Three Marple Coalmines

The 1850 tithe map shows a short private branch canal on the offside of the Upper Peak Forest Canal on land owned and occupied by Peter Arkwright of Cromford, Derbyshire, who was the grandson of Sir Richard Arkwright. The branch was situated between Brick Bridge and Hill Top (swivel and foot) Bridges. The schedule accompanying the map makes no mention of a coalmine here at this time, so it is possible that the branch had just been cut in preparation for the sinking of a shaft. However, an Ordnance Survey map of c1875 confirms the presence of a coalmine here. Because of the mine's proximity to Marple lime kilns, coal from it would have been carried to the kilns by boat.

Two more coalmines have been identified to the north of this near Brick Bridge. One adjoined Brick Bridge on the south side of Brickbridge Road and it is understood that this may have been called Picky Wood Pit. The other mine was due north of this on the opposite side of Brickbridge Road and it lay in the acute angle formed by the canal and Brickbridge Road, in a field called Barn Field on which stood Chapel House Fold House (Chapel House Farm). Likewise, the output of these two mines would have been taken by boat the short distance to Marple lime kilns.

Coal Authority records show that in a south-easterly direction from Top Lock (Marple Junction), that is, along the line of the Upper Peak Forest Canal, that a seam of coal about 100-feet deep was worked up until 1893. These records refer to two coalmines to the north and south of Brickbridge Road, respectively. The details are given in the table below: