Ladyshore Colliery
Ladyshore Colliery, originally named Back o' th Barn, was situated on the
Closed in 1949, it was the last colliery to remain in use by the canal. Only the colliery office (now a house) and the stables have survived.
Terminology used
Coal mining had its own terminology, whilst some terms were common in all areas, some were used only in the Lancashire Coalfield. Following are some terms used in Ladyshore Colliery, taken from Weep Mother Weep.[2]
- Balance – a slope with a pulley at the top where empty tubs pulled full tubs up the slope
- Balancer – the person, usually a boy, who operated the balance
- Colliery – the site at the surface that includes all the buildings, railways and headgears
- Coupler – a boy who worked on the haulage system coupling tubs together
- Mine – the name given in Lancashire to a coal seam
- Pit – the shaft from the surface down to the workings
- Tenter – a person who looked after something e.g., furnace tenter, door tenter or pony tenter
History
Ladyshore Colliery was situated in the Irwell Valley, on two sides of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal. The colliery was opened in the 1830s and originally had three pits, Ladyshore, Victoria and Owl Hole. The deepest was Owl Hole, which reached 55 fathoms (101 m).[3]
The geology of the Irwell Valley made coal easier to mine; thrown upwards by the
At various stages, the owners connected the two sides of the colliery. Around 1850 a bridge was built over the canal (bridge number 67)[6] and some time around 1881, the bridge was railed to make a tubway.[7] In 1905 the owners entered into discussion with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company in an attempt to establish an endless steel ropeway across the canal, and to deliver coal using a possible rail spur to the colliery.[8] Although these talks were abandoned, in 1908 the subject was again raised, again with no result.[9]
In 1938 the colliery was owned by Ladyshore Coal Company (1930). Its three pits, Ladyshore, Owl Hole and Victoria employed 208 men underground and 114 surface workers.
Today, only the colliery office (now a house) and the stables survive. At the close, the last full year output was given as 39,541 tons with a manpower of 236.[5]
Mines
There were several mines or coal seams worked at Ladyshore:
Accidents
The colliery was witness to several accidents, some of them fatal. In 1886, a collier by the name of Hardaker was injured in or around the coal screening area. The accident resulted in Hardaker taking Fletcher, the owner to court. Although some private papers about the subsequent court case, Hardakers v Fletcher,[13] have survived, none of the paperwork is dated other than by the year. At 2:30 pm on 25 June 1902, a collier by the name of W. Scott was killed. Scott was pulling down the roof with his under-manager, a man by the name of Brown when a 6-inch-thick (150 mm) layer fell, bringing down the next layer and crushing Scott. At the inquest in Bolton on 1 July, his death was recorded as accidental.[14]
On 12 April 1940, an underground tram accident occurred at the colliery, crushing and seriously injuring a miner named as E. Robinson.[15]
Fletcher family
The fortunes of the Ladyshore were intimately connected with the Fletcher family and their ties to local politics. The colliery was founded by Thomas Fletcher Senior, under the name Thomas Fletcher & Sons. Thomas Sr (1805–1893) was chairman of the
Fletcher trial
Despite an accident caused by a candle igniting gas at the Clifton Hall Colliery on 18 June 1885,[20] in which 178 miners lost their lives, the Fletcher family, owners of Ladyshore refused to introduce safety lamps into the pits even though they were working the same mine (coal seam) which was known to be a gassy coal. This stubborn streak resulted in one of the largest court cases involving coal mines in England which brought about the end of the use of candles and other open lights in coal mines. The case also had implications for the use of other equipment, such as electrical lighting and tools, which may have endangered the lives of miners.
