Ellesmere Colliery was a coal mine in Walkden, Manchester, England. The pit was located on Manchester Road, a short distance south of Walkden town centre. [1]
There were three shafts on the colliery site, with a fourth upcast shaft located a distance to the NNW. No. 1 shaft was sunk to the Five Quarters mine at a depth of 252 metres (276 yd). The 250-metre (273 yd) deep No. 2 shaft and 377-metre (412 yd) No. 3 shaft were located on either side of the engine house. [2] [3] The c.1866 engine house contained a central ventilator and the winding engine was from local iron founder's Nasmyth Wilson, which powered a 30-inch by 54-inch winder. [1] It wound one cage in each shaft and the winding drum had a stepped 4.3-metre (14 ft) and 3.0-metre (10 ft) diameter to cater for the differing depths. The 1800s wooden headgear was replaced with metal structures in the 20th century, with one surviving until 1955. [2] At least one of the shafts intersected the underground canal of the Worsley Navigable Levels, [1] and although coal winding ceased in 1921 it was retained for water pumping and ventilation. [2]
The colliery was served by the Bridgewater Collieries Railway, which connected other lines such as the LNWR and also to the Bridgewater Canal. [3] The Walkden Yard maintenance depot was later constructed on the western side of the pit. [4] The Walkden offices of the company were also located to the southwest of the site. [1]
Bridgewater merged with others to form Manchester Collieries in 1929. The electrification of Ellesmere engine plant in 1936 led to the closure of the nearby Roughfield Colliery. [5] Pumping continued until 1968 and after the National Coal Board demolished the buildings at both sites and the shafts were filled-in. Sometime later a violent explosion occurred in a house in Walkden caused by firedamp accumulating underground and eventually forcing its way to the surface. To prevent a recurrence a borehole was drilled down No.1 shaft and a methane extraction plant built at the top. [2]
References
- ^ a b c d Davies, A. (2010). Coal Mining in Lancashire & Cheshire. Stroud: Amberley. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-44562-361-0.
- ^ a b c d Wharton Hall Colliery, Northern Mine Research Society, retrieved 22 January 2020
- ^ a b Lancashire and Furness (Map). 1 : 2,500. County Series. Ordnance Survey. 1893. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ Davies, A. (2013). Walkden Yard: The Lancashire Central Coalfield Workshops. Stroud: Amberley. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-44561-705-3.
- ^ The Electrical Review. IPC Electrical-Electronic Press. 1917. p. 464. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
53°31′25″N 2°24′06″W / 53.5235°N 2.4018°W
Further reading
- Challinor, Raymond (1972), The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners, Frank Graham, ISBN 0-902833-54-5
- Hayes, Geoffrey (2004), Collieries and their Railways in the Manchester Coalfields, Landmark, ISBN 1-84306-135-X
- Townley, C.H.A. (1995), The Industrial railways of Bolton, Bury and the Manchester Coalfield, Part Two, The Manchester Coalfield, Runpast, ISBN 1-870754-32-8