Ladyshore Colliery
Encyclopedia
Irwell Valley
The Irwell Valley extends from the Forest of Rossendale in North West England, through to the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal.-Geology:...
fault on the Manchester Coalfield
Manchester Coalfield
The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South East Lancashire Coalfield. Its coal seams were laid down in the Carboniferous period and some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages and extensively from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th...
in Little Lever
Little Lever
Little Lever is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it is southeast of Bolton, west of Radcliffe, and west-southwest of Bury....
, then in the historic county 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. Founded by Thomas Fletcher Senior, the colliery opened in the 1830s and mined several types of coal. It became infamous as a result of the owners' stand against the use of safety lamps in the mines. Women and children worked in the mines, under poor conditions.
Closed in 1949, it was the last colliery to remain in use by the canal. Only the colliery office (now a house) and the stables have survived.
Terminology used
Coal mining had its own terminology, whilst some terms were common in all areas, some were used only in 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...
. Following are some terms used in Ladyshore Colliery, taken from Weep Mother Weep.
- Balance – a slope with a pulley at the top where empty tubs pulled full tubs up the slope
- Balancer – the person, usually a boy, who operated the balance
- Colliery – the site at the surface that includes all the buildings, railways and headgears
- Coupler – a boy who worked on the haulage system coupling tubs together
- Mine – the name given in Lancashire to a coal seam
- Pit – the shaft from the surface down to the workings
- Tenter – a person who looked after something e.g., furnace tenter, door tenter or pony tenter
History
Ladyshore Colliery was situated in the Irwell Valley, on two sides of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal. The colliery was opened in the 1830s and originally had three pits, Ladyshore, Victoria and Owl Hole. The deepest was Owl Hole, which reached 55 fathoms (100.6 m).The geology of the Irwell Valley made coal easier to mine; thrown upwards by the fault, the Coal Measures
Coal Measures
The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...
were often to be found at reasonably shallow depths. Unfortunately floods were common as water seeped into the pits. In 1835, one such flood occurred at Ladyshore. Mining in the affected pit ceased in 1884, but the shaft remained in use as the upcast ventilation shaft
Ventilation shaft
In subterranean civil engineering, ventilation shafts, also known as airshafts or vent shafts, are vertical passages used in mines and tunnels to move fresh air underground, and to remove stale air....
for the colliery. Eventually a tunnel was driven to Farnworth
Farnworth
Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton, 6 miles south-west of Bury , and northwest of Manchester....
Bridge Pit, also owned by the Fletcher family, to dewater and ventilate the mines.
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
in an attempt to establish an endless steel ropeway across the canal, and to deliver coal using a possible rail spur to the colliery. Although these talks were abandoned, in 1908 the subject was again raised, again with no result.
In 1938 the colliery was owned by Ladyshore Coal Company (1930). Its three pits, Ladyshore, Owl Hole and Victoria employed 208 men underground and 114 surface workers. By the start of the Second World War Ladyshore was the only working colliery remaining on the entire length of the canal. It had its own fleet of boats and as late as 1941 still sent over 50000 metric tons (49,210.2 LT) of coal along the canal to Radcliffe
Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
Radcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
and Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
. In 1907, the colliery was reorganised and a new company formed to run it, the Ladyshore Coal Company Ltd. In 1930 a management re-shuffle lead to the company changing hands and it was re-named the Ladyshore Coal Co. (1930) Ltd. The colliery was one of the few in the area to use pit ponies, and in 1948 concerns were raised over their treatment. Animal welfare groups managed to obtain photographs and were preparing to oppose the mine owners when in June 1949, the colliery closed and the ponies brought from the mine for the last time.
Today, only the colliery office (now a house) and the stables survive. At the close, the last full year output was given as 39,541 tons with a manpower of 236.
