Broomfield Colliery

Overview

A Standish colliery sunk about 1850 to 55 yards and later deepened by the Wigan Coal & Iron Company to the Arley at 1,105 feet. It served as the upcast for neighbouring Langtree and was abandoned in March 1932.

History

Broomfield Colliery lay 1,100 yards west of the West Coast Main Line and a quarter of a mile north of Standish Junction. Its two shafts were sunk about 1850 by William Whyte, who went bankrupt in 1851, to 55 yards, to work the Ince Four Feet and the poor-quality Ince Seven Feet. The Broomfield Colliery Company followed, then Thomas Stone from 1857. Late in 1865 it passed briefly to Alfred Hewlett and then to the Wigan Coal & Iron Company.

Wigan Coal & Iron widened one shaft to 15 feet and deepened it to the Arley at 1,105 feet, striking a fault at 167 yards and the Haigh Yard at 698 feet. The colliery was linked to Langtree and acted as its upcast, first with a furnace and from about 1880 with a 27-foot Walker fan. It worked the Peacock, Cannel, King, Haigh Yard and Arley, all in badly faulted ground. The last work was taking out the Arley shaft pillars, and it was abandoned in March 1932 under the Wigan Coal Corporation.

Geology

Lancashire Coal Measures in badly faulted ground: Ince Four Feet and Seven Feet near the surface, Haigh Yard at 698 feet, Arley at 1,105 feet, with the Peacock, Cannel and King.

Workings

Two shafts, one widened to 15 feet and deepened to the Arley; twin horizontal Haigh Foundry winder under a 55-foot wooden headgear; flat-rod bucket pumps; a 27-foot Walker fan of about 1880; five Lancashire boilers and a 100-foot octagonal chimney. Upcast for Langtree.

Closure

Final working was the extraction of the Arley shaft pillars; abandoned in March 1932. The reason is unknown.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Langtree Colliery — Linked underground; Broomfield was Langtree's upcast.

Recorded claims

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

• Two shafts were sunk about 1850 to 55 yards to work the Ince Four Feet and Ince Seven Feet. ¹
• Wigan Coal & Iron deepened one shaft to the Arley at 1,105 feet. ¹
• Its Ince Four Feet and Seven Feet workings are planned together with Langtree's. ^2,3
• Abandoned in March 1932 after its Arley shaft pillars had been worked. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Broomfield Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Mine plan: Broomfield, Langtree, Seven Feet (Ince Seven Feet) — British Geological Survey
3. (primary) Mine plan: Broomfield, Langtree, Four Feet (Ince Four Feet) — British Geological Survey

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