Lancashire Coalfield
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 MeasuresCoal 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...
, layers of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
s, shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
s and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
of varying thickness, which were laid down in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests. The coal in Lancashire is bituminous
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
with 30–40% volatile matter varying in hardness from seam to seam. The coal measures were subsequently subjected to folding accounting for the dip towards the south and west and faulting also occurred at this time. Major faults, including the Pemberton and Pendleton Fault
Pendleton Fault
The Pendleton Fault, sometimes called the Irwell Valley Fault, stretches for about 20 miles from Bolton in Greater Manchester along the Irwell Valley through Pendleton to Poynton in Cheshire, running northwest–southeast. The fault throws the beds of the Middle Coal Measures of the Manchester...
s, are aligned north east to south west. In the deep mines at the southern edge of the coalfield, the Plodder mine in 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....
and the Arley mine in Tyldesley
Tyldesley
Tyldesley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies an area north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, east-southeast of Wigan and west-northwest of the city of Manchester...
were hot; the miners worked in temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The coalfield is divided into two parts separated by the Rossendale anticline
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
. To the north-east is the Burnley Coalfield and to the south is the much larger South Lancashire Coalfield which comprises, from west to east, the St Helens, Wigan, Manchester
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...
, and Oldham Coalfield
Oldham Coalfield
The Oldham Coalfield is the most easterly part of the south 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...
s. The Oldham Coalfield extends to the south and becomes the Cheshire Coalfield. The coalfield covers around 550 square miles (1,424.5 km²) extending from Stalybridge
Stalybridge
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
in the southeast to Ormskirk
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
in the northwest and from Rainhill
Rainhill
Rainhill is a large village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England.Historically a part of Lancashire, Rainhill was formerly a township within the ecclesiastical parish of Prescot, and hundred of West Derby...
in the southwest to beyond Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
in the northeast. The south eastern part extends well into neighbouring Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
where significant mining took place around Poynton
Poynton
Poynton is a town within the civil parish of Poynton-with-Worth, and the unitary authority area of Cheshire East, England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of the county of Cheshire. Poynton is located at the eastern most fringe of the Cheshire Plain, north of Macclesfield, south of Stockport...
and Dukinfield
Dukinfield
Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...
. The redrawing of county boundaries in 1974 resulted in almost all the South Lancashire Coalfield lying outside the modern-day boundaries of Lancashire.
A quite separate and much smaller coalfield is situated in the Wenning valley
River Wenning
The River Wenning is a tributary of the River Lune, flowing through North Yorkshire and Lancashire. The Wenning rises at Clapham in Yorkshire and flows westwards through High Bentham, Low Bentham and Wennington....
in the northeast of the county but is referred to as a part of the Ingleton Coalfield
Ingleton Coalfield
The Ingleton Coalfield is a coalfield in North Yorkshire, close to its border with Lancashire in north-west England. Isolated from other coal-producing areas, it is one of the smallest coalfields in Great Britain....
, the main part of which is in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
.
History
It is possible that the RomansRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
were the first to use coal in Lancashire but the first record of "minera" was made in 1246 when Adam de Radcliffe stole coal belonging to Adam son of Alexander. Small amounts of coal were mined during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
as wood was plentiful and turf was preferred to coal which was inferior in quality. It was however used for lime burning and by smiths
Smith (metalwork)
A metalsmith, often shortened to smith, is a person involved in making metal objects. In contemporary use a metalsmith is a person who uses metal as a material, uses traditional metalsmithing techniques , whose work thematically relates to the practice or history of the practice, or who engages in...
. Coal was got in Shakerley
Shakerley
Shakerley is a suburb of Tyldesley in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.It was anciently a hamlet in the northwest of the township of Tyldesley cum Shakerley, in the ancient parish ofLeigh....
in 1429 when a dispute over the stealing of "seacoals" was recorded and in 1521 there is a record of coal mines in Whiston
Whiston, Merseyside
Whiston is a large village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley on Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 13,629...