Mines
There were several mines or coal seams worked at Ladyshore: The Owl Hole Pit worked the Trencherbone, Top Yard, Doe and Three Yard whilst the Victoria Pit worked the Cannel, Five Quarters, Gingham and Ten Foot.Accidents
The colliery was witness to several accidents, some of them fatal. In 1886, a collier by the name of Hardaker was injured in or around the coal screening area. The accident resulted in Hardaker taking Fletcher, the owner to court. Although some private papers about the subsequent court case, Hardakers v Fletcher, have survived, none of the paperwork is dated other than by the year. At 2:30 pm on 25 June 1902, a collier by the name of W. Scott was killed. Scott was pulling down the roof with his under-manager, a man by the name of Brown when a 6 inches (152.4 mm) layer fell, bringing down the next layer and crushing Scott. At the inquest in Bolton on 1 July, his death was recorded as accidental.On 12 April 1940, an underground tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
accident occurred at the colliery, crushing and seriously injuring a miner named as E. Robinson.
Fletcher family
The fortunes of the Ladyshore were intimately connected with the Fletcher family and their ties to local politics. The colliery was founded by Thomas Fletcher Senior, under the name Thomas Fletcher & Sons. Thomas Sr (1805–1893) was chairman of the Little LeverLittle Lever
Little Lever is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it is southeast of Bolton, west of Radcliffe, and west-southwest of Bury....
Local Board (effectively the town council) from 1872 until 1879. He had a brother John who, whilst part of the colliery business, kept in the shadows. On the death of Thomas Sr, Thomas Junior took over the mines with his brother Matthew. Thomas Jr became the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
in 1884 and remained in office until 1887. Thomas' brother Matthew kept out of direct control of the colliery but maintained the family links to politics by becoming the Chairman of the Little Lever Local Board (1893–1894) and then Chairman of the Little Lever Urban District Council in 1895. Thomas Sr died leaving £163,000, which was, in those days, a substantial sum of money. The activities of Thomas Sr and Thomas Jr meant that they could not devote all their time to the colliery, so John's son Herbert Fletcher (1842–1895), also a member of Bolton town council, took control of the colliery and was named as the owner in the infamous court case over safety lamps. Herbert died of a heart attack at the colliery on 16 September 1895. Despite owning a coal mine, Herbert was active in the area of preventing smoke pollution and published several papers on smoke control, his most read being in the Journal of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
for the Promotion of Health.
Fletcher trial
Despite an accident caused by a candle igniting gas at the Clifton Hall CollieryClifton Hall Colliery
Clifton Hall Colliery was one of two coal mines in Clifton on the Manchester Coalfield, historically within Lancashire which was incorporated into the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England in 1974....
on 18 June 1885, in which 178 miners lost their lives, the Fletcher family, owners of Ladyshore refused to introduce safety lamp
Safety lamp
A safety lamp is any of several types of lamp, which are designed to be safe to use in coal mines. These lamps are designed to operate in air that may contain coal dust, methane, or firedamp, all of which are potentially flammable or explosive...
s into the pits even though they were working the same mine (coal seam) which was known to be a gassy coal. This stubborn streak resulted in one of the largest court cases involving coal mines in England which brought about the end of the use of candles and other open lights in coal mines. The case also had implications for the use of other equipment, such as electrical lighting and tools, which may have endangered the lives of miners.
On 3 May 1886, HM Inspector of Mines, Mr Joseph Dickenson, inspected the pits and, on finding that candles were still being used, cited the Gingham mine and issued a notice to Herbert Fletcher stating that all the pits must change to safety lamps. The notice read:
"Coal Mines Regulation Act 1872 s46. Whereas at the above named mine (of the Ladyshore Colliery) I find the following matter which is not provided against by any express provision of the above Act or by any special rule established thereunder – namely, that the respective mines in the colliery are worked with open lights, and not safety lamps, notwithstanding that such mines are subject to emissions of firedamp
Firedamp
Firedamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is the name given to a number of flammable gases, especially methane. It is particularly commonly found in areas where the coal is bituminous...
