Bickershaw Colliery
Encyclopedia
Bickershaw Colliery was a coal mine, located at Westleigh
, Leigh
, then within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire
, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southeast of Wigan
.
, and required the sinking of deep shafts to access the coal. However, access to transport via the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
at Plank Lane made the distribution of the product relatively easy.
The first shaft at Bickershaw was sunk in 1830 by Turner and Ackers. A tramway connected the pit to the canal which was used for transporting coal until August 1972 when road transport took over local distribution. In 1872 work started on two new shafts; No.1 (489 yards (447.1 m)) and No.2 (492 yards (449.9 m)) at Plank Lane beside the canal. The seams worked from these shafts were the Crombouke, Pemberton Five Feet and the White and Black mines. In 1877 shafts No.3 and No.4 (both 690 yards (630.9 m) in depth), were sunk to the King Coal mine. No.5 pit was completed before World War I
.
By 1907, Bickershaw was part of Moss Hall Collieries, which owned collieries at Platt Bridge and Abram, which were subsequently purchased by Pearson and Knowles and Company.
In 1933, Abram Colliery closed and its shafts to the Arley mine were taken over by Bickershaw. This consolidation resulted in a modernisation scheme to open up the Peacock and Plodder mines, and an additional area of Wigan seam. Nos. 3 and 4 shafts were deepened to 779 yards (712.3 m) yards and 787 yards (719.6 m) yards respectively, taking the shaft bottoms just below the Plodder seam. By 1937 an electric winder was installed on both shafts, with cages to accept ten-ton capacity skips in No.4.
's post-war Labour
government to run nationalised industries, the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act received the Royal Assent
on 12 July 1946, and the National Coal Board
was formally constituted on 15 July, with Lord Hyndley
as Chairman. The number of companies taken over by the Board was about two hundred, at a cost of £338 million.
Nationalisation brought about a review of pre-war development plans, which resulted in re-organisation of the pits in the area. After abandoning No.5 shaft in 1950, in 1951 two horizontal 16 feet (4.9 m) wide by 13 feet (4 m) high tunnels were driven 2750 yards (2,514.6 m) in a southerly direction from No's 3 and 4 shafts. In 1960 these tunnels intersected the Crombouke seam, allowing and two more faces to be opened for production. An endless rope haulage was installed and 2576 lbs capacity tubs were introduced to take coal to the skip pockets in No.4 shaft bottom.
After the success of this scheme, two similar tunnels were driven 1500 yards (1,371.6 m) west from the same point of origin, gaining access to the White and Black seam in the south western field. The increased coal capacity resulted in the rope haulage system being replaced by a trunk conveying system in the main horizon tunnel, which had been extended to No.4 pit bottom. A 200 ton capacity surge bunker was installed to avoid delays in the event of stoppage at the shaft. A minor re-organisation and efficiency scheme was completed in 1967 which concentrated all production and coal winding in the Nos. 3 and 4 shafts, leaving Nos. 1 and 2 shafts for ventilation purposes.
and Golborne collieries. The project required the installation of7 miles (11.3 km) of conveyor belt underground to consolidate coal extraction to the surface at Bickershaw. A surface based electronic control system managed the flow from three pits faces, and monitored underground conditions.
Parsonage continued to be used for winding men and materials but from 1 January 1983, the pit became fully integrated with Bickershaw for administration and management. One coal face was in operation in the Peacock mine and one in the Trencherbone, both fully mechanised and equipped with powered supports. The total combined underground colliery workforce at this point was 550 men.
Additional investment on the surface at Bickershaw resulted in the capability to process one million tons of coal annually. With 90% of combined total production for electricity generation, a £90,000 surface rapid loading system at the Bickershaw coal preparation plant enabled a train of 45 wagons, each capable of holding 30 tons of coal, to be loaded with 1350 tons of coal in less than one and a half hours. These wagons were dispatched to Bickershaw exchange sidings, and onwards to the Central Electricity Generating Board. The residual 10% of production was general, industrial and domestic coal, dispatched via road and the use of canal barges ended.
