St Georges Colliery (1866-1964)

This Colliery took its name from St George’s parish church although separated from it by the LNWR Manchester-Wigan railway. The township of Tyldesley was known locally as ‘Bongs’ and similarly the colliery seldom received its proper title usually being referred to as ‘Back o’t’ Church Pit’. The colliery was commenced about 1866 with the sinking of two shafts 10 feet diameter to the Six Foot or Rams Mine. At a later date possibly about 1893 the No.2 pit was enlarged to 16 feet diameter and deepened to reach the Trencherbone Mine at 520 yards from the surface. Subsequently the shaft was deepened still further to reach the Arley Mine at 786 yards. The No.2 pit was the up cast for the colliery and also served Gin Pit and at a later date the Nook No.4 pit. A new cross-compound winding engine was installed in 1893 by the Worsley Mesnes Ironworks, Wigan. This was later rebuilt as a twin cylinder simple engine probably to obtain more power when the shaft was deepened to the Arley Mine. As built the engine was fitted with a Ledward ejector condenser, but later the engine exhausted to a low pressure steam accumulator and finally exhaust was direct to atmosphere.

The original engine at No.1 pit was a 22in x 42in. twin cylinder horizontal with slide valves. This engine served until No.1 pit was abandoned for coal winding and was afterwards replaced by a capstan winch.

A major development took place in 1884 when a new shaft, No.3 pit, was completed. It was 16ft diameter and went down to the Trencherbone Mine. At a later date it was further deepened to 777 yards to the Arley Mine. The winding engine was a Musgrave 32in x 60in twin cylinder horizontal. A Ledward ejector condenser was fitted later but this was subsequently removed and the exhaust turned into a steam accumulator.

The boiler complement in the colliery’s most productive years numbered 11, three of which had superheaters and there was a 320 tube Green’s economiser fitted in the main flue. The chimney was most impressive with a height of 180 feet. In addition to the winding engines the boilers supplied steam (at 110psi), to a Musgrave UNIFLOW fan engine, a Walker cross-compound which drove the standby fan, a 4000 cfm Walker cross-compound air compressor, and a 10,000cfm Daniel Adamson mixed pressure turbo-compressor.

In the 1890s the Crombouke, Six Feet (Rams), Seven Feet and Trencherbone mines were being extensively worked. The Crombouke and Trencherbone were worked entirely by longwall whilst the Rams and Seven Feet were worked both by longwall and pillar and stall methods. All three shafts were being used for coal winding at this time. The Seven Feet was worked continuously until 1929, the date of cessation being indelibly etched into the lid of a desk in one of the pit bank offices. When the upper seams became exhausted No.1 pit was taken out of service for coal winding.

The colliery ceased production in 1941 but most of the surface works were retained because of ventilation requirements at Gin Pit and Nook. Final closure did not take place until 1964.

ST GEORGE’S COLLIERY – No.2 Pit