. And whereas I am of opinion that, having regard to the character of the mines, the said matter is dangerous or defective so as to threaten or tend to the bodily injury of the persons employed in and about the said colliery. Now I hereby give you notice forthwith to remedy the said matter."
On 21 May, Herbert Fletcher appealed against the notice to the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. The Home Secretary deferred the matter and both he and the mine owners each appointed an arbitrator, who then appointed an umpire to decide the points. After an examination of the facts, the umpire agreed with the notice.
Fletcher hired C. A. Russell, Solicitor and Henn Collins
Richard Collins, Baron Collins
Richard Henn Collins, Baron Collins, PC, KC was an Anglo-Irish lawyer and judge.-Life:Born in Dublin, Collins was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Downing College, Cambridge....
QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(later Baron Collins) to appeal this decision to the Divisional Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
at 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...
. The reasoning behind the appeal was twofold, first; that the umpire was limited to deeming whether an open light was dangerous and not determining that mines need to be worked with a particular remedy as this went beyond his powers and second; that instead of using safety lamps, the owners could get rid of the firedamp, thus not requiring safety lamps as laid down in the notice.
On 12 July 1886 at Wigan, Denman & Hawkins JJ dismissed the appeal upholding the umpire's decision and the Inspector's original notice. Fletcher then appealed to the High Courts and the case was heard by the Queen's Bench on 16 December 1886. The Queen's Bench upheld the Divisional Court decision, but gave leave to appeal to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
The matter was taken to the Court of Appeal
Judicial functions of the House of Lords
The House of Lords, in addition to having a legislative function, historically also had a judicial function. It functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers, for impeachment cases, and as a court of last resort within the United Kingdom. In the latter case the House's...
at the House of Lords where on 15 January 1887, under a bench consisting of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary
Judicial functions of the House of Lords
The House of Lords, in addition to having a legislative function, historically also had a judicial function. It functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers, for impeachment cases, and as a court of last resort within the United Kingdom. In the latter case the House's...
(commonly known as Law Lords) Esher
Viscount Esher
Viscount Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1897 for the prominent lawyer and judge William Brett, 1st Baron Esher, upon his retirement as Master of the Rolls. He had already been created Baron Esher, of Esher in the County of...
MR
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
, Bowen
Charles Bowen, Baron Bowen
Charles Synge Christopher Bowen, Baron Bowen QC, PC was an English judge.-Biography:He was born at Woolaston in Gloucestershire, his father, the Rev. Christopher Bowen, originally of Hollymount, County Mayo, being then curate of the parish...
LJ
Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...
and Fry LJ. the appeal was heard. The appeal involved several arguments, on how the umpire had arrived at his decision, the points that he had used and whether he (the umpire) had exceeded his authority. On 17 January, after deliberation, a two (Esher & Fry) to one (Bowen) verdict was issued, upholding the Queen's Bench and dismissing the appeal:
"The question here is whether the use of open lights is or is not safe. The general or special rules cannot affect this question, though they may apply when it is determined. Further, the umpire has nor exceeded his powers by stating that the only alternative to open lamps, namely safety lamps, shall be adopted. At all events he has determined the question that the working of the mine with open lamps is dangerous, and his award ought not to be set aside, even if it goes in other respects beyond the scope of his authority. I [Esher] can see no reason therefore, why the award should not go back to him so that it may be put into form. When that is done, it will be for the mine owner to remedy the defect, for if he does not he will be, if the next tribunal [the criminal trial that could result from this verdict] is against him, be liable to the penalties under the Act."
Despite the dismissal of the appeal and thus the validation of the notice issued by HM Inspector of Mines, Fletcher continued to use open flames. Because of this, on 4 May 1887, Herbert Fletcher was summoned to Bolton Police Court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...
to answer charges of 'a breach of safety' under the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1872. On 16 May 1887, Fletcher was found guilty of endangering his workers and fined at the Bolton Court.
