The shafts here were sunk to the Upper and Lower Mountain Mines by George Hargreaves & Co. between 1890 and 1893. By 1930 Huncoat was linked to Hargreave’s Calder and Scaitcliffe collieries and wound their coal
Under Messrs Hargreaves both seams were worked, but the NCB only worked the Upper Mountain. In a successful attempt to raise productivity a new pit bottom was built in 1950 and diesel locomotives introduced to haul coal to the pit bottom in three ton mine cars. Higher capacity cages in the coal winding shaft were also introduced.
Huncoat closed on February 9th 1968 because its workable reserves were exhausted.
Further reading:
- Nadin, J. 1999 Coal Mines Around Accrington and Blackburn (British Mining No.64, NMRS)
- Williamson, I.A. 1999 “The Burnley Coalfield” British Mining No.63, NMRS, pp.5-27
