Orrell Colliery

Overview

The Walthew House pits west of Wigan, worked from the 1830s by Sharrock and Gaskell and others. They absorbed the Norley Hall pits in 1897 and sank to the Arley at 510 yards. The last pit was abandoned in October 1924.

History

Orrell Colliery, also called Walthew House, lay about two and a half miles west of Wigan beside the Wigan-Southport line. No. 1 Pit was sunk about 1834 to the Wigan Four Feet at 175 yards and was pumping only by 1899. No. 2 (upcast) was sunk in 1849 to the Arley, or Orrell Four Feet, at 510 yards, and No. 3 (downcast) the same year to the Yard. No. 2 wound four tubs at a time in four-deck cages from about 442 yards, and Arley coal was raised to that level through a staple pit.

The Orrell Coal and Cannel Company, formed in 1875, ceased in 1895. Sharrock and Gaskell bought and restarted it that year, absorbed the neighbouring Norley Hall Nos. 4 and 5 Pits in 1897, and formed the Orrell Colliery Company in 1900. Several accidents killed two or more men, the worst an explosion in April 1901 that killed four (see Disasters, below). In 1920 a pump was installed by agreement with Wigan Coal & Iron to relieve water flowing from Walthew House to the Standish pits. No. 2 closed in the early 1900s, No. 5 in 1921 and No. 4 in 1922. No. 3 was abandoned on 30 October 1924.

Geology

Lancashire Coal Measures: Wigan Four Feet at 175 yards, Wigan Nine Feet at 208, Cannel at 292, Yard at 385, Orrell Five Feet at about 442 and Arley (Orrell Four Feet) at 510 yards.

Workings

Nos. 1-3 Pits plus Norley Hall Nos. 4 and 5 from 1897; beam and Daglish vertical and horizontal winders; four-deck cages; a staple pit from the Arley; compressed-air haulages; a furnace for Nos. 2 and 3 and a Schiele fan for Nos. 4 and 5; coke ovens.

Closure

No. 2 closed in the early 1900s, No. 5 in 1921 and No. 4 in 1922; No. 3 was abandoned on 30 October 1924. The reason is unknown.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• Orrell Colliery explosion, 1901
  10 April 1901 · Explosion · 4 fatalities
  On Wednesday 10 April 1901 four men salvaging machinery from the just-abandoned Orrell Four Feet at Walthew House, Orrell, were caught when the fireman fired a roburite charge to break an iron cog-wheel. The shot set off a coal-dust explosion that ran along the main roads. Two died at once and two about a week later.

Recorded claims

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

• No. 1 Pit was sunk about 1834, and Nos. 2 and 3 in 1849. ¹
• No. 2 Pit reached the Arley (Orrell Four Feet) at 510 yards. ¹
• Sharrock and Gaskell restarted it in 1895 and absorbed Norley Hall Nos. 4 and 5 in 1897. ¹
• No. 3 Pit was abandoned on 30 October 1924. ¹
• Its Wigan Nine Feet workings at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are planned. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Orrell Colliery (Walthew House) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Mine plan: Orrell Nos. 1, 2, 3, Wigan Nine Feet — British Geological Survey
3. (primary) Orrell Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026