Blainscough Colliery

Also known as	Blainscough Hall Colliery
Location	Coppull, near Chorley, Lancashire — 53.6147, -2.6622 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	c. 1865–c. 1934
Maximum depth	373 yards (No. 1 Pit, to the Arley)
Operators	Blainscough Colliery Co. Ltd (1891–1934), Manchester Collieries Ltd (1939–?)

Overview

A Coppull colliery begun about 1865, its No. 1 Pit sunk to the Arley at 373 yards. Worked by the Blainscough Colliery Company from 1891, it employed over 400 in 1923, closed about 1934 and was abandoned in 1939.

History

Blainscough Colliery lay about half a mile south-west of Coppull station on the Wigan-Preston line. Its shafts were begun about 1865. No. 1 Pit went down to the Arley at 373 yards, passing the Six Feet (Wigan Nine Feet) at 88 yards and the King at 168, then the Ravine, Yard, Bone and Smith. No. 2 was sunk to the Six Feet at 88 yards. Two upcast shafts stood about 560 yards north. A Walker Guibal fan of 1873 ventilated the mine, and a surface engine pumped from the King and the Six Feet.

The Blainscough Colliery Company held it from 1891. The Six Feet and Arley were exhausted by 1896 and the King was then worked; by 1910 the Bone, Smith and Yard. Employment was 444 in 1894 and 414 in 1923, and 270 in 1931. The colliery closed about 1934. Coppull Coal Co. worked it in a small way in 1935-36, and it was abandoned in 1939. Manchester Collieries Ltd then bought it, unworked, for its coal production quota.

Geology

Lancashire Coal Measures: Six Feet (Wigan Nine Feet) at 88 yards, King at 168, Ravine at 197, Yard (Hoo Cannel) at 238, Bone at 285, Smith at 307 and Arley at 373 yards.

Workings

No. 1 Pit to the Arley, wound by a 28 by 66-inch twin horizontal engine with single-deck cages; No. 2 to the Six Feet; two upcasts 560 yards north; a 30-foot Guibal fan of 1873; a surface pumping engine with flat rods; compressed-air haulage.

Closure

Closed about 1934, worked in a small way by Coppull Coal Co. in 1935-36 and abandoned in 1939; then bought, unworked, by Manchester Collieries Ltd for its production quota.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Chisnall Hall Colliery — 1.0 miles (1.6 km) SW
Ellerbeck Colliery — 1.4 miles (2.2 km) E
Broomfield Colliery — 1.4 miles (2.3 km) S, Greater Manchester
Duxbury Park Colliery — 1.4 miles (2.3 km) E
Langtree Colliery — 1.5 miles (2.4 km) S, Greater Manchester

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

No. 1 Pit was sunk to the Arley at 373 yards. ¹
The Six Feet and Arley were exhausted by 1896 and the King was then worked. ^1,2
Employed 414 in 1923, 330 of them underground. ²
Closed about 1934, worked in a small way in 1935-36, abandoned in 1939 and bought by Manchester Collieries for its quota. ¹
Its plans, as Blainscough Hall, show workings in the Six Feet, King, Arley, Yard, Bone and Smith. ³

Photographs & further reading

Blainscough Colliery (NMRS) (reference)

Shaft sections, winding, ventilation, pumping and closure, from the G. Hayes collection.

View source

Blainscough Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) (reference)

Seams and employment from the lists of mines.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Blainscough Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) Blainscough Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Mine plan: Blainscough Hall, Arley — British Geological Survey

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026