REPORT ON THE 22nd APRIL 2009 MEETING

The South Lancashire Coalfield

In February our monthly meeting and talk had to be postponed because of the adverse weather conditions but fortunately it proved possible to find a new date when the threat of snow had passed! Our speaker was John Crompton, a nationally recognised expert on all aspects of mining, and he gave a talk entitled ‘The South Lancashire Coalfield', which he based on an address he delivered to the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical in 2005 on the occasion of his installation as President of that body. The talk was illustrated by a large number of excellent photographs taken from his collection. The fact that he served his apprenticeship as a mining engineer in this area, where he was brought up, gave added insight into the subject.

There are references to ‘stones that burned' as far back in time a Alexander the Great and during the Roman period in Britain coal was widely used. Evidence of coal and ash has been found at many Roman forts, including those along Hadrian's Wall. In South Lancashire there is documentary evidence that coal was mined in the Wigan area as early as 1350, the reference being to fire stone and sea coal being won at Shevington. This was Cannel Coal, said to be ‘the choicest coal in England' and could be worked from shaft workings of 60 feet deep or less. It had a high calorific value, with a good yield of gas and virtually no ash. An added attribute was that it was capable of being carved and polished and with the appearance of black marble, it was used to make items such as candlesticks, sugarboxes, spoons, etc. Its burning qualities became highly prized as far afield as Paris and America and supplies of Wigan coal were shipped out on a regular basis.

Life working in the coalfields was extremely hard and the Wigan mines were no exception. In 1756 the wages were 1s 4d for a man ranging down to 10d for a boy. Wages for a score of baskets (a score being 24 weighing140lbs each) was 10d. A basket had to be filled and taken to the pit shaft to qualify. Over the years wages increased and by 1886 had risen, for a man, to 28s 10d and then, by 1918, to 78s 11d. However after the General Strike of 1926 the rate fell to 9s 9d, resulting in severe hardship for the miners and their families.

The birth of the Industrial Revolution saw Lancashire and its coalfields prosper and in doing do changed the face of the countryside. Towns grew up to cope with the demand for goods of all types and the insatiable appetite for coal was fed by ever-increasing number of mined that came into production. The centre of the industry was Wigan and the spoil heaps covering the land were referred to as the Wigan Alps. Manchester absorbed vast quantities of coal and the problem was how to get it the consumer as quickly and cheaply as possible.

The Duke of Bridgewater was instrumental in building a network of canals to reduce manual handling by men and horses. Many of these canals were driven underground to increase speed and efficiency further. Using the primitive tools of the 18 th century, 46 miles of underground canals were built. This is a prodigious feat by any standard. This process was tried elsewhere e.g. the Nent Force Level in Cumberland, but not with the same degree of success. The result was that the price of coal in Manchester fell from 6s per ton to 6d per ton.

The engineers and colliery owners showed great powers of invention and ingenuity as they strove to find better and cheaper ways of wresting coal from the ground and enormous quantities of coal were brought up, usually making the owners wealthy men .However there was a human cost and the mines were very dangerous and unhealthy places. Children and women were employed until legislation brought this to an end, although there were many examples of the law being ignored in the lust for production. The main hazards were gas and water and fatal accidents were all too common. The greatest single loss of life occurred on the 21 st December, 1910 at the Pretoria Pit of the Hulton Colliery when 344 lives were lost.

Coal mining has now virtually stopped but in places such as Lancashire it played a huge part in the industrial development of Britain. Indeed it could be argued that coal put the ‘Great' in Britain.