Nelson Pit
Encyclopedia
Nelson Pit was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield
from the 1830s or 1840s in Shakerley
, Tyldesley
, Greater Manchester
, then in the historic county of Lancashire
, England.
Originally named Shakerley Colliery, the pit was sunk on land leased by Ellis Fletcher and worked by Nathan Eckersley in 1851. In 1861 the colliery passed to William Ramsden who owned Messhing Trees Colliery half a mile to the south. The shaft was sunk to 840 feet and the pit produced house coal from the Trencherbone mine. The colliery was renamed after 1880. The shaft was deepened to the Arley mine at 1486 feet. Nelson Pit closed in 1938. Shakerley Colliery and Messhing Trees were owned by William Ramsden's Shakerley Collieries
.
This colliery was isolated from the main roads and railway and a toll
road, Shakerley Lane, was built to the Bolton
to Leigh
turnpike
which continued to charge tolls until 1948. After the opening of the Tyldesley Loopline
in 1864, William Ramsden built a mineral railway to link his collieries to the main line east of the Tyldesley Coal Company
's sidings.
The colliery was the scene of a disaster when six men died when the cage rope broke on 2 October 1883.
The colliery was sold to Manchester Collieries
in 1935 and abandoned in October 1938.
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...
from the 1830s or 1840s 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....
, 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...
, 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...
, 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.
Originally named Shakerley Colliery, the pit was sunk on land leased by Ellis Fletcher and worked by Nathan Eckersley in 1851. In 1861 the colliery passed to William Ramsden who owned Messhing Trees Colliery half a mile to the south. The shaft was sunk to 840 feet and the pit produced house coal from the Trencherbone mine. The colliery was renamed after 1880. The shaft was deepened to the Arley mine at 1486 feet. Nelson Pit closed in 1938. Shakerley Colliery and Messhing Trees were owned by William Ramsden's Shakerley Collieries
Shakerley Collieries
Ramsden's Shakerley Collieries was a coal mining company operating on the Manchester Coalfield from the mid 19th century in Shakerley, Tyldesley in the historic county of Lancashire, England.-History:...
.
This colliery was isolated from the main roads and railway and a toll
Toll
The word toll has several meanings.Road transportation infrastructure* "Toll" is sometimes used as a synonym for tariff** Toll road, a road for which road usage tolls are charged...
road, Shakerley Lane, was built to the 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...
to 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....
turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
which continued to charge tolls until 1948. After the opening of the Tyldesley Loopline
Tyldesley Loopline
The Tyldesley Loopline was the London and North Western Railway's Manchester and Wigan Railway line from Eccles to the junction west of Tyldesley station and its continuance south west via Bedford Leigh to Kenyon Junction on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The line opened on September 1st 1864...
in 1864, William Ramsden built a mineral railway to link his collieries to the main line east of the Tyldesley Coal Company
Tyldesley Coal Company
Tyldesley Coal Company was a coal mining company formed in 1870 in Tyldesley, on the Manchester Coalfield in the historic county of Lancashire, England that had its origins in Yew Tree Colliery, the location for a mining disaster that killed 25 men and boys in 1858.-History:Yew Tree Farm covered...
's sidings.
The colliery was the scene of a disaster when six men died when the cage rope broke on 2 October 1883.
The colliery was sold to 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...
in 1935 and abandoned in October 1938.