This case marked the end of the use of candles and other open lights in English coal mines and left Ladyshore with the infamous distinction of being the last colliery to use open lights.
Trade union disputes
In 1893, the Miners' Federation of Great Britain found itself involved in a struggle against mine owners who wanted a 25% cut in miners pay. The action resulted in widespread lockouts and involved 300,000 miners. The mine owners were eventually forced to give in and restore the wage cuts. All the pits in Little Lever were affected for the full 15 weeks that the action lasted and the Fletcher family were amongst the owners who most strongly supported the cut in wages.Women and children in the mine
In 1841 amidst concerns over child labour, the government commissioned a report into the state of collieries. This report, "The Royal Commission Report", was carried out by John J. Kennedy and published in 1842.In collecting his testimony, Kennedy realised that women were being treated as badly as children and widened his scope to include them as well. Kennedy visited the area of Little Lever and interviewed several women and children working in the pits. The women lived in Outwood and were employed by Thomas Fletcher. Fletcher owned both Ladyshore and Outwood
Outwood Colliery
Outwood Colliery was a coal mine in Outwood, near Stoneclough, then 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 & Sons, Outwood Collieries, Stoneclough,...
Collieries and the women moved from one pit to another depending on how much coal was being produced. Their testimonies showed that children as young as 5 or 6 were working in the pits. Married and mothers, Betty Wardle and Mary Hardman gave damning testimony to conditions underground. Wardle told Kennedy she started work at the age of 6 whilst Hardman said she started at the age of 7. Wardle later described how she was employed to 'draw with belt and chain'; that is pull the tubs along the underground rails by means of a leather waist belt to the back of which was attached a chain to the tub, used where the tunnels were too small for the use of ponies, (ponies were not used at Outwood, so this must refer to Ladyshore). She then went on to tell Kennedy that she was forced to work whilst pregnant and that she had one child of her four in the mine, the work had brought on labour and the newborn was carried out of the mine in her skirt.
The youngest children were employed as ventilation tenters. Ventilation in the mines was controlled by a series of wooden doors across the passages, these children would sit in a niche dug out of the wall, opening and closing these doors to allow miners and tubs to pass. It was common for them to sit in the dark for up to 8 hours a day. Other young children were employed as pony tenters, they would feed and water the pit ponies in the underground stables.
Older children were given more manual jobs. Tubs were pulled up slopes above and below ground by balance weights, a balancer was usually a boy who operated the balance system. Alongside him worked a coupler, whose job it was to couple the tubs together before they were pulled up the slope. These were dangerous jobs and many children were seriously injured or lost limbs.
The government had not realised that the position for women was as bad as that of the children and was so shocked by the report that legislation was passed almost immediately, The Mines Act of 1842, which made it illegal for mine owners to employ women or children under the age of 10 years, underground.
While women and the youngest children were stopped from going into the mines and various education acts raised the school leaving age, boys still followed their fathers' footsteps into the mines as late as the Second World War. Sid Dyer left school at 14 and started to work at Ladyshore, sorting coal from the dirt. One year later aged 15, Dyer went to work underground.
Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, Radcliffe
Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
Radcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Salford. As the colliery developed, it started to build its own canal boats. The canal boats used by the colliery were horse-drawn, former collier Sid Dyer described his role and how he worked the horse-drawn boats when he started working at the colliery in 1938. The colliery had its own boat-building yard situated on the canal near Nob End
Nob End
Nob End is the site of a former waste tip, and now a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Kearsley, Bolton, England.Standing at the confluence of the River Irwell and River Croal it was used around 1850-70 as a tip for alkaline waste from the production of sodium carbonate by the Leblanc...
. The boat builders were skilled tradesmen and usually passed the trade down from father to son. Alex Waterson who was the last of five generations of Ladyshore canal boat builders described the building process in his book. Following the breach of the canal at Nob End in 1936, the arm to Bury was kept open to transport coal, until the colliery closed.