Abstract of Coal Mines
in Denton and Haughton
Records of coalmining in Denton and Haughton can be traced to the early 1700s and there are indications that it went much further back than this. One early record can be found in the Parish Registers of Denton Chapel (St Lawrence's Church) for 1743.
'Buried. John Bretland of Whernith, who was killed in ye Colepit in Haughton.'
There were numerous shallow pits throughout the townships of Denton and Haughton but the names, and even the whereabouts, of some of these are now lost. The sites of some of these can be found on old Ordnance Survey maps, where they are marked as 'Old Coal Shaft' or 'Old Air Shaft' but without names. The following is a list of some known mines together with available details.
Burton Nook Pit, Denton: There is evidence that this was an 18th century pit and the nearby Top Pit may have been contemporary with it. Its location in the hamlet of Burton Nook is unknown. There has been some confusion that Burton Nook and Ellis Pits were one and the same.
Top Pit, Denton: This pit was situated on the south side of Stockport Road, almost opposite the site of the later Ellis Pit. It was recorded on the 26 April 1849 that the Big and Roger Mines (seams) being worked at Top Pit were exhausted and this was the date of its closure.
Adjoining this pit there was an air shaft used for ventilation purposes.
Ellis Pit, afterwards Denton Colliery: This pit was sunk in 1841 at Burton Nook on the north side of Stockport Road by John Fletcher, uncle of Jacob Fletcher Fletcher.
Great Wood Pit, Denton: This pit was situated about 525 yards south of Stockport Road between the top of Hardy Wood and Cemetery Road. After Ellis Pit/Denton Colliery, it was the second most important.
Hard Mine Pit, Denton: This pit was a short distance to the north of Hardy Wood, close to Great Wood Pit. As its name suggests, it was the Hard Mine (seam) that was being worked.
Horse Pit (or Horsehole Pit), Denton: This pit was at the top of hardy Wood, close to Great Wood Pit and it was recorded that its shaft was being sunk in May 1846. As well as the Horse Mine, the Hard Mine was also worked here.
Unidentified Coal Pit: There is slight evidence that there might have been a third pit in close proximity to Great Wood Pit but its location and identity are unknown.
Hulme's Pit (or Holmes Pit), Denton: This pit was situated by Hulme's Lane at the foot of Beat Bank by the river Tame. It dates from c.1730 but at an unknown date it was taken over by the Fletcher family/Denton Colliery Company who eventually used it as both a coal mine and a pumping station.
It is likely that there were ancient and unrecorded drift mines in this vicinity that had been driven into the side of Beat Bank at points where natural outcrops of coal occurred.
Unidentified Drift Mine: This was situated by Hulme's Lane between Hulme's Pit and Stockport Road.
Donkey Pit: In Hulme's Wood at an unidentified location.
Unidentified Coal Pits: These adjoined Hulme's Pit and it is likely that they were earlier bell pits that were superceded by Hulme's Pit.
Unidentified Old Coal Pit: Further along Hulme's Lane, by the river Tame, there was an 'Old Coal Pit' roughly opposite Arden Mill.
Arden Colliery: Situated near Arden Bridge over the river Tame at Lower Haughton.
Bayley Pool Pit: This pit was situated in Reddish Vale between the southern end of Horse Close Wood and a loop in the river Tame.
Dark Lane Pit: Situated on the east side of Dark Lane, now called Mill Lane.
Hardfield Pit: Situated on the east side of Dark Lane, now called Mill Lane.
Broomstair Colliery: Situated on the south side of Hyde Road, close to Broomstair Bridge over the river Tame.
An early reference to this pit is to be found in Wheeler's Manchester Chronicle for the 14 January 1809:
'To be sold ··· Collieries &c + 30
acres of land - mine now in full work.
Vein known as Great Mine, 6ft thick
& Roger Mine, 3½ft thick.
Known as Clarke's Broom Stair Colliery
Estates of Nathan Hyde + Mr. Holford.'
Eventually it was owned by the Hyde and Haughton Coal Company.
On the 1 January 1889 the horsekeeper, James Richardson and his two sons descended the shaft to find themselves immersed in 9 feet of water, which had collected at the bottom of the shaft. James managed to signal for the cage to be lifted and all three were hoisted to safety. Shortly afterwards, water broke into the mine for a second time and it was abandoned.
Some of the displaced miners transferred to Hyde Colliery and one of these, Thomas Shaw (35), was killed in the Hyde Colliery Explosion that occurred seventeen days later on the 18 January 1889.
At this time, the proprietors were the brothers Joseph Watson Sidebotham MP (1857-1925) and James Nasmyth Sidebotham (1864-1904), of Bowdon, Cheshire, who were local landowners and also the proprietors of the nearby Hyde Colliery (Hyde Lane Pit).
Jet Amber Pit: Situated in Jet Amber Fields in the vicinity of Farmers Fold on the north side of Hyde Road, Broomstair, Haughton. This pit worked the Old and New Jet Amber Mines.
To see the Lowe's Arms public house, once frequented by miners at Broomstair Colliery and Jet Amber Pit, click here.
Unidentified Pit: Situated in the vicinity of Quebec Street on the east side of Ashton Road, between Greswell Street and Tame Street, Haughton.
Unidentified Pit: Situated in the vicinity of Pit Street on the east side of Stockport Road, Haughton. The Jolly Hatters stands on the corner of Pit Street and Stockport Road.
