The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South East Lancashire Coalfield

Lancashire Coalfield

The Lancashire Coalfield in north-west England was one of the most important British coalfields.-Geography and geology:The geology of the coalfield consists of the coal seams of the Upper, Middle and Lower Coal Measures, layers of sandstones, shales and coal of varying thickness, which were laid...

. Its coal seams were laid down in the Carboniferous

Carboniferous

The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...

 period and some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 and extensively from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

 in the early 19th century until the last quarter of the 20th century. The Coal Measures

Coal Measures

The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...

 lie above a bed of Millstone Grit

Millstone Grit

Millstone Grit is the name given to any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the Northern England. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills...

 and are interspersed with sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

s, mudstone

Mudstone

Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...

s, shale

Shale

Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...

s, and fireclays. The Lower Coal Measures occupy the high ground of the West Pennine Moors

West Pennine Moors

The West Pennine Moors cover an area of approximately of moorland and reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England.The West Pennine Moors are separated from the main Pennine range by the Irwell Valley. The moorland includes Withnell, Anglezarke and Rivington Moors in the extreme west,...

 above Bolton and are not worked in the Manchester Coalfield. The most productive of the coal measures are the lower two thirds of the Middle Coal Measures where coal is mined from seams between the Worsley Four Foot and Arley mines. The deepest and most productive collieries were to the south of the coalfield. The coalfield is affected by the northwest to southeast aligned Pendleton Fault

Pendleton Fault

The Pendleton Fault, sometimes called the Irwell Valley Fault, stretches for about 20 miles from Bolton in Greater Manchester along the Irwell Valley through Pendleton to Poynton in Cheshire, running northwest–southeast. The fault throws the beds of the Middle Coal Measures of the Manchester...

 along the Irwell Valley

Irwell Valley

The Irwell Valley extends from the Forest of Rossendale in North West England, through to the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal.-Geology:...

 and the Rossendale

Rossendale

Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...

 Anticline

Anticline

In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...

. The Coal Measures generally dip towards the south and west. Numerous other smaller faults affect the coalfield. The Upper Coal Measures are not worked in the Manchester Coalfield.

The early coal mines were dug to the shallow seams where they outcropped, particularly in the Irwell Valley and in Atherton

Atherton, Greater Manchester

Atherton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire. It is east of Wigan, north-northeast of Leigh, and northwest of Manchester...

. The early mines were adits or bell pit

Bell pit

A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore or other minerals where the coal or ore lies near the surface.. A shaft is sunk to reach the mineral which is excavated by miners transported to the surface by a winch and removed by means of a bucket, much like a well. It gets its name...

s exploiting the Worsley Four Foot Mine. Deeper mines arrived when steam engines were developed to pump water from the mines. Most of the coal mines to the east of the Pendleton Fault had closed before 1929. A group of independent companies formed Manchester Collieries

Manchester Collieries

Manchester Collieries was a coal mining company formed in 1929 with headquarters at Walkdenfrom a group of independent companies operating on the Manchester Coalfield. The Mining Industry Act of 1926 attempted to stem the post-war decline in coal mining and encourage independent companies to merge...

 in 1929, to work the reserves of the coalfield.

Coal seams of the West Manchester Coalfield

In this part of Lancashire a coal seam is referred to as a mine and the coal mine is a colliery or pit. The beds of coal in the Coal Measures are separated by layers of rock, gritstones, sandstones, shales and mudstones of varying thicknesses. The mines were frequently named after their thickness – Yard, Three Quarters – or given local names in the areas in which they were first worked.

