Maypole Colliery

Maypole Colliery 1959

Shafts (Low Hall)
A total of 8 shafts. First shafts commenced c.1860. Final shafts Nos. 7 & 8 working c.1873. Shafts still operating in 1930:
No.4 Pit, 16 feet diameter, downcast, sunk to 572 yards, Arley Mine. Winding Yard Mine Tops and Bottoms, Ravine and King Mines from Yard Mine level.
No.5 Pit, 15 feet diameter, upcast, sunk 524 yards to Arley Mine. Winding Wigan Five Feet Mine (from Westwood area). Originally a furnace shaft.
No.6 Pit, 14 feet diameter, downcast, sunk 300 yards to Peacock Mine. Winding Wigan Five Feet, Wigan Six Feet and King Mine
Nos. 7 & 8 Pits, pumping and ventilation only.

Shafts (Maypole)
Two shafts, sinking commenced May 1895.
No.1 Pit, 18 feet diameter, upcast. Sunk to Wigan Mines at 623 yards.
Deepened commencing 1938 to 892 yards to reach Haigh Yard and Arley Mines.
No.2 Pit, 16 feet diameter, downcast, sunk to 590 yards. Deepened commencing 1938 to 887 yards.

Surface Plant (Maypole)
Two horizontal winding engines and wooden headgears.
Twelve Lancashire boilers, 100psi., with super heaters. Chimney 210 feet high.
Walker Bros. fan and engine
2 – Air compressors
2 – Electricity generators
3 – Cooling towers.

Ventilation (Maypole)
Walker “Indestructible” fan 30 feet x 9 feet, 11 feet diameter rope pulley for 18 – 1¾ inches ropes. Cross-compound engine 26 inches + 47 inches x 60 inches, Meyer cut-off slide valves, teak lagging, flywheel 24 feet diameter, Steam 100psi.
Works No.8640/28-1-1899. Fan rebladed by Walker Bros., (Works No.36381/15-12-34)
Walker Bros. supplied “Indestructible” fan in 1909, (pit not stated) Works No.14881, 16 feet x 6 feet, 9 feet 6 inches diameter rope pulley, 7 – 1½ inches ropes, electric motor drive.

Pumping (Maypole Sinking)
Evans sinking pump 14 inches x 24 inches x 7 inches, 14,000gph.
Evans sinking pump 24 inches x 24 inches x 13 inches, 40,000gph.
Surface inverted beam engine, Hathorn-Davey, 70 inches x 8 feet (steam), 24 inches x 10 feet (ram). Pump at 117 yards in No.1 shaft, lodgement. Pearn pumps total 42,000gph. Pulsometer pump 80,000gph.
Shafts Nos. 1 & 2 linked at 115 yards – water wound at No.2 Pit in 1010 gallon barrel at 59,000gph (max.)

Pumping (Working)
Lodges formed at 162 yard horizon, centrifugal pump, 1000gpm. capacity working approx. 11 hours per day. Four inbye pumps in Bickershaw Seven Feet, four inbye pumps in Wigan mines delivering to No.1 Pit. Water wound in tanks, 14,000 gallons per day in 700 gallon tanks.
Submersible pumps installed at Low Hall No.4 Pit by Wigan Coal Corporation,
2 – 60hp. pumps rated at 16,000 gph at 370 feet head.

Winding Engines (Repairs/Rebuilding)
Walker Bros., 1903, supplied two 40 inches pistons and one piston rod for winding engine (pit not stated). John Wood & Sons supplied cylinders and valve gear only (pair), 1911 for Maypole Colliery. Cylinders 42 inches x 84 inches, drop valve admission, Corliss exhaust, wrist plate drive, trip gear on admission valves. Tail rods to pistons.

Accidents (Low Hall)
15 Nov.1869, explosion 27 killed.
30 Apr 1945, Filled-in No.7 Pit collapsed – 13 railway wagons, colliery locomotive DOROTHY, and driver Ludovic Berry fell down shaft – never recovered.

Accidents (Maypole)
18 Aug 1908 at 5-10pm., explosion in Wigan Four Feet Mine, 75 killed, 3 miners in Bickershaw Seven Feet survived, being reached by rescue party from Wigan Junction Colliery through a connecting tunnel. Underground fire developed, extensive surface damage. Second explosion at 12 midnight on third day reversed ventilation. Colliery deliberately flooded to extinguish fires. The full report can be found here.

Seams Worked/Workforce (1954)
Ince Seven Feet, Binn (Ince Deep Yard), Ince Six Feet, Bickershaw Six Feet, Arley.
NOTE – The NCB appear to have referred to the Bickershaw Seven Feet as the Bickershaw Six Feet.

Workforce – U/G 1209, S/F 309

CLOSURES
Low Hall Nos. 7 & 8, 1924. Filled up 1931
Low Hall No.5 Pit (last working pit), January 1931
Low Hall No.4, retained for pumping.
Maypole Colliery, June 1959. Thickness Depth

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