Lancashire Coalfield, the coal seams of which were laid down in the Carboniferous Period. Some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages, and extensively from the begin ...

s were intersected by the sinkings.

Firedamp Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and when they are penetrated the releas ...

was a problem in the new workings and

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a m ...

was a problem. The

headgear Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, de ...

of No.1 pit survives, it is made from

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

lattice girders with riveted plates at the joints and one small and two large wheels mounted at the top. It is nearly high and was built by Head Wrightson of

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

and completed by 1912. In 1912 a twin tandem compound 3300 horsepower

winding engine A winding engine is a stationary engine used to control a cable, for example to power a mining hoist at a pit head. Electric hoist controllers have replaced proper winding engines in modern mining, but use electric motors that are also tradition ...

built by

Yates and Thom Yates & Thom Ltd, or Yates of Blackburn, was a British manufacturer of stationary steam engines and boilers at the Canal Ironworks, Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The company had its origins in a blacksmith's shop started by William Yates in ...

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

, the largest ever used on the

, was installed at No 1 pit. The company built a smaller cross compound winding engine for No 2 pit, installed in 1919. In 1923 the colliery employed 1524 men underground and 436 surface workers; which increased to 1631 underground and 492 surface workers by 1933. At Nationalisation in 1947 the colliery employed 1375 below and 561 above ground. The surface workers included women, known as pit brow lasses, who sorted coal on the screens. Women were employed at Astley Green until the mid-1950s.

Transport

By about 1851, George Green had built a horse-drawn tramway linking

Yew Tree Colliery Yew Tree Colliery was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield after 1845 in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. In 1845 George Green of Wharton Hall, Little Hulton, and his brother leased ...

to the Bridgewater Canal east of Astley Green. The tramway was out of use by 1913, when its sidings and tipping plant were sold to the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company to be used by the new colliery. A mineral line and exchange

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

s to connect with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway east of Astley Station a mile and a half to the south was built across Chat Moss using similar construction methods to the earlier railway, tree trunks and branches overlain with pit waste, to provide a foundation for the rails. An

0-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were ...

saddletank, "Astley", from

Peckett Peckett and Sons was a locomotive manufacturer at the Atlas Locomotive Works on Deep Pit Road between Fishponds and St. George, Bristol, England. Fox, Walker and Company The company began trading in 1864 at the Atlas Engine Works, St. George, ...

s of Bristol was bought in 1908 and used on the construction of the line as was "Winnie", a contractor's 0-4-0 tank engine hired from Thomas Mitchell and Sons of Bury. When production began in 1912, 0-4-0 locomotive "Outwood" was transferred from the company's

Outwood Colliery Outwood Colliery was a coal mine in Outwood, near Stoneclough in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Originally named Clough Side Colliery, it opened in the 1840s and was the largest colliery in the area. It was owned by Thomas Fletcher ...

and in 1914 an

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...

saddletank "Astley Green", built in 1880, was bought from a Darlington firm. A new locomotive, "Edward", a six-coupled saddletank was bought from

Hawthorn Leslie R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilder and locomotive manufacturer. The company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982. History The company was formed ...

in 1916. "Black Diamond" and "Newtown" were transferred from other Clifton and Kersley pits in the 1920s. After 1929 the Astley Green was on Manchester Collieries' Central Railway system based on Walkden Yard.

Incident

There was a

mining accident A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. C ...

at the colliery on 6 June 1939, when there was an explosion of

firedamp Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and when they are penetrated the releas ...

. Men had been fighting an underground fire over a mile from the pit bottom. Despite the efforts of the

mines rescue Mine rescue or mines rescue is the specialised job of rescuing miners and others who have become trapped or injured in underground mines because of mining accidents, roof falls or floods and disasters such as explosions. Background Mining la ...

teams from

Boothstown Mines Rescue Station Boothstown Mines Rescue Station which served the collieries of the Lancashire and Cheshire Coal Owners on the Lancashire Coalfield opened in November 1933 on a site in Boothstown, close to the East Lancashire Road. The mines rescue station is Gr ...

, who were driven back by further explosions, five men including the manager died. A narrow gauge railway has been created at the site of Astley Pit Museum and is one of the attractions for visitors.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

Astley Green Colliery Museum website History of Astley Green Coal Mine
{{Authority control Coal mines in Lancashire Underground mines in England