Nook Colliery

Overview

Sunk by the Astley and Tyldesley Coal and Salt Company in 1866, Nook Colliery grew from a single shaft into a five-shaft complex that became, for a time, the second largest colliery on the whole Manchester Coalfield.

History

Nook Colliery's first shaft was sunk to the Rams mine at 455 yards in 1866 by the Astley and Tyldesley Coal and Salt Company, registered as a business on 23 March 1864. Sited at Kermishaw Nook, near Tyldesley, the colliery grew substantially over its working life, eventually reaching five shafts and becoming, for a time, the second largest colliery on the entire Manchester Coalfield; by 1896 it employed 480 men below ground and 125 on the surface. The Astley and Tyldesley Collieries Company, formed in 1900, took over the site's operations, becoming part of Manchester Collieries in 1929 and passing some of its collieries to the National Coal Board on nationalisation in 1947. Nook Colliery itself continued working until 1965. Nook was one of a group worked together on the same take. John Darlington had leased the mineral rights of the Astley Hall land in the 1840s and sunk Astley Colliery, which became the site of Gin Pit; Nook No. 1 was sunk in 1866 just south of it, a new shaft followed at Gin Pit in 1872 and a second at Nook a year later, and Nook No. 3 was working by 1899. In 1896 Nook employed 480 men below ground and 125 on the surface, against Gin Pit's 240 and 55. The company built its own standard-gauge mineral railway, exchanging traffic with the London and North Western Railway at Jackson's Sidings south-west of Tyldesley station, and ran coal out by rail from there and by barge from Marsland Green to Partington on the Manchester Ship Canal. In 1961 the district became the National Coal Board's East Lancashire Area. Gin Pit closed in 1955 and Nook followed in August 1965.

Geology

Nook's first shaft was sunk to the Rams mine at 455 yards. Household and manufacturing coal came from the Binn and Crumbouke mines here, while the deeper Seven Feet and Trencherbone seams lay outside the company's earlier lease. Numerous small faults affect this part of the Manchester coalfield.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

Grew from a single shaft, sunk to the Rams mine at 455 yards in 1866, to a five-shaft complex — for a time the second largest colliery on the Manchester Coalfield, employing 480 men below ground and 125 on the surface by 1896.

Closure

Closed in 1965.

What remains

The colliery is gone and its ground lies within the Gin Pit and Tyldesley built-up area; the terraced houses of Gin Pit village, built by the company for its workers, survive as the clearest reminder of the group Nook belonged to.

No colliery structures are recorded as standing. Gin Pit village, the company's own terraced housing, remains occupied.

Related mines

• Gin Pit Colliery — Both worked by the Astley and Tyldesley company, and both relied on St George's No. 2 pit as their upcast.
• St George's Colliery — Both sunk and worked by the Astley and Tyldesley Coal and Salt Company in Tyldesley.

What's uncertain

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

• Accounts differ on the colliery's standing. The company history says Nook became the largest colliery on the Manchester Coalfield; the colliery list says it became the second largest. (disputed) ^3,4

Recorded claims

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

• The Astley and Tyldesley Coal and Salt Company, registered 23 March 1864, sank Nook Colliery's first shaft to the Rams mine at 455 yards in 1866. ¹
• The colliery grew to five shafts, becoming for a time the second largest on the Manchester Coalfield, employing 480 men below ground and 125 on the surface by 1896. ¹
• The Astley and Tyldesley Collieries Company, formed in 1900, ran the site, becoming part of Manchester Collieries in 1929 and passing to the National Coal Board in 1947; Nook Colliery closed in 1965. ²
• John Darlington leased the Astley Hall mineral rights in the 1840s and sank Astley Colliery, which became the site of Gin Pit. Nook No. 1 was sunk in 1866 south of it, a new Gin Pit shaft followed in 1872 and a second Nook shaft a year later, and Nook No. 3 was in operation by 1899. ^3,4
• In 1896 Nook Pit employed 480 men below ground and 125 workers on the surface; Gin Pit was smaller, with 240 underground and 55 on the surface. ³
• Nook's first shaft reached the Rams mine at 455 yards, and household and manufacturing coal was produced from the Binn and Crumbouke mines. The deeper Seven Feet and Trencherbone seams were not included in the company's 1857 lease. ³
• Accounts differ on the colliery's standing. The company history says Nook became the largest colliery on the Manchester Coalfield; the colliery list says it became the second largest. (disputed) ^3,4
• The company built its own standard-gauge mineral railway, exchanging traffic with the London and North Western Railway at Jackson's Sidings south-west of Tyldesley station, and sent coal out by rail from there and by barge from Marsland Green to Partington on the Manchester Ship Canal. ³
• Gin Pit closed in 1955 and Nook closed in August 1965; the district had become the National Coal Board's East Lancashire Area in 1961. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Nook Colliery — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
2. (primary) Nook Colliery (1866-1965) — NMRS — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Astley and Tyldesley Collieries — Wikipedia
4. (secondary) List of collieries in Astley and Tyldesley — Wikipedia
5. (primary) BGS/Mining Remediation Authority mine plans — Gin and Nook, Astley & Tyldesley — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 2 September 2026 · Last researched: 23 September 2026