Orrell, Winstanley & Pemberton

Due to the influence of the Tinkerhole Fault and the Great Pemberton Fault, two good quality coals were brought near to the surface in the Orrell district. These two coals were the Orrell Four Feet and the Orrell Five Feet, otherwise known as the Arley and the Smith mines respectively. The closeness of these seams to the surface meant they could be worked by primitive means. The completion of the River Douglas Navigation in 1742 and part of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in 1774, opened up the Orrell area and the seams were largely exhausted by 1850.

Although quite a small area there were a large number of landowners in the Orrell district. Principal land owners were the Duke of Bridgewater, Bankes of Winstanley Hall, Blundell of Orrell House and Holt-Leigh of Orrell Hall. The Blundells preferred to sink and work their own pits but the coal under other estates was leased to various colliery operators. The main colliery proprietors were the Blundells, Hustler & Co., (Bradford merchants), Woodcock & Haliburton and John Clarke & Co. Clarke laid a tramroad to the Douglas Navigation and introduced a steam locomotive in 1813. This was built by Robert Daglish at Haigh Foundry to Blenkinsop’s Patent.

The Bankes family purchased the Winstanley estate in 1595. Meyrick Bankes Jnr. began to exploit the coal seams under his estate in the 1830s, sinking four pits. Bankes built a 4 feet gauge tramway to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, terminating at what became known as Wigan Pier. The collieries remained very old fashioned and in 1885 were leased to Tomlinson, Rogers and Simpson who formed Winstanley Collieries Co. Ltd shortly afterwards. This partnership had also previously acquired Worsley Mesnes and Ellerbeck collieries. The collieries on the Winstanley estate were largely worked out by the end of the 19th century but a colliery at Leyland Green was opened around 1899 and was worked until 1927. From the 1920s a number of Lessees continued to work the area on a relatively small scale with some success, the last colliery, Quaker House, working until 1992 in the ownership of Quaker House Colliery Co. Ltd, the principal of the firm being the late Mr. Donald Anderson.

Mining in Pemberton was synonymous with the Blundells. Jonathan Blundell had worked pits in the Orrell district from the late 18th century and it was his son, who had adopted the name Henry Blundell Hollinshead, who began to sink pits in Pemberton from 1815. The name Hollinshead had been adopted in fulfilment of a condition for inheriting estates at Blackrod. His son, Richard Hollinshead Blundell inherited the collieries in 1832 and continued to expand the business sinking several new pits including pits in the Ince/Hindley area and near to Wigan town centre as well as in Pemberton.

Richard Blundell died in 1853 and his son Henry took over. Henry was educated at Sandhurst and attained the rank of Colonel in the Grenadier Guards. Massive expansion took place under Colonel Henry Blundell with freeholds being purchased and new leases obtained. New sinkings, the King and Queen Pits, were commenced at Pemberton in 1867 and these were followed by further sinkings which made Pemberton Colliery the largest in Lancashire. Meanwhile the collieries beyond Pemberton were all closed by the early 1870s.

A private limited company comprising the Blundell family was formed in 1900, being registered as The Pemberton Colliery Co. Ltd Colonel Henry Blundell died in 1906 but the colliery was continued under the private limited company. By the early 1920’s output was declining as the reserves were becoming progressively exhausted. The Blundell family sold out in 1929 to Pemberton Colliery (1929) Ltd.

As the output continued to diminish, a small colliery, Summersales, was opened towards the end of World War II to work the remainder of the Pemberton reserves existing at shallow depth. The main colliery closed in 1946 but Summersales worked until 1966.