After the colliery celebrated its centenary in June 1977, with a week of activities and a special open day for visitors, a final development was undertaken. Filling in No.2 shaft, allowed the opening up retreat faces in the Haigh/Yard Plodder seams, where the coal was over 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick.
submitting a report showing the colliery to be unprofitable. Resultantly, both Bickershaw and Parsonage Collieries finally closed on 13 March 1992
was taken over by Bickershaw. The band was conducted by Harry Mortimer
and won various regional and national trophies.
or later the Great Central Railway
, lead to an increase in use of railway traffic. Extensive sidings were developed both onsite and at , enabling services to be dispatched to the increasingly important electricity generating station traffic.
All onsite shunting and movement between pit head and the coal washing plant was undertaken by privately owned shunters, the traffic for which greatly increased after the consolidation of coal extraction of the three pits to Bickershaw. Once washed, loaded coal wagons were the marshalled onwards to the exchange sidings with British Railways at . Latterly part of the Merry-go-round train
system, the trains were most often hauled by a pair of British Rail Class 20
diesel locomotives, enroute to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station
.
, the derelict site became part of a £386.5 million National Coalfields Programme in 1996. In 2005, a discussion was opened with the community on redeveloping the site as a mixed development to create new jobs, homes, leisure facilities and open space. Now named Bickershaw South and owned by the Northwest Regional Development Agency
, the site was included as part of the UK Governments Carbon Challenge initiative in 2007 to accelerate the building industry’s response to a 2016 target for all new housing to be zero carbon. As a result, a 2MW wind turbine
is being built on the adjacent Wigan Council-owned, Bickershaw North site, to provide energy for the development. In October 2009, a £12million contract was let to Birse Civils
to prepare the site for redevelopment, with outline planning permission for the development of up to 650 homes and 2750 square metre of employment space on the 23 hectares (56.8 acre) site, within a total area redevelopment plan covering some 237 hectares (585.6 acre).
Westleigh
Westleigh can refer to:Places:* Westleigh, Devon* Westleigh, Greater Manchester* Westleigh, New South WalesStructures:* Westleigh railway station, Greater Manchester...
, Leigh
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
, then within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southeast of Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
.
History
Bickershaw is located on the Wigan Coalfield, part of the Lancashire CoalfieldLancashire Coalfield
The Lancashire Coalfield in north-west England was one of the most important British coalfields.-Geography and geology:The geology of the coalfield consists of the coal seams of the Upper, Middle and Lower Coal Measures, layers of sandstones, shales and coal of varying thickness, which were laid...
, and required the sinking of deep shafts to access the coal. However, access to transport via the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
at Plank Lane made the distribution of the product relatively easy.
The first shaft at Bickershaw was sunk in 1830 by Turner and Ackers. A tramway connected the pit to the canal which was used for transporting coal until August 1972 when road transport took over local distribution. In 1872 work started on two new shafts; No.1 (489 yards (447.1 m)) and No.2 (492 yards (449.9 m)) at Plank Lane beside the canal. The seams worked from these shafts were the Crombouke, Pemberton Five Feet and the White and Black mines. In 1877 shafts No.3 and No.4 (both 690 yards (630.9 m) in depth), were sunk to the King Coal mine. No.5 pit was completed before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
By 1907, Bickershaw was part of Moss Hall Collieries, which owned collieries at Platt Bridge and Abram, which were subsequently purchased by Pearson and Knowles and Company.
In 1933, Abram Colliery closed and its shafts to the Arley mine were taken over by Bickershaw. This consolidation resulted in a modernisation scheme to open up the Peacock and Plodder mines, and an additional area of Wigan seam. Nos. 3 and 4 shafts were deepened to 779 yards (712.3 m) yards and 787 yards (719.6 m) yards respectively, taking the shaft bottoms just below the Plodder seam. By 1937 an electric winder was installed on both shafts, with cages to accept ten-ton capacity skips in No.4.