Parsonage Pit: Situated just beyond the bottom of Tib Street, off Stockport Road, and it was about 250 feet from the north-west corner of the Old St Lawrence's Rectory, off Vaudrey Lane. It is understood that this pit closed in 1886.
Albert Pit: Off Tib Street, behind the Masons Arms Public House at Three Lane Ends. It is understood that this pit closed in 1886.
Victoria Pit: Haughton but its location is uncertain unless it is synonymous with Sycamore Pit listed below.
Sycamore Pit: Off Tib Street between Stockport Road and St Lawrence's cricket ground. This pit was close to Albert Pit.
Unidentified Pit: Behind the Wesleyan Chapel (Haughton Green Methodist Church) on Two Trees Lane.
Nibble and Clink Pit: On the north side of Haughton Green Road behind the Bay Horse Public House opposite the entrance to Gibraltar Lane. It is understood that the pub was named after a favourite pit pony.
This pit probably received its name from a type of Newcomen atmospheric steam engine that could have been installed there. Seemingly, this particular engine made a 'nibble and clink' noise when in use but this appellation was sometimes reduced to 'nibland'.
Clinker Pit: On Worth's Lane, Haughton Green. Situated opposite St Mary's Church. The last record of mining activity at this pit was in 1882.
No doubt this pit received its name from the type of ash produced when its coal was burnt. Clinker consists of a hard mass of ash and partially fused coal.
King Pit: Adjoining Betty's Park (later Tommy Dodd), Haughton Green.
Tommy Dodd was a large lamp mounted on a stone pedestal that originally stood in Denton market place. The townships of Denton and Haughton amalgamated in 1884 to form Denton and Haughton Local Board and to celebrate this event it was decided to move the lamp and pedestal from Denton and re-erect it in the centre of Haughton Green, an area then know as Betty's Park. The move took the form of a procession and local wits were quick to dub this as the wedding of Tommy Dodd and Betty Haughton. The move was unsuccessful and in March 1905 the lamp was removed and destroyed. However, Betty's Park became known as Tommy Dodd and this name is still in use.
Haughton Colliery: Situated at Glass House Fold, Haughton, on the south side of Mill Lane in the angle formed by the lane and the river Tame.
Dans Wood Drift Mine: Situated in the valley side at Glass House Fold, Haughton.
Mines at Glass House Fold must have been among the oldest in the area, dating from the reign of Elizabeth I (1533-1603), when Flemish refugees, skilled in the art of glass making and blowing, settled in the locality. Subsequently, George Hyde Clarke became the landowner and he held the mineral rights.
In c.1793, George Hyde Clarke built a bridge (Clarke's Bridge) over the river Tame at the bottom of Mill Lane. He did this in order to improve the supply of coal into Hyde and also in anticipation of the opening of the Peak Forest Canal, in which he was a major shareholder. The lower level of the canal opened in 1799/1800. However, this single-arched bridge was seriously damaged, and possibly destroyed, by the great flood that occurred on the 17 August 1799.
Notwithstanding this, a tramway was constructed from Glass House Fold, over this bridge, or its successor, along the side of Mill Lane for a short distance and then up the field by Hyde Hall to a wharf on the canal where coal from the pit, carried in horse-drawn waggons, was loaded into boats.
The date of abandonment of this pit is unknown but there is no reference to it in the 1888 Distance Table of the Peak Forest Canal.
At about three o'clock in the afternoon of the 27 February 1910, two children, Sarah Leech (8) and Jack Bowker (5) fell down an abandoned shaft at Glass House Fold when the ground they were standing upon gave way. They remained trapped for 16½ hours until rescuers hoisted them up, unharmed, in a basket. The children had fallen down the former pumping shaft, which over the years had become overgrown with herbage. Afterwards, it was filled with clinker from the nearby Hyde Sewage Works.Wilton Pit: Located in Denton but its existence and location are uncertain.
Angel Pit: Hearsay evidence only, probably located near the Angel Inn on Hyde Road if it existed.
Unidentified Air Shaft: On the west side of Seymour Street, Denton, north of Holland Street. The shaft was around 167 yards deep and it was near the Pentecostal Church. It is said that this shaft was connected to the Kingston Pit in Hyde. The National Coal Board filled and capped this shaft in 1965.
Unidentified Pit: On the south side of Hyde Road, Haughton, opposite St Anne's Road. This pit was close to Broomstair Colliery. Unidentified Pit: About 330 yards almost due south of Glass House Fold, Haughton, alongside the river Tame.Unidentified Air Shaft: About 235 yards north east of St Anne's Church, Haughton. This air shaft may be associated with Broomstair Colliery.
Note: In 1821, Robert Lowe was a coal proprietor in Haughton and Joseph Dickinson, in his List of Mines for 1854, states that Thomas Shaw and Messrs Leigh and Bradbury were coal proprietors in Haughton.
For the record, the following coal mines were owned by Denton Colliery Company, all of which were in the Lancashire coalfield but outside the immediate area of Denton and Haughton. Reference: Collieries of the United Kingdom at Work in 1880.
Victoria Pit, Houghton: Purchased from Messrs Shaw & Sons in 1873.
Albert Pit, West Houghton (Westhoughton)
Parsonage Pit, Bolton