. John Leland visited Haigh
Haigh, Greater Manchester
Haigh is a village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it is located next to the village of Aspull. The western boundary is the River Douglas which separates the township from Wigan. To the north a small brook...
in 1538 and observed that "Mr Bradshaw ... hath founde moche Canel
Cannel coal
Cannel coal, also known as candle coal, is a type of coal, also classified as terrestrial type oil shale, with a large amount of hydrogen, which burns easily with a bright light and leaves little ash....
like Se coal in his grounde very profitable to him." During the Elizabethan era
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
mines were recorded at Haslingden
Haslingden
Haslingden is a small town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels', though the town is in fact set on a high and windy hill. In the early 20th century Haslingden had the status of a municipal borough, but following local government...
, Padiham
Padiham
Padiham is a small town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley and south of Pendle Hill, in Lancashire, England. It is part of the Borough of Burnley but also has its own town council with varied powers.-History:...
, Ightenhill
Ightenhill
Ightenhill is a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a population of 1,512. It is also considered to be a district of the town of Burnley, with boundaries that do not follow those of the parish....
and Trawden
Trawden
Trawden is a medium sized village in Trawden Forest Parish of Pendle, Lancashire, England, situated at the foot of Boulsworth Hill. Agriculture was the main industry of the village and surrounding area, although it did have several mills. Most of these have now been demolished for, or converted to...
. Landowners entered into disputes with their tenants and neighbours, some of which were violent. Shallow pits at Bradford a little over a mile from Manchester town centre, produced enough coal for the town in the early 1600s.
In 1600 mines were adit
Adit
An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
s where coal outcropped or shallow bell pit
Bell pit
A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore or other minerals where the coal or ore lies near the surface.. A shaft is sunk to reach the mineral which is excavated by miners transported to the surface by a winch and removed by means of a bucket, much like a well. It gets its name...
s and both had problems; 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...
, roof falls were common and poor drainage led to mines being abandoned. Ventilation in pits with a single shaft was a problem as explosive gases accumulated. The earliest solution was to send a collier or fireman, swathed in wet rags and armed with a long pole with a lighted candle, into the workings to explode any accumulated gases before work began, a practice that did not always work. At Haigh in 1688 "the fiery damp went off twice, but did little hurt". Roger Bradshaw dug the Great Haigh Sough
Great Haigh Sough
The Great Haigh Sough is a tunnel or adit driven under Sir Roger Bradshaigh's estate in Haigh, then in the historic county of Lancashire. Coal had been dug on the estate since Tudor times. The sough drained Bradshaigh's coal pits, which produced coal and cannel, and extended the life of the shallow...
, an underground drainage tunnel, under his Haigh Hall
Haigh Hall
Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Greater Manchester, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. The hall, built between 1827 and 1840 by James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, replaced an ancient manor house and was his family's home...
estate between 1653 and 1670 and another sough
Sough
A sough is an underground channel for draining water out of a mine. Its ability to drain a mine depends on the bottom of the mine being higher than a neighbouring valley...
was dug in 1729 to drain the Worsley
Worsley
Worsley is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies along the course of Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. The M60 motorway bisects the area....
mines. The invention of steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s, first in 1698 by Thomas Savery
Thomas Savery
Thomas Savery was an English inventor, born at Shilstone, a manor house near Modbury, Devon, England.-Career:Savery became a military engineer, rising to the rank of Captain by 1702, and spent his free time performing experiments in mechanics...
and then in 1711 by Thomas Newcomen
Thomas Newcomen
Thomas Newcomen was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, near a part of the country noted for its tin mines. Flooding was a major problem, limiting the depth at which the mineral could be mined...
provided an alternative method of draining wet mines and winding men and coal from deeper mines. Most mines however were very small and shallow and 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...
and its neighbourhood was noted for having numerous cannel pits which families could access from under their property. Cannel was a valuable fuel and was also capable of being carved into ornaments. Before 1800 and subsequent improvements particularly to transport, mining was not a full-time occupation, frequently the work was seasonal and combined with other occupations such as farming or weaving. Some coalowners used bonds, paying signing-on fees to the colliers who worked in their coal pits for a year or had to pay a considerable forfeit if the contract was broken. The coalowners found the bond system a valuable tool for enforcing discipline and fending off the ability of workers to join together to fight for better pay and conditions. The Combination Acts of 1799 made unions illegal.