National Coal Board
Created by Clement AttleeClement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
's post-war Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government to run nationalised industries, the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act received the Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 12 July 1946, and the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board 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 mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
was formally constituted on 15 July, with Lord Hyndley
John Hindley, 1st Viscount Hyndley
John Scott Hindley, 1st Viscount Hyndley GBE , known as Sir John Hindley, Bt, between 1927 and 1931 and as The Lord Hyndley between 1931 and 1948, was a British businessman...
as Chairman. The number of companies taken over by the Board was about two hundred, at a cost of £338 million.
Nationalisation brought about a review of pre-war development plans, which resulted in re-organisation of the pits in the area. After abandoning No.5 shaft in 1950, in 1951 two horizontal 16 feet (4.9 m) wide by 13 feet (4 m) high tunnels were driven 2750 yards (2,514.6 m) in a southerly direction from No's 3 and 4 shafts. In 1960 these tunnels intersected the Crombouke seam, allowing and two more faces to be opened for production. An endless rope haulage was installed and 2576 lbs capacity tubs were introduced to take coal to the skip pockets in No.4 shaft bottom.
After the success of this scheme, two similar tunnels were driven 1500 yards (1,371.6 m) west from the same point of origin, gaining access to the White and Black seam in the south western field. The increased coal capacity resulted in the rope haulage system being replaced by a trunk conveying system in the main horizon tunnel, which had been extended to No.4 pit bottom. A 200 ton capacity surge bunker was installed to avoid delays in the event of stoppage at the shaft. A minor re-organisation and efficiency scheme was completed in 1967 which concentrated all production and coal winding in the Nos. 3 and 4 shafts, leaving Nos. 1 and 2 shafts for ventilation purposes.
Bickershaw super pit
In 1973, NCB super-pit development was started. Completed in 1976 at a cost of £3million, it linked Bickershaw underground with the neighbouring ParsonageParsonage Colliery
Parsonage Colliery was a coal mine operating on the Lancashire Coalfield from 1920 in Leigh, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. The colliery, close to the centre of Leigh and the Bolton and Leigh Railway was sunk between 1913 and 1920 by the Wigan Coal and Iron Company...
and Golborne collieries. The project required the installation of7 miles (11.3 km) of conveyor belt underground to consolidate coal extraction to the surface at Bickershaw. A surface based electronic control system managed the flow from three pits faces, and monitored underground conditions.
Parsonage continued to be used for winding men and materials but from 1 January 1983, the pit became fully integrated with Bickershaw for administration and management. One coal face was in operation in the Peacock mine and one in the Trencherbone, both fully mechanised and equipped with powered supports. The total combined underground colliery workforce at this point was 550 men.
Additional investment on the surface at Bickershaw resulted in the capability to process one million tons of coal annually. With 90% of combined total production for electricity generation, a £90,000 surface rapid loading system at the Bickershaw coal preparation plant enabled a train of 45 wagons, each capable of holding 30 tons of coal, to be loaded with 1350 tons of coal in less than one and a half hours. These wagons were dispatched to Bickershaw exchange sidings, and onwards to the Central Electricity Generating Board. The residual 10% of production was general, industrial and domestic coal, dispatched via road and the use of canal barges ended.
After the colliery celebrated its centenary in June 1977, with a week of activities and a special open day for visitors, a final development was undertaken. Filling in No.2 shaft, allowed the opening up retreat faces in the Haigh/Yard Plodder seams, where the coal was over 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick.
