Combermere Colliery

Overview

A short-lived Tyldesley Coal Company pit at Shakerley that stopped winding coal in 1893, after which its shafts wound fireclay for a brickworks on the site that ran, with a break, into the 1950s.

History

Combermere Colliery was sunk by the Tyldesley Coal Company at Shakerley, Tyldesley, on Combermere Lane; its opening is given as 1867, though the company's history dates it to 1878. Two shafts were sunk, one purely for ventilation, immediately north of the Coxe or Wharton Hall Fault, which throws the measures down some 225 feet to the north. They reached the Six Feet or Rams mine at 315 feet and the Seven Feet or Black and White mine at 600 feet, and coal was worked northwards to the rise, the seams dipping about 1 in 4.5 to the south. The company's railway to Combermere was later extended to its Peelwood Colliery, opened in 1882.

The colliery proved short-lived, ceasing to wind coal in 1893. It was kept on for some time to wind fireclay for the adjacent brickworks, and pumping continued: a single 12-inch ram pump at the Six Feet mine, worked by a Bull engine with a 40-inch cylinder, raised the water to the surface, and three Lancashire boilers, 7 feet by 26 feet, supplied steam. Combermere was still returned among the Tyldesley Coal Company's pits until 1910, with no men underground, and a local recollection has water being wound there in tanks, probably in the 1920s.

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.

Geology

Coal of the Lancashire field, with clay worked alongside it — the clay outlasted the coal by decades, feeding a brickworks on the same site. The shafts stand just north of the Coxe or Wharton Hall Fault, with a downthrow of about 225 feet to the north; the Rams (Six Feet) and Black and White (Seven Feet) mines dip about 1 in 4.5 to the south, and plans also record the Crombouke.

Workings

Two shafts, one for ventilation only, reaching the Rams mine at 315 feet and the Black and White mine at 600 feet; coal was worked northwards to the rise. A 12-inch ram pump at the Six Feet mine, driven by a Bull engine, and three Lancashire boilers served the colliery. Its Rams and Black and White workings appear on joint plans with Peelwood Colliery.

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.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Peelwood Colliery — Both Tyldesley Coal Company pits; the railway to Combermere was extended to Peelwood, and their workings appear on joint abandonment plans.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• 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. (disputed) ¹
• Combermere Colliery in Shakerley opened in 1878 and lasted until 1893. (disputed) ³

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. (disputed) 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
• Located at about 53.524 N, 2.453 W. ¹
• Combermere Colliery in Shakerley opened in 1878 and lasted until 1893. (disputed) ³
• The shafts were sunk immediately north of the Coxe or Wharton Hall Fault, with a downthrow of some 225 feet to the north; the seams dip about 1 in 4.5 southwards. ²
• After coal winding ended in 1893 the colliery continued to wind fireclay for the adjacent brickworks, and pumping was still carried on, with a 12-inch ram pump at the Six Feet mine. ²
• Combermere is listed among the Tyldesley Coal Co.'s pits in 1894, 1896, 1900, 1905 and 1910, with William Kearsley as manager and no underground workers. ⁴
• The Tyldesley Coal Company's line to Combermere Colliery was extended to Peelwood Colliery, which opened in 1882. ³
• The Rams (Six Feet) workings of Peelwood and Combermere were abandoned in 1889 and the Black and White in 1903. ^5,6

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Combermere Colliery — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
2. (primary) Combermere Colliery — NMRS — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Tyldesley Coal Company — Wikipedia
4. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Tyldesley Coal Co., Ltd. — Durham Mining Museum
5. (primary) BGS mine plans: Peelwood Nos. 1, 2, Combermere (Six Feet (Rams), abandoned 1889) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
6. (primary) BGS mine plans: Peelwood Nos. 1, 2, Combermere (Black and White, abandoned 1903) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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