Yew Tree Colliery was a coal mine 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...

 after 1845 in 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.

In 1845 George Green of Wharton 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...

, and his brother leased land at Yew Tree Farm and sank a shaft to prospect for coal. This became Yew Tree Colliery. Before 1851 Green built a tramroad to link the colliery to 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...

 east of Astley Green. At the Tyldesley end, the tramway was worked by cable down the steep slope of the Tyldesley Banks and horse-drawn wagons completed the journey.

After 1870 the colliery was part 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...

. The colliery had two shafts, one 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...

, sunk to the Rams mine at 600 feet. The shafts were deepened in the early 1890s to access the Black and White mine.

An explosion of firedamp

Firedamp

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...

, ignited 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...

, in 1858 cost the lives of 25 men and boys. This was the worst mining disaster to occur in Tyldesley.