Mine	Alternative names	Description
Worsley Four Foot mine	Pendleton Four Foot, Parker mine in central Manchester	As the shallowest coal seam west of the Pendleton Fault, it was exploited from the early days of mining from bell pit Bell pit A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore or other minerals where the coal or ore lies near the surface.. A shaft is sunk to reach the mineral which is excavated by miners transported to the surface by a winch and removed by means of a bucket, much like a well. It gets its name... s and was accessed at the Delph at Worsley Worsley Worsley is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies along the course of Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. The M60 motorway bisects the area....  by the Worsley Navigable Levels Worsley Navigable Levels The Worsley Navigable Levels are an extensive series of coal mines in Worsley in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. They were worked largely by the use of underground canals and boats called starvationers.... . It is from 3 foot (0.9144 m) to 4 feet (1.2 m) in thickness and was used as steam coal. The mine was wet due to the permeable sandstone above it. It was worked westwards from Worsley to Bedford Colliery Bedford Colliery Bedford Colliery, also known as Wood End Pit, was a coal mine on the Manchester Coalfield in Bedford, Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. The colliery was owned by John Speakman, who started sinking two shafts in about 1874 on land at Wood End Farm in the northeast part of Bedford, south of the... . This coal seam is known as the Parker mine in the central coalfield under Manchester where a series of coal seams, the Bradford Group, was worked above it.
Bin mine	Top Five Quarters (Radcliffe)	The Bin Mine has a maximum height of 3 in 9 in (1.14 m); its coal was mainly used by industry. Above the Bin mine the sandstones contain a layer of ironstone Ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely... .
Crombouke Mine	Crumbouke, Shuttle (Pendlebury), Albert (Pendleton), Top Yard (Radcliffe) Roger mine (central Manchester)	The Crombouke is a seam from 2 feet 6 inches to 4 feet 6 inches of good quality coal in the west and corresponds to the Roger mine in central Manchester.
Brassey mine	Brassey Bottoms, Little (Newtown)	The Brassey mine is thickest around Tyldesley at 4 feet (1.2 m) thick.
Rams mine	Seven Foot (Walkden), Six Foot (Tyldesley)	The Rams mine has a minimum thickness of 4 feet (1.2 m) and average thickness of 6 feet (1.8 m) west of the fault. To the east it is up to 9 feet (2.7 m) in thickness. The high quality coal was mined to considerable depths under Pendlebury and Salford. At Atherton it formed good quality steam coal.
Black and White mine	Seven Foot (Tyldesley), Gingham mine (Black mine), Ten Foot (White mine) in (Bolton and Little Lever, east of fault), Great mine in Atherton	The Black and White mine is a double seam with seven feet of workable coal. Top coal is the White mine and bottom coal is the Black mine. It outcrops at the south east corner of Hulton Park and in 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 across Gibfield Gibfield Colliery Gibfield Colliery was a coal mine which was part of the Fletcher, Burrows and Company's collieries in Atherton, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England.A shaft was sunk to the Trencherbone mine in 1829 by John Fletcher...  and Chowbent in Atherton where it was mined in shallow ladder pits or drifts. The seam measured 7 feet 10 inches in Atherton town centre.
Doe mine	Dow, Yard (Tyldesley)	The Doe mine has two coals separated by a dirt parting. At Newtown the seam was liable to spontaneous combustion Spontaneous combustion Spontaneous combustion is the self-ignition of a mass, for example, a pile of oily rags. Allegedly, humans can also ignite and burn without an obvious cause; this phenomenon is known as spontaneous human combustion.... . The lower coals of this mine were worked around Tyldesley as the Yard mine, near Bolton the top coal was worked as the Bancroft mine. The seam outcrops on either side of the River Irwell River Irwell The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...  at Clifton Clifton Clifton is an English surname, place name or given name. It means "settlement by a cliff" in Old English. It may refer to:-Australia:*Clifton, Queensland, town and Shire south of Toowoomba*Clifton Beach, Queensland...  where the seam was worked at the Ladyshore Colliery Ladyshore Colliery Ladyshore Colliery, originally named Back o' th Barn, was situated on the Irwell Valley fault on the Manchester Coalfield in Little Lever, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Founded by Thomas Fletcher Senior, the colliery opened in the 1830s and mined several types of coal... .
Five Quarters mine	Yard (Atherton)	This seam was worked extensively east of the Irwell Valley Fault around Radcliffe. The seam was split by a dirt band and the coal was used as steam and household coal.
Hell hole mine	Victoria, Foor Foot (Atherton)	This coal seam varies in thickness between 2 in 6 in (0.762 m) and 4 feet (1.2 m) and the coal was used for coking and gas making and household use.
Trencherbone mine		The Trencherbone mine was extensively worked throughout the coalfield and reputedly produced the best coal. It outcropped at Stoneclough Stoneclough Stoneclough is a suburban area of Kearsley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the banks of the River Irwell to the southeast of Bolton....  in the Irwell Valley Irwell Valley The Irwell Valley extends from the Forest of Rossendale in North West England, through to the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal.-Geology:... . It had a thickness of 3 foot (0.9144 m) to 4 feet (1.2 m) at Astley and Tyldesley and up to 8 feet (2.4 m) elsewhere. The seam outcropped between Schofield Lane and Bag Lane in Atherton.
Cannel mine	King and Cannel	The Cannel mine was on average less than one foot thick. Cannel coal burns easily with a bright light and leaves little ash. This was the lowest coal seam worked east of the Irwell Valley. Cannel was used to make coal gas.
Sapling mine		The Sapling mine is thickest in the west but reduces to 9 inches. The coal is poor quality but where mined was used for industrial steam raising.
Plodder mine	Ravine (Atherton)	The Plodder mine contains seams of fireclay and shale Shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering... s. The coal seam was 2 feet 8 inches but thicker at Newtown. It was contaminated with iron pyrites. At Sandhole Colliery the seam was liable to spontaneously combust Spontaneous combustion Spontaneous combustion is the self-ignition of a mass, for example, a pile of oily rags. Allegedly, humans can also ignite and burn without an obvious cause; this phenomenon is known as spontaneous human combustion.... . It was poor quality but used as steam coal.
Yard mine	Haigh Yard	The Haigh Yard seam had a height of 5 feet (1.5 m) at Tyldesley. The coal seam was divided by a dirt parting of sandstone.
Half Yard mine	Bone	This is a thin seam of coking coal with a maximum height of 20 inches.
Three Quarters mine	Smith	The Three Quarters mine had a maximum height of 2 foot (0.6096 m) and was worked, where the thickness of the seam allowed, to produce coking coal. It was worked at Chew Moor, Deane Moor and Farnworth Farnworth Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton, 6 miles south-west of Bury , and northwest of Manchester.... .
Arley mine	Dogshaw (Bury), Daubhill (Bolton)	The Arley mine is the deepest of the seams of the Middle Coal Measures. It outcropped at Red Moss near Blackrod Blackrod Blackrod is a settlement and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north-northeast of Wigan and west of Bolton and, according to the United Kingdom Census 2001, has a population of 5,300....  where it was 2 foot (0.6096 m) thick, and at Chew Moor, Westhoughton Westhoughton Westhoughton is a town and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester....  and Daubhill, Bolton. Its average thickness was 3 foot (0.9144 m) to 4 feet (1.2 m). It produced excellent quality coal for coking, house and steam coal. The Arley mine was worked throughout the coalfield and around Tyldesley was a hot mine.