On 3 May 1886, HM Inspector of Mines, Mr Joseph Dickenson, inspected the pits and, on finding that candles were still being used, cited the
"Coal Mines Regulation Act 1872 s46. Whereas at the above named mine (of the Ladyshore Colliery) I find the following matter which is not provided against by any express provision of the above Act or by any special rule established thereunder – namely, that the respective mines in the colliery are worked with open lights, and not safety lamps, notwithstanding that such mines are subject to emissions of firedamp. And whereas I am of opinion that, having regard to the character of the mines, the said matter is dangerous or defective so as to threaten or tend to the bodily injury of the persons employed in and about the said colliery. Now I hereby give you notice forthwith to remedy the said matter."[21]
On 21 May, Herbert Fletcher appealed against the notice to the
Fletcher hired C. A. Russell, Solicitor and
On 12 July 1886 at Wigan, Denman & Hawkins JJ dismissed the appeal[21] upholding the umpire's decision and the Inspector's original notice. Fletcher then appealed to the High Courts and the case was heard by the Queen's Bench on 16 December 1886. The Queen's Bench upheld the Divisional Court decision,[21] but gave leave to appeal to the House of Lords.
The matter was taken to the
"The question here is whether the use of open lights is or is not safe. The general or special rules cannot affect this question, though they may apply when it is determined. Further, the umpire has nor exceeded his powers by stating that the only alternative to open lamps, namely safety lamps, shall be adopted. At all events he has determined the question that the working of the mine with open lamps is dangerous, and his award ought not to be set aside, even if it goes in other respects beyond the scope of his authority. I [Esher] can see no reason therefore, why the award should not go back to him so that it may be put into form. When that is done, it will be for the mine owner to remedy the defect, for if he does not he will be, if the next tribunal [the criminal trial that could result from this verdict] is against him, be liable to the penalties under the Act."
Despite the dismissal of the appeal and thus the validation of the notice issued by HM Inspector of Mines, Fletcher continued to use open flames. Because of this, on 4 May 1887, Herbert Fletcher was summoned to Bolton Police Court[23] to answer charges of 'a breach of safety' under the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1872. On 16 May 1887, Fletcher was found guilty of endangering his workers and fined at the Bolton Court.
This case marked the end of the use of candles and other open lights in English coal mines and left Ladyshore with the infamous distinction of being the last colliery to use open lights.
Trade union disputes
In 1893, the Miners' Federation of Great Britain found itself involved in a struggle against mine owners who wanted a 25% cut in miners pay. The action resulted in widespread lockouts and involved 300,000 miners. The mine owners were eventually forced to give in and restore the wage cuts.[24] All the pits in Little Lever were affected for the full 15 weeks that the action lasted and the Fletcher family were amongst the owners who most strongly supported the cut in wages.[25]
Women and children in the mine
In 1841 amidst concerns over child labour, the government commissioned a report into the state of collieries. This report, "The Royal Commission Report",[26] was carried out by John J. Kennedy and published in 1842.
In collecting his testimony, Kennedy realised that women were being treated as badly as children and widened his scope to include them as well. Kennedy visited the area of Little Lever and interviewed several women and children working in the pits. The women lived in Outwood and were employed by Thomas Fletcher. Fletcher owned both Ladyshore and Outwood Collieries and the women moved from one pit to another depending on how much coal was being produced. Their testimonies showed that children as young as 5 or 6 were working in the pits. Married and mothers, Betty Wardle and Mary Hardman gave damning testimony to conditions underground. Wardle told Kennedy she started work at the age of 6 whilst Hardman said she started at the age of 7. Wardle later described how she was employed to 'draw with belt and chain'; that is pull the tubs along the underground rails by means of a leather waist belt to the back of which was attached a chain to the tub, used where the tunnels were too small for the use of ponies, (ponies were not used at Outwood, so this must refer to Ladyshore). She then went on to tell Kennedy that she was forced to work whilst pregnant and that she had one child of her four in the mine, the work had brought on labour and the newborn was carried out of the mine in her skirt.
The youngest children were employed as ventilation tenters. Ventilation in the mines was controlled by a series of wooden doors across the passages, these children would sit in a niche dug out of the wall, opening and closing these doors to allow miners and tubs to pass. It was common for them to sit in the dark for up to 8 hours a day. Other young children were employed as pony tenters, they would feed and water the pit ponies in the underground stables.
