Peel Hall Colliery

Overview

A James Roscoe colliery at Little Hulton, sunk around 1850 and worked by his family company until 1930, with gas, household and manufacturing coal from the Cannel, Plodder, Yard and Arley.

History

James and William Roscoe sank the Peel Hall and New Watergate pits, close together in Little Hulton, in the late 1840s and early 1850s. James Roscoe, a former Astley miner who had headed a railway locomotive department in Leicester, lived at Kenyon Peel Hall until his death in 1890. Coal went out by horse and cart until 1874, when the London and North Western Railway built the Little Hulton mineral branch, joined to the Lancashire and Yorkshire line at Peel Hall sidings.

In 1894 four pits were returned. No. 1 worked the Cannel for gas coal, No. 2 the Five Quarters and No. 3 the Trencherbone, while No. 4 had been abandoned. Workings in the Five Quarters and Little (Higher Florida) were given up in 1896. Thomas and George Roscoe formed James Roscoe and Sons in 1892. No. 1 was being sunk deeper in 1905 and worked the Arley by 1910; by 1915 it worked the Albert, Cannel, Denner Main, Plodder and Yard. Employment reached 734 in 1910 and was 446 in 1923, but only 182 by 1933. The colliery closed in 1930. The firm concentrated the New Watergate and Peel Hall pits at the New Watergate site as Peel Hall Colliery and sank a new shaft to the Arley. NMRS gives its formal abandonment as December 1931, after which the workshops and a power plant serving New Lester were kept, and the two winding engine houses and chimney stood derelict until April 1960.

Geology

Middle Coal Measures of the Manchester coalfield: Cannel, Plodder, Yard (Denner Main), Five Quarters, Trencherbone, Albert, Three Quarters and Arley mines.

Workings

Up to four pits in 1894, reduced to Nos. 1 and 2 by 1905; No. 1 was being deepened in 1905 and worked the Arley by 1910. A private siding joined the Little Hulton mineral branch at Peel Hall sidings.

Closure

Closed in 1930. The reason for closure is unknown.

What remains

The two winding engine houses and the chimney stood derelict until they were demolished in April 1960.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• New Lester Colliery — Roscoe family collieries joined by the Little Hulton mineral branch.

What's uncertain

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

• Peel Hall Colliery was formally abandoned in December 1931. (disputed) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• Plans of the Five Quarters workings of Nos. 1 to 4 were deposited as abandoned in 1896. ¹
• Sunk by James and William Roscoe in the late 1840s or early 1850s, close to their New Watergate pit. ²
• Opened 1850 and closed 1930. ³
• Employed 734 people at Nos. 1 and 2 in 1910. ³
• The Little Hulton mineral branch of 1874 joined the Lancashire and Yorkshire line at Peel Hall sidings. ²
• Peel Hall Colliery was formally abandoned in December 1931. (disputed) ⁴
• The New Watergate and Peel Hall pits were concentrated at the New Watergate site as Peel Hall Colliery, with a new shaft to the Arley. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Mine plan: Peel Hall Nos. 1-4, Five Quarters (abandoned 1896) — British Geological Survey
2. (secondary) New Lester Colliery — Engole — Engole
3. (primary) Peel Hall Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) Peel Hall Colliery (1850-1931) — Northern Mine Research Society

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