Ince Hall Saw Mill Pit

Overview

A pit of the Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Company in Ince Green Lane, Wigan, sunk about 1868 to the Wigan Five Foot, Four Foot and Nine Foot coals at 363 to 416 yards; on 18 July 1874 a shot fired into gas killed fifteen men in the Nine Foot mine.

History

The Saw Mill Pit was one of the Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Company's pits at Ince, beside Ince Green Lane near the company's works, on the eastern side of Wigan. It was one of new pits sunk about 1868 to win the Wigan Five Foot, Four Foot and Nine Foot coals, which lay at 363, 391 and 416 yards. It was the downcast: air went down the Saw Mill Pit, round the workings and up the Pemberton Pit, a short distance to the west, which was also sunk to the Nine Foot. The colliery had suffered two explosions about twenty years before. In 1874 the manager was Mr Bullen and the company's managing director George Gilroy, President of the Mining Association of Great Britain.

As in most Wigan mines the colliers holed the coal by day and men chosen for the purpose fired the shots at night. At about 6.46 in the morning of 18 July 1874, as the head fireman John Crompton and his assistant fired the prepared shots in the No. 3 district, a shot blew out and gas from a place reported as fiery was ignited. All twelve men in the Nine Foot mine and three waiting at the Four Foot mouthing were killed; the others escaped by the East Cannel pits. The jury blamed Crompton's failure to examine the place. Gilroy told the inquiry that the district would be stopped and new brows driven without powder, leaving pillars to drain of gas before they were worked. The last body was recovered in February 1875.

Geology

Lancashire coal measures, worked in the Wigan Five Foot (363 yards), Four Foot (391 yards) and Nine Foot (416 yards) coals; gas lay in the roof coal.

Workings

The Saw Mill Pit downcast, with the Pemberton Pit as upcast; holing by day and shot-firing at night, in districts of brows off main levels.

Closure

Unknown; BGS plans that include the Saw Mill Pit were closed in 1898 (Pemberton Four Feet, Wigan Four and Six Feet) and 1936 (Wigan Five Feet, with Strangeways Hall).

What remains

Unknown.

Related mines

• Ince Hall Arley Pit — Shared owner: both were pits of the Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Company.
• Middle Patricroft Pit — Shared owner: both were pits of the Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Company.
• Strangeways Hall Colliery — Shared plan: a BGS abandonment plan of 1936 covers the Wigan Five Feet of Strangeways Hall, East, Pemberton, Saw Mill and Trafford pits.

Recorded claims

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

• The Saw Mill Pit was among new pits sunk about 1868 to the Wigan Five Foot, Four Foot and Nine Foot coals at 363, 391 and 416 yards. ¹
• Air went down the Saw Mill Pit and returned up the Pemberton Pit, a short distance to the west. ¹
• On 18 July 1874 an explosion of firedamp caused by a blown-out shot killed fifteen men at the Saw Mill Pit. ^1,2
• The pit belonged to the Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Company Ltd, whose managing director was George Gilroy. ^1,2
• The inquest jury attributed the explosion to the shotlighter's failure to examine the place. ¹
• BGS plans group the Saw Mill Pit with the Ince East, Gravel Hole, Lane Side and Pemberton pits (abandoned 1898) and with Strangeways Hall (Wigan Five Feet, abandoned 1936). ^3,4

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Ince Hall Colliery Saw Mill Pit Explosion, Wigan, 1874 (NMRS accidents and disasters) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery disaster, 18 July 1874: Ince Hall, Saw Mill Pit (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21912113: Ince East, Gravel Hole, Lane Side, Pemberton, Saw Mill: Pemberton Four Feet, Wigan Four Feet and Six Feet, abandoned 1898 — British Geological Survey
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21946953: Strangeways Hall, East, Pemberton, Saw Mill, Trafford: Wigan Five Feet, abandoned 1936 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026