Denton Colliery
John Fletcher sank Ellis Pit, at Denton colliery, near Burton Nook in 1841. It worked the Great and Roger Mines and was apparently named after Ellis Fletcher Snr who died in April 1834. The pit was linked to the L&NWR’s Stockport & Guide Bridge Line by a 2.2 km long, standard-gauge mineral railway.
When Jacob Fletcher Fletcher came of age, in 1842/43, he joined his uncle, John Fletcher, as a proprietor of the Denton pits. John died in 1846, however, so Jacob was given as owner when the List of Mines began in 1854. He too died in April 1857 and the colliery was run by trustees until it was acquired Peter Rothwell in 1867. Rothwell was still listed as owner in 1875, but he died in 1873, aged 62 years. These dates suggest that he was involved in the flotation of the Denton Colliery Co. Ltd in 1872.
The colliery never recovered from the miners’ national strike of 1926, when the workings may have been damaged by flooding. Coal production ended on November 9th 1929 and the company went into liquidation on December 2nd 1929, but a few men were retained for salvage work.
Sources:
- NMRS Records, Gazetteer of British Collieries
- Denton Colliery (May 2015)
- National Archives: BT31/30814/6617 (1872) Denton Colliery Co. Ltd
