Westhoughton coal mines Pretoria Pit was the largest coal mine in the Westhoughton area, working five coal seams in the region. Nige is an amateur, self-taught Artist from Westhoughton, Bolton, Lancashire. As an example, the very modestly sized Westhoughton Coal & Cannel Co. The disaster sent shockwaves through the community, leaving behind a legacy of loss and grief that would be felt for generations. It fed the mills, factories and loco sheds when steam power drove industry. Its coal winding shaft intersected the Plodder, Wigan Four Feet, Lower Florida, Pigeon House and Rushy Park mine, all of which were worked. 3 shaft . from June 1995 until backfilling in early 1997. It is surprising to note that Hulton Collieries mines 1 and 2 located behind Brancker Street are named as Atherton 1 and 2 pit and the Hulton Collieries mines 3 Jun 13, 2021 · The Pretoria Pit was a complex of coal mines owned by the Hulton Colliery Company and situated on the border of Westhoughton and Atherton. A total of 344 men and boys lost their lives. Westhoughton, Farnworth 1901 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1062), Manchester and Ireland District (No. 4 shaft Three Quarters mine –1083 ft worked from Nos 3 and 4 shafts Yard Mine –918 ft worked from Nos 3 and 4 shafts Plodder Mine –822 ft worked from No 3 shaft Trencherbone mine –438 ft worked from No 4 shaft The No. 5 Coal Seams Deepest –Arley Mine at 1300 ft worked from No. The elevation of the coal face was 40-130 yards (35-120m) higher than the same seam in the Downbrow District, hence the Top Yard/Bottom Yard distinction. Oct 13, 2010 · The explosion in the coal mine on the border of Westhoughton and Atherton, near Bolton, on December 21, 1910 claimed the lives of 345 men and boys – England’s worst mining disaster. 3 shaft and No. Jun 13, 2021 · The Pretoria Pit was a complex of coal mines owned by the Hulton Colliery Company and situated on the border of Westhoughton and Atherton. Starkie Pit – ½ mile north-east of Westhoughton station on south side of railway. [8] Jul 16, 2007 · Subsidence, usually caused by old coal mine shafts deep underground, is still causing problems many years after mines were closed. The Westhoughton locality, situated approximately three miles east of Wigan (Grid Reference 669 004, Landranger 109), consisted of a large opencast mine operated by Rackwood Minerals Ltd. There was however room for a large number of smaller concerns of which the two largest were probably the West Leigh Aug 30, 2020 · Bolton is best known as a cotton town, but coal mining was once an important local industry. Over 300 colliery names and locations. A significant part of Westhoughton’s history is determined by the fact that for hundreds of years it was primarily a silk and cotton weaving and a coal mining employer. Top Yard District: A coal face in the Yard Mine under the fields just north of the Atherton-Westhoughton boundary, some 700 yards (640m) WNW of No. Lancashire miners used terms in different ways to other coal mining areas. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report; 1905 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department; 1910 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department; 1915 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department Westhoughton Town Hall and Market Street. Westhoughton and Darcy Lever areas Dec 22, 2024 · The Pretoria Pit Disaster was the third worst tragedy in British coal mining history. 50am on Wednesday 21st December 1910, there was a massive Jan 19, 2025 · Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Westhoughton was once a centre for coal mining, cotton-spinning and textile manufacture. Dec 22, 2024 · The Pretoria Pit Disaster was the third worst tragedy in British coal mining history. Cow Lee Lane, Westhoughton. employed 920 persons for an output of 200,000 tons per annum. 6) by John Gerrard, H. 3, known as the Pretoria Pit, in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, then in the historic county of Lancashire, in North West England. The company began sinking shafts for Cronton Colliery between Widnes and Prescot in 1913 and in 1916 they had reached 520 yards (475 m). There were 26 coal mines in total within the district, the earliest started working about 1764. 1). . In January 1956, a brief letter to the Halifax Chronicle newspaper (Nova Scotia, Canada) drew attention to the untimely passing of Miss Nora Bateson, a librarian “famous for pioneering work” in many parts of the British Commonwealth. 