MineArchiveMartholme Colliery
| Location | Martholme, Great Harwood, Lancashire — 53.7970, -2.3850 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1860s–1922 |
| Maximum depth | 210 yards (to the Lower Mountain) |
| Operators | Executors of Richard Fort (1860–?), Great Harwood Coal Co. (?–1890), Altham Colliery Company (1892–1898), Great Harwood Colliery Co. Ltd (1898–1922), Hargreaves Collieries Ltd (1935–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1949) |
Overview
A Great Harwood colliery sunk in the 1860s to the Lower Mountain at 210 yards. It passed through several companies, closed after a strike and flooding in 1922, was briefly reopened in 1927-30 and was kept for pumping until 1949.
History
Martholme Colliery lay near the old hall at Martholme, east of Great Harwood. The executors of Richard Fort sank it in the 1860s, with shafts reaching the Upper Mountain at 105 yards and the Lower Mountain at 210 yards. It was connected to Bridge Hey Colliery across the River Calder and to Great Harwood Colliery, or Park Pit. The Great Harwood Coal Co. absorbed it and closed it about 1890. The Altham Colliery Co. bought and reopened it in 1892, and from 1898 its subsidiary, the Great Harwood Colliery Co. Ltd, worked it until 1921.
After a 94-day strike the colliery closed in 1922 because of severe flooding. A team of miners from Moorfield Colliery reopened the Upper Mountain in 1927, but the coal was poor and it closed again in 1930. From 1935 Hargreaves Collieries Ltd used Martholme as a pumping station, and the National Coal Board kept it pumping until it closed it in 1949.
Geology
Lower Coal Measures: the Upper Mountain at 105 yards and the Lower Mountain at 210 yards.
Workings
Shafts to the Upper and Lower Mountain, connected underground with Bridge Hey and Great Harwood (Park Pit) collieries; later a pumping station.
Closure
Closed in 1922 after a 94-day strike and severe flooding; the Upper Mountain was worked again in 1927-30; used for pumping from 1935 until the NCB closed it in 1949.
What remains
Unknown.
Redevelopment
Unknown.
Related mines
- Moorfield Colliery — Both Altham Colliery Co. pits; Moorfield miners reopened Martholme in 1927.
Nearby mines
- Moorfield Colliery — 1.9 miles (3.0 km) SE
- Whinney Hill Colliery — 2.1 miles (3.3 km) S
- Huncoat Colliery — 2.3 miles (3.7 km) SE
- Rishton Colliery — 2.4 miles (3.9 km) SW
- Aspen Colliery — 3.1 miles (5.1 km) S
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Sunk in the 1860s by the executors of Richard Fort to the Upper Mountain at 105 yards and the Lower Mountain at 210 yards. 1
- It was connected to Bridge Hey and Great Harwood (Park Pit) collieries. 2
- It closed in 1922 after a 94-day strike and severe flooding. 1
- The Upper Mountain was reopened in 1927 by miners from Moorfield and closed in 1930; its plan is dated 1927. 1,3
- Used for pumping from 1935 until the NCB closed it in 1949. 1,4
Photographs & further reading
Sources
- (secondary) Martholme Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Burnley Coalfield — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
- (primary) Mine plan: Martholme, Lower Mountain — British Geological Survey
- (primary) Mine plan: Moorfield, Martholme, Whinney Hill, Upper Mountain — British Geological Survey
Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026