Older children were given more manual jobs. Tubs were pulled up slopes above and below ground by balance weights, a balancer was usually a boy who operated the balance system. Alongside him worked a coupler, whose job it was to couple the tubs together before they were pulled up the slope. These were dangerous jobs and many children were seriously injured or lost limbs.
The government had not realised that the position for women was as bad as that of the children and was so shocked by the report that legislation was passed almost immediately, The
While women and the youngest children were stopped from going into the mines and various education acts raised the school leaving age, boys still followed their fathers' footsteps into the mines as late as the
Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal
The colliery had a very close association with the canal as it was the means by which the colliery transported its coal to
See also
List of mining disasters in Lancashire
References
- ^ NW Division map, cmhrc.co.uk, archived from the original on 19 July 2011, retrieved 28 April 2011
- ISBN 0-9507692-4-X.
- ^ a b Gardiner, Ann, ed. (1998). Exploring Greater Manchester a fieldwork guide – 3.3 Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal: Nob End. Manchester Geographical Society. p. 4.
- ISBN 1-903425-95-6.
- ^ a b c HM Inspector of Mines. Annual Report of HM Inspector of Mines.
- ^ "Bridge Proposal : File reference ZLA/16/6". Bolton Local Studies, Bolton Library.
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- ^ "Proposed endless rope crossing the canal : File Reference RR/5/5/3/7". Bolton Local Studies, Bolton Library. 28 September 1905.
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(help) - ^ "Agreement between L&YR and Ladyshore Coal Co. : File Reference RR/5/5/3/29". Bolton Local Studies, Bolton Library. 11 May 1908.
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(help) - ^ "List of mines in Great Britain and the Isle of Man, 1938: Lancashire (A-L)". Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- ^ "Memorandums over photographs of pit ponies at Ladyshaw Colliery : File Reference ZLA/15/3/9". Bolton Local Studies, Bolton Library. 1948.
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(help) - ^ Bolton Archive and Local Studies Service : The Ladyshore Colliery, in the Hamlet of Outwood : File References ZLA/16/26/1 to ZLA/16/26/8
- ^ "Hardakers-v-Fletcher : File reference ZLA/16/84". Bolton Local Studies, Bolton Library.
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(help) - ^ Bolton Evening News, 1902-07-01
- ^ "Accident to E Robinson : File Reference ZLA/16/62". Bolton Local Studies, Bolton Library.
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(help) - ^ a b "Bolton Mayors". Retrieved 14 March 2008.
- ^ "Bolton Mayors – Little Lever". Retrieved 14 March 2008.
- ^ Davis, George E., ed. (18 January 1886). "H Fletcher – Obituary". The Chemical Trade Journal. XVIII: 44.
- ^ Fletcher, Herbert (1888). "On Smoke Abatement". Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. 9 (2): 303–308.
- ^ English Heritage. ""The Diocese of Manchester: Handling problems in partnership"" (PDF). Retrieved 4 July 2006.
- ^ a b c d Cook, Charles Archer, ed. (30 October 1887). "In re Secretary of State". The Weekly Reporter. XXXV: 282–284.
- ^ a b c The Law Reports, Queens Bench Division (1887). "In the Arbitration between Secretary of State for Home Department and Fletcher". XVIII: 340–346.
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(help) - ^ Davis, George E., ed. (1887). "Ladyshore Colliery". The Chemical Trade Journal (Volume 1 – May to December): 13.
{{cite journal}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help) - ^ National Union of Mineworkers. "Official web site". Retrieved 25 January 2008.
- ^ Board of Trade (1894). "Report by the Chief Labour Correspondent on the Strikes and Lockouts of 1893". Command Paper of the Board of Trade (C7566 lxxxi Pt 1 409).
- ^ Kennedy John J., for HM Government (1842). Royal Commission Report on the Employment of Children and Young Persons in the Collieries of Lancashire, Cheshire and part of Derbyshire; and on the State, Condition and Treatment of such Children and Young Persons.
- ^ a b "Memories of Sid Dyer (January 2000)". Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
- ISBN 0-907511-79-1.