Newtown Colliery

Overview

A major Clifton & Kersley Coal Company colliery at Clifton, sunk from 1872, which employed over 900 men in 1954 and wound coal until 1956; it produced until April 1961, and its No. 2 shaft was kept open as a pumping point until Agecroft closed in 1990.

History

Newtown Colliery at Clifton appears to have been begun by the Clifton & Kersley Coal Company around 1872, and on 6 August 1875 Alfred Pilkington inaugurated the sinking of No. 1 Pit to the Doe Mine at 442 yards. No. 2 Pit was sunk to the Trencherbone Mine and deepened to 635 yards in 1912-13 by raising from below, and No. 3 was the upcast. Bridgewater Collieries bought Newtown as a going concern in 1925, partly to control the water lying north of the barrier protecting Sandhole Colliery, and drained it to Newtown through headings from the abandoned Clifton Moss Colliery. Manchester Collieries took over in 1929 and re-equipped No. 3 Pit for man-riding with a concrete headgear in 1932. After nationalisation the Plodder Mine was developed with cutter-loaders and armoured face conveyors; in 1956, with 818 men producing about 7,000 tons a week, coal winding moved to Wheatsheaf Colliery through a new tunnel. Newtown produced until April 1961. No. 2 Pit was left open with an automatic pump to keep water from Agecroft Colliery until Agecroft closed in 1990.

Geology

Manchester Coalfield, Middle Coal Measures: the Doe, Five Quarters, Cannel, Trencherbone and Plodder Mines among others; fireclay was also raised from No. 1 Pit.

Workings

Three shafts: No. 1 (Doe Pit, 442 yards), No. 2 (Trencherbone, 635 yards) and No. 3 (upcast, deepened to 630 yards). After 1956 coal was wound at Wheatsheaf Colliery through a tunnel.

Closure

Production ended in April 1961; the surface buildings were demolished except the 1936 pithead baths, themselves demolished in 1969. No. 2 Pit was kept open for pumping until 1990.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Agecroft Colliery — Newtown No. 2 Pit was kept open with a pump to keep water from Agecroft until 1990 (NMRS).
• Outwood Colliery — Newtown's coal needing washing went to the Outwood Colliery washery; both Clifton and Kersley Coal Company pits (NMRS; Wikipedia).
• Sandhole Colliery — Newtown was bought in 1925 to control water threatening Sandhole's workings, and the two were later connected and partly ventilated together (NMRS).
• Spindle Point Colliery — Both Clifton and Kersley Coal Company collieries in the Irwell Valley (Wikipedia).
• Wet Earth Colliery — Both Clifton collieries of the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company (Wikipedia).

Recorded claims

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

• On 6 August 1875 Alfred Pilkington inaugurated the sinking of No. 1 Pit to the Doe Mine, 442 yards deep. ¹
• The Clifton and Kersley Coal Company owned Newtown Colliery in Clifton. ^2,3
• Bridgewater Collieries bought Newtown as a going concern in 1925. ¹
• Newtown employed 931 men in 1954, 716 of them below ground. ²
• Newtown Colliery continued in production until April 1961. ¹
• No. 2 Pit was left open with a submersible pump to protect Agecroft Colliery until Agecroft closed in 1990. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) Newtown Colliery (1872-1961) — Northern Mine Research Society (Internet Archive copy) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Newtown Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Wikipedia: Clifton and Kersley Coal Company — Wikipedia

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026