Astley Green Colliery Museum
Encyclopedia
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. The museum occupies a 15 acres (6 ha) site by the Bridgewater Canal
which has the only surviving pit headgear and engine house on the Lancashire Coalfield
.
exploited deep coal seams of the Manchester Coalfield
underneath the peat bog known as Chat Moss
, and was driven by the high demand for coal during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the exhaustion of supplies of coal in the Irwell Valley
. Shaft sinking began in 1908 by the Pilkington Colliery Company, a subsidiary of the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company
, and the pit began production in 1912. In 1928 the colliery was amalgamated with other local collieries to form Manchester Collieries
. The mine was modernisated when the coal industry was nationalised in 1947. Astley Green Colliery was closed in 1970 and was subsequently opened to the public as a museum.
and engine house on what was the Lancashire coalfield. The headgear is made from wrought iron
lattice girders with rivetted plates at the joints. It has two large and one small wheel mounted at the top. It is nearly 30 metres (98.4 ft) high and was built by Head Wrightson of Stockton-on-Tees
and completed by 1912.
In the winding house there is a twin tandem compound steam engine made by Yates and Thom of Blackburn who supplied 16 Lancashire boilers.
Its engine house has the largest steam winding engine used on the coafield. The 3,300 horse power twin tandem compound engine was built by Yates & Thom in Blackburn.
The museum also has a collection of 28 colliery locomotives, the largest such collection in the UK.
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"...
near 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...
in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, 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. The museum occupies a 15 acres (6 ha) site by 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...
which has the only surviving pit headgear and engine house on the Lancashire Coalfield
Lancashire 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...
.
History
Astley Green CollieryAstley Green Colliery
Astley Green Colliery was a coal mine in Astley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Sinking commenced in 1908 by the Pilkington Colliery Company, a subsidiary of the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company, at the southern edge of the Manchester Coalfield, working the...
exploited deep coal seams of 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...
underneath the peat bog known as Chat Moss
Chat Moss
Chat Moss is a large area of peat bog that makes up 30 percent of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of the River Irwell, to the west of Manchester, and occupies an area of about...
, and was driven by the high demand for coal during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the exhaustion of supplies of coal in the Irwell Valley
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:...
. Shaft sinking began in 1908 by the Pilkington Colliery Company, a subsidiary of the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company
Clifton and Kersley Coal Company
The Clifton and Kersley Coal Company or Clifton and Kearsley Coal Company was a coal mining company that operated in Clifton and Kearsley in the Irwell Valley, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Its collieries exploited the coal mines of the middle coal measures in the Manchester...
, and the pit began production in 1912. In 1928 the colliery was amalgamated with other local collieries to form 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 mine was modernisated when the coal industry was nationalised in 1947. Astley Green Colliery was closed in 1970 and was subsequently opened to the public as a museum.
Museum
Astley Green Colliery has the only surviving headgearHeadframe
A headframe is the structural frame above an underground mine shaft. Modern headframes are built out of steel, concrete or a combination of both...
and engine house on what was the Lancashire coalfield. The headgear is made from wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
lattice girders with rivetted plates at the joints. It has two large and one small wheel mounted at the top. It is nearly 30 metres (98.4 ft) high and was built by Head Wrightson of Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
and completed by 1912.
In the winding house there is a twin tandem compound steam engine made by Yates and Thom of Blackburn who supplied 16 Lancashire boilers.
Its engine house has the largest steam winding engine used on the coafield. The 3,300 horse power twin tandem compound engine was built by Yates & Thom in Blackburn.
The museum also has a collection of 28 colliery locomotives, the largest such collection in the UK.
See also
- List of Collieries in Astley and Tyldesley
- Scheduled Monuments in Greater ManchesterScheduled Monuments in Greater ManchesterThere are 37 Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. In the United Kingdom, a Scheduled Monument is a "nationally important" archaeological site or historic building that has been given protection against unauthorised change...