Great Boys Colliery
Encyclopedia
Great Boys Colliery was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield
in the second half of the 19th century in Tyldesley
, then in the historic county of Lancashire
, England. It was situated on the north side of Sale Lane west of the Colliers Arms public house. It was begun by William Atkin and sold in 1855 to mineowners, John Fletcher and Samuel Scowcroft. By 1869 their partnership was dissolved and the company became John Fletcher and Sons in 1877. Shafts were sunk for a colliery on Pear Tree Farm on the corner of Mort Lane and Sale Lane which appear in the 1867 Mines Lists and became part of Great Boys Colliery. Fletcher and Schofield were granted permission to construct a mineral railway to join the London and North Western Railway
's Tyldesley Loopline
in 1868 but there is no evidence that it was built. The colliery closed before 1885. The colliery accessed the Brassey mine (coal seam) at about 170 yards and the Six Feet mine at 182 yards.
at the colliery. A further 100 men and boys who were in the mine were burned but survived the explosion.
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...
in the second half of the 19th century 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...
, 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. It was situated on the north side of Sale Lane west of the Colliers Arms public house. It was begun by William Atkin and sold in 1855 to mineowners, John Fletcher and Samuel Scowcroft. By 1869 their partnership was dissolved and the company became John Fletcher and Sons in 1877. Shafts were sunk for a colliery on Pear Tree Farm on the corner of Mort Lane and Sale Lane which appear in the 1867 Mines Lists and became part of Great Boys Colliery. Fletcher and Schofield were granted permission to construct a mineral railway to join the London and North Western Railway
London 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...
's 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 1868 but there is no evidence that it was built. The colliery closed before 1885. The colliery accessed the Brassey mine (coal seam) at about 170 yards and the Six Feet mine at 182 yards.
Disaster
On 6 March 1877 eight men died in 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...
at the colliery. A further 100 men and boys who were in the mine were burned but survived the explosion.