Outwood 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 ...

in Outwood, near Stoneclough 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. Originally named Clough Side Colliery, it opened in the 1840s and was the largest colliery in the area. It was owned by Thomas Fletcher & Sons, Outwood Collieries, Stoneclough, Manchester. There were two pits. Coal was transported by a tramway to a depot west of Outwood Road, in

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

, and also by tramway through Ringley Wood to the nearby

Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal is a disused canal in Greater Manchester, England, built to link Bolton and Bury with Manchester. The canal, when fully opened, was long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell in Salford. ...

. A railway sidings from the nearby East Lancashire Railway Line was located nearby, from the northern end of the colliery. In its heyday the colliery employed over 2000 workers. Outwood Colliery exploited the coal seams 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 ...

and was noted for its ''Trencherbone Coal''. Due to an underground fire which caused the winding gear to collapse into its own shaft, the colliery was closed in 1931. __NOTOC__

Regeneration

The colliery site, which covers , was transferred from the ownership of British Coal Property to Bury Council in October 1997. The council intended to turn the site, consisting mostly of contaminated land covered with collapsed buildings, spoil heaps, and uncapped mineshafts – into open land suitable for public use as part of its Outwood Forest Park project. Converting the site cost about £600,000. The site is now the main entrance to Outwood Forest Park and part of the

Irwell Sculpture Trail The Irwell Sculpture Trail is the largest public art scheme in England, commissioning regional, national and international artists. The Trail includes 28 art pieces and follows a well established footpath stretching from Salford Quays through ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

"Outwood Colliery, Radcliffe" Frank Wightman (1982) Manchester Archives+
{{coord, 53.54915, -2.338961, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Irwell Valley Collieries in the Lancashire Coalfield Coal mines in Lancashire Former mines in England Underground mines in England