Abram Colliery

Overview

The Abram Coal Company's colliery on the Bickershaw Hall estate near Wigan, sunk from about 1870 to the Wigan Nine Feet and then 650 yards to the Arley, where a sudden outburst of gas in the Yard seam killed 48 in 1881; it was merged into Bickershaw Collieries in 1933.

History

Abram Colliery was sunk on the Bickershaw Hall estate near Wigan after Heyes and Johnson took new leases there to reach deeper seams than earlier workings; the concern later traded as the Abram Coal Company. The Wigan Pits, Nos. 1 and 2, were begun about 1870 and sunk to the Wigan Nine Feet at 320 yards, and by 1879 five shafts had been sunk or were sinking. The Arley Pits, Nos. 4 and 5, begun about 1878, were 18 feet in diameter and reached the Arley mine at 650 yards. A Guibal fan was installed in 1877 and a 46-foot Guibal fan by Walker Brothers in 1881. On 19 December 1881 an explosion in the Yard seam of No. 4 pit, reached at about 520 to 530 yards and worked for only three years, killed 48 men — 41 bodies were brought out and seven more died of injuries (see Disasters, below). About 150 men in the Lower Arley and 70 in the Yard were below at the time. The mine was worked with locked safety lamps and ventilation was judged sufficient; the jury found that a sudden outburst of gas in the westerly workings had been ignited, and an unlocked safety lamp was suspected. Over half of the dead were under thirty, most of them from Park Lane and Westleigh. The No. 3 pit closed in 1916, Nos. 1 and 2 in October 1931 and No. 4 in July 1932, and the pits were formally abandoned in May 1933, when the company joined with Bickershaw to form Bickershaw Collieries Ltd; No. 5 was abandoned in July 1934.

Geology

Seams of the Wigan coalfield from the Wigan Nine Feet at 320 yards down to the Arley at 650 yards; the Yard seam at about 520 to 530 yards was prone to sudden outbursts of gas. Seams worked in 1931 included the Bickershaw Yard, Six Feet, Smith, King, Furnace, Prince, Queen, Haigh Yard, Arley and Orrell.

Workings

The Wigan Pits (Nos. 1 and 2, with No. 3 as upcast) to the Wigan Nine Feet, and the Arley Pits (Nos. 4 and 5), 18 feet in diameter, to 650 yards; steam winding and endless-rope underground haulage, ventilated by a 46-foot Guibal fan from 1881.

Closure

No. 3 closed in 1916, Nos. 1 and 2 in October 1931 and No. 4 in July 1932; the pits were formally abandoned in May 1933, when the company merged into Bickershaw Collieries Ltd, and No. 5 was abandoned in July 1934. Albert Longworth Ltd resumed mining nearby in 1939-40, possibly through the old shafts.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown.

Related mines

• Bickershaw Colliery — Neighbours on the Bickershaw Hall estate; the Abram company merged with Bickershaw in 1933 to form Bickershaw Collieries Ltd.

People

• Thomas Taylor · manager, 1881 — Certificated manager at the 1881 explosion; had just returned from inspecting the workings and took charge of the rescue.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Nos. 1 and 2 (Wigan) pits were begun about 1870 to the Wigan Nine Feet at 320 yards, and Nos. 4 and 5 (Arley) pits about 1878 to the Arley at 650 yards. ¹
• Heyes and Johnson took new leases on the Bickershaw Hall estate and sank shafts to deeper seams; the concern traded as the Abram Coal Company and had five shafts sunk or sinking by 1879. ²
• On 19 December 1881 an explosion in the Yard seam of No. 4 pit killed 48: 41 bodies were brought out and seven of those rescued died later. ^3,1
• The jury found that a sudden outburst of gas in the westerly workings had been ignited; an unlocked safety lamp was thought a possible cause. ^3,1
• The pits were formally abandoned in May 1933, when the company merged to form Bickershaw Collieries Ltd; No. 5 pit was abandoned in July 1934. ^1,2
• The national catalogue holds an Abram plan of the Wigan Nine Feet seam abandoned in 1902. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Abram Colliery (NMRS Wigan coalfield) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Platt Bridge, Abram & Bickershaw (NMRS Wigan coalfield companies) — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Abram Colliery Explosion – Wigan – 1881 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans catalogue: Abram (Wigan Nine Feet, 1902) — British Geological Survey

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026