River Douglas
The River Douglas, also known as the River Asland or Astland, is a river that flows through Lancashire and Greater Manchester in the north-west of England...
near 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...
and the rivers Irwell
River Irwell
The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...
and Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
were made navigable providing a more efficient and cheaper method of transporting coal. The Sankey Canal
Sankey Canal
The Sankey Canal, which is also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and the St Helens Canal, is a canal in Cheshire, extending into Merseyside, in the northwest of England, connecting St Helens with the River Mersey...
was built in 1755 and by 1760 Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman, the younger son of the 1st Duke...
was constructing the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and 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...
providing a direct link from his mines, the Worsley Navigable Levels
Worsley Navigable Levels
The Worsley Navigable Levels are an extensive series of coal mines in Worsley in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. They were worked largely by the use of underground canals and boats called starvationers....
, into Manchester which encouraged the development of more canals including the Leeds and Liverpool
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...
and Manchester Bolton & Bury Canals. Access to transport, the steam engine, the development of the textile industry with raw cotton imported through the Port of Liverpool
Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed 7.5 mile dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river...
and associated industries as the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
gathered pace led to increased demand for coal and larger, deeper mines.
In the 1770s records show that there were pits in Wigan, Bolton, Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
and Dukinfield
Dukinfield
Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...
.
Industrial revolution
From the 16th and 17th centuries some landowners began to develop the industry and several dynasties of coal owners emerged. These included the Bradshaws and subsequently the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres of Haigh HallHaigh Hall
Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Greater Manchester, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. The hall, built between 1827 and 1840 by James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, replaced an ancient manor house and was his family's home...
, the Hultons
William Hulton
William Hulton was an English landowner and magistrate.William Hulton was the son of William Hulton and Jane of Hulton Park, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford...
of Hulton Park
Over Hulton
Over Hulton is a suburb of Westhoughton within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester,England.It lies south west of Bolton.-History:...
, the Fletchers, the Knowles
Andrew Knowles and Sons
Andrew Knowles and Sons was a coal mining company that operated in and around Clifton, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire. England....
and the Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman, the younger son of the 1st Duke...
and his successors the Bridgewater Trustees
Bridgewater Collieries
Bridgewater Collieries originated from the coal mines on the Manchester Coalfield in Worsley in the historic county of Lancashire owned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater in the second half of the 18th century. After the Duke's death in 1803 his estate was managed by the Bridgewater...
. More companies emerged during the 19th century and included Richard Evans and Company of Haydock
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It contains all of the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook electoral ward. The village is located roughly mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, close to the junction of the M6 motorway...
which originated in 1830. Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Company was formed in 1874 in Ince. Colonel John Hargreaves began a company with pits in Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
and George Hargreaves owned pits in Accrington
Accrington
Accrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, north of Manchester city centre and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn...
and Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
. James Lees' Chamber Colliery Company owned pits in Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
.
At the turn of the 19th century demand for coal increased rapidly for domestic and industrial consumption as steam was used to power factories and steam ships. It was won in what were intolerable conditions. Coal was got by hand, hewers using picks and shovels in mines lit by candles. Children as young as five years of age sat in complete darkness opening ventilation doors for hurriers, women and boys who hauled tubs of coal to the shaft bottom. Some coal owners, including William Hulton, paid their workers with tokens or vouchers
Truck system
A truck system is an arrangement in which employees are paid in commodities or some currency substitute , rather than with standard money. This limits employees' ability to choose how to spend their earnings—generally to the benefit of the employer...
that could only be redeemed in their company shops, a practice outlawed by the passing of the Truck Act 1831
Truck Acts
Truck Acts is the name given to legislation that outlaws truck systems, which are also known as "company store" systems, or debt bondage. Such laws date back in Britain to the 15th century but have also been implemented in other countries.-History:...