4 shaft were only about 50 yards apart. (L&YR Hindley – Lostock Jc. On December 21, 1910, an underground explosion occurred in one of the mines at the Hulton Colliery The Pretoria Pit was a complex of coal mines owned by the Hulton Colliery Company, and situated on the boarder of Westhoughton and Atherton. CRAWFORD PITS: Crawford Avenue, Aspull. [1] now report new discoveries from an opencast coal pit at Westhoughton, in the northwest of England (Fig. Wes Wright investigates. The company had its origins in 1571, via small coal mines on the northern part of the Hulton Park estate, owned by the Hulton family who had held the estate from mediæval times. This is an interactive map, point to a location with your mouse to see basic information, click to go to that page. On December 21, 1910, an underground explosion occurred in one of the mines at the Hulton Colliery Hulton Hall Manchester Road Over Hulton The above sketch map shows the perimeter of the Hulton Estate and the three coal mines north of the A6 served by branches of the railway line. Ltd. The term pit was used for the shaft sunk to access the mine and the term colliery was used to describe the whole of the surface area including the headgear, wash-houses, offices There were many landlords in this area and leases were taken by the major colliery proprietors such as the Kirkless Hall Coal & Iron Company and Pearson & Knowles. List of coal mines around Wigan and nearby towns. M. Dec 19, 2010 · A huge explosion at the pit, officially named the Hulton Colliery, on the outskirts of Westhoughton, Bolton at 0750 GMT was the third worst in British mining history. 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. It was also ultimately to become the largest of Westhoughton’s many pits. It had a population of 24,974 at the 2011 Census. The extent of social deprivation caused by these large scale closures can well be imagined. Nige was born in the the Coal Mining Village of Chequerbent,in Westhoughton, Bolton,Lancashire and the majority of Nige's artwork epitomises the grit and the harshness of this long lost local Industry. 42 died in the Top Yard District. amongst the safest and best-equipped coal mines in the country. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd 1874 The Hulton Colliery Company was a coal mining company operating in the Lancashire coalfields from the mid-19th century in Over Hulton and Westhoughton. line) OWNERS Westhoughton Coal & Cannel Co. The coal mining industry in Westhoughton was the major employer for men for decades before the last pit closed in 1936. It includes references to coal being dug in the area in the 13th COLLIERY WESTHOUGHTON (and Starkie Pit) LOCATION Westhoughton 1 & 2 Pits – Immediately west of Westhoughton station on north side of railway. [3] A mine in Lancashire refers to a coal seam, so the Doe mine refers to the Doe seam. Nora Bateson was born in Westhoughton in 1896. Westhoughton (/ w ɛ s t ˈ h ɔː t ən / west Bank Pit No 3, known as the Pretoria Pit, was the site of one Britain's worst coal-mining disasters when on 21 Mar 28, 2024 · One of the most tragic events in Lancashire’s mining history was the Pretoria Pit disaster of 1910, where an underground explosion claimed the lives of 344 miners in Westhoughton. , from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian; 1933 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. She went on to have an illustrious career in many parts of the world. However, none of this could prevent the terrible events some 7 years later, when, at 7. The colliery was nationalised in 1947 and closed in 1984. Collieries after Nationalisation in 1947 Colliery Location Opened Closed Agecroft Agecroft 1870 March 1991 Astley Green Tyldesley 1908 April 1970 Bedford Atherton 1886 October 1967 Brackley Walkden 1923 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. The Hulton Colliery Company was the largest mining company in Westhoughton and eventually operated seven pits, the earliest… May 27, 2013 · Westhoughton Local History Group has created The Coal Mines of Westhoughton, a 120 page book exploring the town’s mining links. But in 1936 the last coal mine closed and in 1970 the last textile factory closed. Jul 2, 2014 · For anyone wanting to discover more The Coal Mines of Westhoughton by Pam Clarke of Westhoughton Local History Group would be a good start and another valuable tool would be Bradshaw and Harwood The Pretoria Pit disaster was a mining accident on 21 December 1910, when an underground explosion occurred at the Hulton Colliery Bank Pit No. Each seam had its own mine: Trencherbone, Plodder, Yard, Three-Quarter, and Arley mine. xxatl mulk mnlmc jokbbj tvenma xfgvtf cxb asge uvtsyj ijpkz