Halsnead Colliery

Overview

A colliery on the Halsnead estate at Whiston, near Prescot, opened in 1802 and closed in 1895, with four pits and a fire in 1880 that could not be put out.

History

Halsnead Colliery lay at Whiston, near Prescot, on the Halsnead estate, which the Willis family held from 1684 until it was sold in 1929. Knowsley's local history service dates the colliery, like its neighbour Whiston Colliery, from 1802. In 1850 the inspector recorded Richard Willis as its owner, and in 1855 the partnership of Lee, Williams and Pugh. It had four pits: Nos. 1 and 2, the Bye pit, and the Engine pit, which did the pumping.

An explosion in No. 1 pit in May 1867, just after the men had gone down, badly burned Thomas and Henry Lunt. In March 1869 water got into the Bye pit and brought down part of the roof; when three men went to fill the hollow, gas that had gathered there fired at their naked lights and burned them. William Mason, a collier of 70 who had worked there for many years, was killed by a roof fall in December 1874. In June 1880 fire broke out in No. 2 pit, probably from a paraffin lamp dropped by bricklayers strengthening the shaft. It could not be put out; an explosion of gas during the work alarmed the district, though no one was hurt, and the pit was closed again.

By 1883 the colliery was described as the property of Messrs. Leigh. It reappeared in the inspectors' lists in 1888 under the Halsnead Colliery Company and closed in 1895. Its plans cover the Pigeon House, the Lower and Higher Bug (Florida), the Yard and the London Delf seams. Cronton Colliery was later sunk on the old Halsnead estate, and its plans carry the Halsnead name.

Geology

Coal Measures seams of the Prescot and Whiston district: the Cheshire (Pigeon House), Lower and Higher Bug (Lower and Higher Florida), Yard and Felcroft (London Delf).

Workings

Four pits: Nos. 1 and 2, the Bye pit and the Engine pit, the last used for pumping.

Closure

Closed in 1895, under the Halsnead Colliery Company.

What remains

Unknown.

Related mines

• Cronton Colliery — Cronton Colliery was sunk from 1913 on the old Halsnead estate, and its abandonment plans carry the Halsnead name.

Recorded claims

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

• Halsnead Colliery was opened in 1802 and closed in 1895. ^1,2
• Richard Willis owned Halsnead Colliery in 1850, and Lee, Williams and Pugh in 1855. ³
• The colliery had four pits: Nos. 1 and 2, the Bye pit and the Engine pit, used for pumping. ³
• In June 1880 a fire in No. 2 pit, probably started by a dropped paraffin lamp, could not be put out, and the pit was closed. ³
• In 1888 it was worked by the Halsnead Colliery Company of Whiston. ³
• Abandonment plans of Halsnead cover the Pigeon House and London Delf seams. ^4,5

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) History of Whiston (Knowsley Local History) — Knowsley Council Library Service
2. (secondary) Timeline - Whiston (Knowsley Local History) — Knowsley Council Library Service
3. (secondary) Halsnead Colliery (NMRS accidents and incidents in Lancashire collieries) — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) BGS mine plan: HALSNEAD, Cheshire (Pigeon House) seam — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: HALSNEAD, Felcroft (London Delf) seam — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 25 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026