. Wages were poor and coal owners introduced a system of fines to enforce discipline. The Duke of Bridgewater paid eight shillings (40p) for a six day working week with shifts of 12 to 15 hours and fined those who were late half a crown. The wages amounted to a few pence more than given in Poor Law
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
relief and miners worked to keep out of the workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
. William Hulton reputedly paid the poorest wages in Lancashire and was hostile to permitting his workforce the right to free assembly.
William Hulton was a supporter of the Bolton and Leigh Railway
Bolton and Leigh Railway
The Bolton and Leigh Railway was the first public railway in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It opened in 1828 for goods.-History:...
, Lancashire's first public railway, opened in 1828 to carry coal and cotton. The railway passed to the west of the Hulton estate and gave his pits at Chequerbent access to the new means of transport. In the following 20 years a the main lines of the railway system were constructed linking the increasingly industrial towns in Lancashire with the rest of the country.
The Mines Act of 1842 prohibited the employment of women and girls and boys under the age of ten from working underground in coal mines. Many women were employed underground in Lancashire and particularly around Wigan, and after the passing of the Act some continued for a time, as there were few inspectors of mines and employers turned a blind eye. After 1842 many women were employed on the surface sorting coal from dirt on the coal screens as Pit brow lasses. More women were employed in this capacity in Lancashire than on any other coalfield.
In the second half of the 19th century collieries became larger and deeper as technology for draining and ventilating the pits improved. Steam was used for winding engines and giant fans replaced furnace ventilation.
20th century
South Yorkshire Coalfield
The South Yorkshire Coalfield is defined by a triangle lying between Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield, though a few mines within the coalfield lie outside this area. It is part of the larger Midland coal field which stretches from Nottingham in the south to Bradford and Leeds in the north...
and Derbyshire. In the Burnley area output from the thin seams towards the north of the coalfield was small. Despite its higher price Lancashire coal remained important. The consumption of the coalfield was largely for a local market but some was shipped abroad. Manchester was the centre of a vast industrial district and there was a great demand for coal from the cotton industry and other textile manufacturers, engineering, iron and chemical works, and a variety of other industries. There was demand for coke in the foundries and coke-ovens were built next to some larger collieries, steam coal was required for the cotton mills, chemical works, engineering works, and for locomotive fuel, house coal had a large market in a heavily populated area.
After the First World War, demand for coal declined, Britain had lost export markets and productivity had fallen. In 1925 coal owners attempted to reduce wages and impose longer working hours in an attempt to maintain profits. A wages subsidy by the Conservative government postponed industrial action, but, after a Royal Commission reported in 1926, the subsidy was withdrawn and mine owners issued new pay and conditions lengthening the working day and cutting wages. By refusing to accept the terms miners were locked out of the pits. The strike lasted from May to September and miners gained nothing.and some were not re-employed.
In 1927 there were 222 working collieries in Lancashire belonging to 125 owners. The 18 pits in Cheshire had 15 owners. Most companies were small, over 100 pits had fewer than 200 workers while 60 pits employed more than 200, 14 employed between 1,000 and 2,000, and 18 more than 2,000 workers.
The Mining Industries Act of 1925 attempted to stem the post-war decline and encouraged independent companies to merge in order to modernise and better survive the economic conditions of the day. Robert Burrows of the Atherton company, Fletcher Burrows
Fletcher, Burrows and Company
Fletcher, Burrows and Company was a coal mining company that owned collieries in Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. Gibfield, Howe Bridge and Chanters collieries exploited the coal mines of the middle coal measures in the Manchester Coalfield...
proposed a merger of several companies operating to the west of Manchester and merger was agreed and took place in March 1929 forming Manchester Collieries
Manchester Collieries
Manchester Collieries was a coal mining company formed in 1929 with headquarters at Walkdenfrom a group of independent companies operating on the Manchester Coalfield. The Mining Industry Act of 1926 attempted to stem the post-war decline in coal mining and encourage independent companies to merge...
, the largest such company on the coalfield.