Central Manchester Coalfield

The eastern part of the coalfield under Manchester is isolated from the rest. The sequence of coal seams corresponds more closely with that of the Oldham Coalfield

Oldham Coalfield

The Oldham Coalfield is the most easterly part of the south 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...

 than the rest of the Manchester Coalfield. Workable seams are close to the surface and coal from the deep Roger mine was considered to be of the highest quality. The Upper Coal Measures above the Worsley Four Foot mine, known as the Parker mine, are worked in this part of the coalfield and known as the Bradford

Bradford Colliery

Bradford Colliery was a coal mine on the Central Manchester Coalfield in Bradford, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Although part of the Manchester Coalfield, the seams of the Bradford Coalfield correspond more closely to the Oldham Coalfield...

 Group, above which is the Ardwick

Ardwick

Ardwick is a district of the City of Manchester, in North West England, about one mile east of Manchester City Centre.By the mid-19th century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century it had become heavily industrialised...

Group.

The coal seams of the Bradford Group are the Two Foot, Doctor, New, Yard, Bradford Foor Foot, Three Quarters and Charlotte mines, the Charlotte being closest to the surface. The Openshaw mine above the Charlotte was worked for fireclay. Below the Bradford Group and the Parker mine are the Top, Middle and Deep mines and 60 feet below them, the Roger mine. The Top, Middle and Deep mines correspond to the Major, Bland and Ashton Great mines in the Oldham Coalfield. The Crumbouke mine in the western coalfield is the Roger mine in central Manchester.