The Sandhole Colliery or Bridgewater Colliery was a coal mine originally owned by 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...

 operating 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 Walkden

Walkden

Walkden is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest 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. The colliery closed in 1962.

History

The Bridgewater Trustees began sinking two 12 feet diameter shafts for the Bridgewater Colliery in 1865. The winding house contained two engines built by Naysmyth, Wilson & Company

Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company

Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company, originally called The Bridgewater Foundry, specialised in the production of heavy machine tools and locomotives. It was located in Patricroft, in Salford England, close to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the Bridgewater Canal and the Manchester Ship Canal...

. The engines survived until 1962 when the colliery closed. Two further shafts were sunk soon after, one of which was sunk to the Doe mine at 432 yards for ventilation

Underground mine ventilation

Underground mine ventilation provides a flow of air to the underground workings of a mine of sufficient volume to dilute and remove noxious gases . The source of these gases are equipment that runs on diesel engines, blasting with explosives, and the orebody itself...

and emergency use. No 3 shaft was 14 feet 6 inches in diameter and sunk to 330 yards. This shaft was deepened to 565 yards in 1943.