Nationalisation
On the vesting date, 1 January 1947, the remaining coal mines were nationalised, taken into public ownership, and the service contracts of the employees transferred to the National Coal BoardNational 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...
(NCB). In total 86 collieries were nationalised and the coalfield divided into four areas, Manchester with 20 pits, Wigan had 26, St Helens 22 and 18 in Burnley though the number of collieries declined as reserves became exhausted.
In order to maximise coal output, short-life drift mines including Fence Drift and Wood End Drift were opened around Burnley and Seneley Hall Drift at Standish and Dairy Pit at Haigh in the early 1950s. At the same time, the NCB embarked on an extensive programmes of boring to prove the reserves of coal, and modernisation of existing collieries. In the late 1950s some smaller collieries were closed in Wigan and Burnley as was Deane Colliery in Bolton.
Production at the reopened Agecroft Colliery
Agecroft Colliery
Agecroft Colliery was a coalmine on the Manchester Coalfield in the Agecroft district of Pendlebury that first opened in 1844 in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It exploited the coal seams of the Middle Coal Measures of the Manchester Coalfield....
resumed in 1960 and by 1962 major investment was made to turn Mosley Common Colliery
Mosley Common Colliery
Mosley Common Colliery was a coal mine originally owned by the Bridgewater Trustees operating on the Manchester Coalfield after 1866 in Mosley Common, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England...
into a "superpit" at a cost of £7.5 millon. The last completely new coal mine to be sunk on the coalfield was Parkside Colliery at Newton-le-Willows. Sinking to the Crombouke and Lower Florida seams at a depth of 886 yards started in 1957 and production began in 1964. The colliery employed 1,400 men.
End of deep mining
In the 1960s the NCB began closing collieries, some with workable coal reserves, by setting impossible production targets and by 1967 just 21 pits remained. The Mosley Common superpit closed in 1968 and Astley Green closed in 1970, both had huge reserves of coal. The remaining collieries closed after the 1984 miners' strikeUK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
, Bold Colliery in St Helens closed in 1985, Agecroft in 1991 and the Bickershaw, Golbourne, Parsonage complex a year later. Parkside Colliery, the last deep mine one the coalfield, closed in 1993 without exhausting its coal reserves.
Legacy of coal mining
There can be no doubt that coal mining substantially changed the landcape. The Victoria County History has several disparaging descriptions of the Wigan area in the early 20th century.Coal mining has left areas of derelict land and spoil heaps or "rucks" across the coalfield. Some reclamation has taken place often after opencasting. Subsidence had resulted in "flashes" or shallow lakes some of which have been landscaped for recreational use such as the Three Sisters at Ashton in Makerfield and Pennington Flash Country Parks in 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....
. The Astley Green Colliery Museum
Astley Green Colliery Museum
The Astley Green Colliery Museum is a museum run by the Red Rose Steam Society in Astley near Tyldesley in Greater Manchester, England. Before becoming a museum, the site was a working colliery that produced coal from 1912 to 1970; it is now protected as a Scheduled Monument...
and Gin Pit Miners Welfare in Astley
Astley, Greater Manchester
Astley is a settlement within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England, variously described as a suburb or a village. Astley lies on flat land to the northwest of the city of Manchester, and is crossed by the Bridgewater Canal and the A580 "East Lancashire Road"...
are two of the last tangible reminders of the once thriving industry.
Mining disasters
The "gassy" coal seams, poor ventilation and the use of candles meant the coalfield was prone to explosions and between 1851 and 1853 had the highest mortality rate of any coafield. In 1850, 16 men and boys died at Bent Grange Colliery in Oldham, 36 died at Coppull Colliery in 1852 and in two disasters in a year at Ince Hall Colliery, 58 died in 1853 and 89 men died in 1854.Mining was dangerous, flooding, gases, roof falls and explosions of firedamp contributed to the deaths of thousands of workers in Lancashire's pits. In the first half of the 19th century there were many disasters, many caused by firedamp and inadequate ventilation. In the year 1859 there were 68 fatal accidents in Manchester district and 57 in Wigan and St Helens. The third worst mining disaster in the country was at Hulton Collieries'
Hulton Colliery Company
The Hulton Colliery Company was a coal mining company operating on the Lancashire Coalfield from the mid 19th century in Over Hulton and Westhoughton, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England....