Closure
After the closure of Golborne Colliery in 1989, the pits production target was set at an increased 20,000 tonnes a week. However, with targets consistently missed, the 600 miners were balloted on a move to give Bickershaw a stay of execution, against British CoalBritish Coal
thumb|right|British Coal company logoThe British Coal Corporation was a nationalised corporation in the United Kingdom responsible for the extraction of coal...
submitting a report showing the colliery to be unprofitable. Resultantly, both Bickershaw and Parsonage Collieries finally closed on 13 March 1992
Colliery Band
After Abram Colliery closed its brass bandBrass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
was taken over by Bickershaw. The band was conducted by Harry Mortimer
Harry Mortimer
Harry Mortimer OBE was an English composer and conductor who specialised in brass band music.Born in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, his father was conductor Fred Mortimer . Fred taught Harry and his brothers Rex and Alex to play the cornet, and also composition. Later he was taught by William Rimmer...
and won various regional and national trophies.
Transport
Built in its location for access to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, from 1874 the development of the Wigan Junction Railways with access to and hence onwards via either the Cheshire Lines CommitteeCheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
or later the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
, lead to an increase in use of railway traffic. Extensive sidings were developed both onsite and at , enabling services to be dispatched to the increasingly important electricity generating station traffic.
All onsite shunting and movement between pit head and the coal washing plant was undertaken by privately owned shunters, the traffic for which greatly increased after the consolidation of coal extraction of the three pits to Bickershaw. Once washed, loaded coal wagons were the marshalled onwards to the exchange sidings with British Railways at . Latterly part of the Merry-go-round train
Merry-go-round train
A Merry-go-round train, often abbreviated to MGR, is a block train of hopper wagons which both loads and unloads its cargo while moving. In the United Kingdom, they are most commonly coal trains delivering to power stations...
system, the trains were most often hauled by a pair of British Rail Class 20
British Rail Class 20
The British Rail Class 20, otherwise known as an English Electric Type 1, is a class of diesel-electric locomotive. In total, 228 locomotives in the class were built by English Electric between 1957 and 1968, the large number being in part because of the failure of other early designs in the same...
diesel locomotives, enroute to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station
Fiddlers Ferry Power Station
Fiddlers Ferry Power Station is a coal fired power station located in Cheshire in North West England, which is capable of co-firing biomass. It is situated on the north bank of the River Mersey between the towns of Widnes and Warrington. Opened in 1971, the station has a generating capacity of...
.
Accidents
Men from Bickershaw attended the Abram Colliery disaster in 1881, in which 81 men died.- September 1847: a collier and his drawer were descending the Bolton House pit when they were engulfed in flames. 1 killed, 1 injured.
- 18 October 1940: death of Alfred Robert WilkinsonAlfred Robert WilkinsonAlfred Robert Wilkinson VC ,was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
from carbon monoxide poisoningCarbon monoxide poisoningCarbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
Present day
Managed by English PartnershipsEnglish Partnerships
English Partnerships was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level...
, the derelict site became part of a £386.5 million National Coalfields Programme in 1996. In 2005, a discussion was opened with the community on redeveloping the site as a mixed development to create new jobs, homes, leisure facilities and open space. Now named Bickershaw South and owned by the Northwest Regional Development Agency
Northwest Regional Development Agency
The Northwest Regional Development Agency is the regional development agency for the North West England region and is a non-departmental public body.....
, the site was included as part of the UK Governments Carbon Challenge initiative in 2007 to accelerate the building industry’s response to a 2016 target for all new housing to be zero carbon. As a result, a 2MW wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
is being built on the adjacent Wigan Council-owned, Bickershaw North site, to provide energy for the development. In October 2009, a £12million contract was let to Birse Civils
Birse
Birse is a parish in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, which includes the communities of Finzean and Ballogie. However the name Birse is often used to refer only to the northwestern part of the parish which lies on the south side of the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, opposite the...
to prepare the site for redevelopment, with outline planning permission for the development of up to 650 homes and 2750 square metre of employment space on the 23 hectares (56.8 acre) site, within a total area redevelopment plan covering some 237 hectares (585.6 acre).