Combermere Colliery

Overview

A short-lived Tyldesley Coal Company pit at Shakerley, worked for only 26 years before its coal ran out — after which its own fireclay kept a brickworks on the site running for decades more.

History

Combermere Colliery was sunk by the Tyldesley Coal Company at Shakerley, Tyldesley, opening in 1867. Two shafts were sunk, one purely for ventilation, reaching the Rams mine at 315 feet and the Black and White mine at 600 feet. The colliery proved short-lived, closing in 1893 after 26 years of working. The company went on to build a brickworks on the site, using fireclay dug from the mine, served by its own railway line that continued operating until the mid-1930s; the brickworks itself was briefly revived immediately after the Second World War before the whole site fell derelict by the early 1950s, by which point two seven-foot Lancashire boilers and a small winch in the former winding engine house were all that remained standing.

Workings

Two shafts, one for ventilation only, reaching the Rams mine at 315 feet and the Black and White mine at 600 feet.

Closure

Closed in 1893 after 26 years of coal working; a brickworks using the mine's own fireclay continued on the site, served by its own railway, until the mid-1930s, with a brief post-war revival before the site fell derelict by the early 1950s.

What remains

By the early 1950s, when the brickworks finally fell derelict, two seven-foot Lancashire boilers and a small winch in the former winding engine house remained standing.

Recorded claims

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

• The Tyldesley Coal Company sank Combermere Colliery at Shakerley in 1867, with two shafts reaching the Rams mine at 315 feet and the Black and White mine at 600 feet. ¹
• After the colliery closed in 1893, the company built a brickworks on the site using the mine's own fireclay, served by its own railway until the mid-1930s and briefly revived after the Second World War before falling derelict by the early 1950s. ¹
• By the early 1950s, two seven-foot Lancashire boilers and a small winch in the former winding engine house were the only structures still standing on the site. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Combermere Colliery — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
2. (primary) Combermere Colliery — NMRS — Northern Mine Research Society

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