Pretoria Pit
Pretoria Pit Disaster
The Pretoria Pit disaster was a mining accident that occurred on 21 December 1910, when there was an underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit, known as the Pretoria Pit, in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, then in the historic county of Lancashire, in North West...
in 1910 when a faulty lamp caused an explosion killing 344 miners.
The last disaster on the coalfield was at Golborne Colliery in March 1979, when three men died instantly in an explosion of methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
caused by an electric spark and seven more men died of their injuries.
Boothstown Mines Rescue Station
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...
opened by the Lancashire and Cheshire Coalowners in 1933 was close to the East Lancashire Road
A580 road
The A580 is a primary A road in England that connects Walton, near Liverpool and Salford, near Manchester and known officially as Liverpool-East Lancashire Road. Locally, the road is shortened to the "East Lancs". The road was designed and built to provide better access to the Port of Liverpool for...
. It was permanently staffed by two rescue teams who attended emergencies across the entire coalfield.
Unions
The colliery owners fended off the formation of unions until well into the 19th century and trade unionism was slow to take a hold on the coalfield. The employers arbitrarily fined men for minor reasons, disallowed wages on false pretexts and victimised perceived radicals. Bonds were used to enforce discipline. Miners protested about poor wages in 1757 when bread prices rose and some marched from Kersall towards Manchester in protest but were turned back. When trouble flared, the Home SecretaryHome 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...
ordered troops to be ready to quell the unrest. Long strikes were unsustainable as the miners had no organisation or finances to back them up. The first miners' association was the "Brotherly Union Society" formed in Pemberton, Wigan in 1794. It was described as a friendly society to avoid prosecution under the Combination Acts and in the early 19th century there were 21 such societies in central Lancashire.
The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation
Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation
The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation was a trade union which operated on the Lancashire Coalfield in North West England.-Background:...
(LCMF) was founded in 1881 and after the formation of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945, the LCMF became its Lancashire area. Though not considered militant, the union was involved in several strikes including the national strikes of 1926
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
, 1972, 1974 and 1984.
Invention and innovation
Lancashire was at the forefront of innovation in coal mining from James BrindleyJames Brindley
James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...
's 1756 water wheel at Wet Earth Colliery
Wet Earth Colliery
The Wet Earth Colliery has a unique place in British coal mining history, apart from being one of the earliest pits in the country; it is the place where the engineer James Brindley made water run uphill...
to the Duke of Bridgewaters's underground canals
Worsley Navigable Levels
The Worsley Navigable Levels are an extensive series of coal mines in Worsley in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. They were worked largely by the use of underground canals and boats called starvationers....
. Edward Ormerod
Edward Ormerod
Edward Ormerod was an English mining engineer.Edward Ormerod was born on 2 May 1834 in the village of Church, near Accrington, in Lancashire, England. He worked as a mining engineer at Fletcher, Burrows and Company's Gibfield Colliery in Atherton, Greater Manchester, where he devised and tested a...
patented a "Butterfly" safety link to improve cage safety in 1867 that is used globally. Lancashire had the first pithead baths in the country at Gibfield Colliery
Gibfield Colliery
Gibfield Colliery was a coal mine which was part of the Fletcher, Burrows and Company's collieries in Atherton, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England.A shaft was sunk to the Trencherbone mine in 1829 by John Fletcher...
in Atherton and the first mines rescue station at to cover an entire coalfield at Howe Bridge
Howe Bridge Mines Rescue Station
Howe Bridge Mines Rescue Station was the first Mines rescue station on the Lancashire Coalfield openedin 1908 in Howe Bridge, Atherton, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England....
in 1908. The Anderton Shearer Loader invented by James Anderton produced more than half the total output of British coal in the 1960s.