Shakerley Collieries
Encyclopedia
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.
had been dug in Shakerley since the 15th century when a dispute over "seacole" was recorded in 1429. Coal was used in the smithies of the nailers who plied their trade in Shakerley. There was a colliery between Higher Oak and Common Fold in Shakerley in 1798. John Hope of Chaddock Hall left it to his son, John, and his son-in-law, Thomas Smith. In 1836 Jacob Fletcher of Peel Hall Little Hulton
bought the Shakerley estates and acquired "514 acres of land, and the valuable mines of coal and stone lying under the same; the estates abounded with thriving young timber; the mines of coal were inexhaustible, of excellent quality, and being in a manufacturing district found a ready sale".
Shakerley Colliery, which was later renamed the Nelson Pit
was sunk in the 1830s or 1840s on land leased by Ellis Fletcher. It was worked by Nathan Eckersley and in 1861 passed to his nephew William Ramsden who owned the nearby colliery, Messhing Trees which is named on the 1869 mines list. Some time after 1880 Messhing Trees was renamed the Wellington Pit
. The Nelson Pit relied on road transport and a cobblestone toll
road was built linking it to the Bolton to Leigh
turnpike
road near Green Hall, Atherton
north of Shakerley. Shakerley Lane remained a toll road until 1949 but is now a bridleway.
In 1869 when Ramsden was sinking a shaft at the Nelson Pit he got into financial difficulties and disappeared after setting out to go the bank at Bolton. Ramsden's wife had to keep the collieries working and pay wages and had to approach George Green of Yew Tree Colliery
for help. Ramsden returned some weeks later arriving at one of his collieries having walked from Liverpool after returning from Ireland.
In 1896 the Shakerley Collieries employed 442 underground workers and 87 surface workers in their pits. In 1933 the company employed 330 underground and 115 workers who produced 90,000 tons of coal annually from the Plodder, Cannel, Arley, Smith and Yard mines.
Ramsden's Collieries joined Manchester Collieries
in 1935. The Wellington Pit was abandoned in the same year and the Nelson Pit closed in 1938.
possibly caused by a safety lamp
.
built the Tyldesley Loopline
in 1864, Ramsden built a colliery railway to join the mainline railway at Ramsden's Sidings east of Tyldesley Station
and Tyldesley Coal Company
's Green's Sidings. In 1874 a 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive Shakerley was bought from Manning Wardle
and in 1887 Edith a 0-6-0 tank engine was bought from Hunslets
. Shakerley was sold in 1901 and replaced by a new locomotive from Hunslets, identical to Edith which was also named Shakerley.
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
company 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...
from the mid 19th century 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...
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.
History
CoalCoal
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...
had been dug in Shakerley since the 15th century when a dispute over "seacole" was recorded in 1429. Coal was used in the smithies of the nailers who plied their trade in Shakerley. There was a colliery between Higher Oak and Common Fold in Shakerley in 1798. John Hope of Chaddock Hall left it to his son, John, and his son-in-law, Thomas Smith. In 1836 Jacob Fletcher of Peel Hall Little Hulton
Little Hulton
Little Hulton is a village—effectively a suburb—within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Bolton, west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester...
bought the Shakerley estates and acquired "514 acres of land, and the valuable mines of coal and stone lying under the same; the estates abounded with thriving young timber; the mines of coal were inexhaustible, of excellent quality, and being in a manufacturing district found a ready sale".
Shakerley Colliery, which was later renamed the Nelson Pit
Nelson Pit
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....
was sunk in the 1830s or 1840s on land leased by Ellis Fletcher. It was worked by Nathan Eckersley and in 1861 passed to his nephew William Ramsden who owned the nearby colliery, Messhing Trees which is named on the 1869 mines list. Some time after 1880 Messhing Trees was renamed the Wellington Pit
Wellington Pit
Wellington Colliery was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield before 1869 in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England....
. The Nelson Pit relied on road transport and a cobblestone 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 was built linking it to the Bolton 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...
road near Green Hall, Atherton
Atherton, Greater Manchester
Atherton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire. It is east of Wigan, north-northeast of Leigh, and northwest of Manchester...
north of Shakerley. Shakerley Lane remained a toll road until 1949 but is now a bridleway.
In 1869 when Ramsden was sinking a shaft at the Nelson Pit he got into financial difficulties and disappeared after setting out to go the bank at Bolton. Ramsden's wife had to keep the collieries working and pay wages and had to approach George Green of Yew Tree Colliery
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...
for help. Ramsden returned some weeks later arriving at one of his collieries having walked from Liverpool after returning from Ireland.
In 1896 the Shakerley Collieries employed 442 underground workers and 87 surface workers in their pits. In 1933 the company employed 330 underground and 115 workers who produced 90,000 tons of coal annually from the Plodder, Cannel, Arley, Smith and Yard mines.
Ramsden's Collieries joined 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. The Wellington Pit was abandoned in the same year and the Nelson Pit closed in 1938.
Disasters
Disasters at the Shakerley pits included the death of six men when the cage rope broke at the Nelson Pit on 2 October 1883. Then on 1 October 1895 five men including the colliery manager and undermanager died at the Wellington Pit after an explosion of firedampFiredamp
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...
possibly caused by a safety lamp
Safety lamp
A safety lamp is any of several types of lamp, which are designed to be safe to use in coal mines. These lamps are designed to operate in air that may contain coal dust, methane, or firedamp, all of which are potentially flammable or explosive...
.
Locomotives
After the London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
built 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, Ramsden built a colliery railway to join the mainline railway at Ramsden's Sidings east of Tyldesley Station
Tyldesley railway station
Tyldesley railway station is a closed railway station in Greater Manchester. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire.-History:...
and 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 Green's Sidings. In 1874 a 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive Shakerley was bought from Manning Wardle
Manning Wardle
Manning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.- Precursor companies :The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially successful steam locomotive, Salamanca, in Holbeck, Leeds,...
and in 1887 Edith a 0-6-0 tank engine was bought from Hunslets
Hunslet Engine Company
The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...
. Shakerley was sold in 1901 and replaced by a new locomotive from Hunslets, identical to Edith which was also named Shakerley.