Pendleton Colliery

Overview

A Salford colliery whose early management was supervised by Robert Stephenson, brother of the railway pioneer George Stephenson — bankrupted its original owner after catastrophic flooding in 1843, before later becoming, for a time, the deepest coal mine in Britain.

History

John Purcell Fitzgerald, a Member of Parliament and local estate owner, began sinking shafts to the Three Foot and Worsley Four Foot mines at Whit Lane, Pendleton, in the late 1820s. Robert Stephenson (1788-1837) — elder brother of the celebrated railway engineer George Stephenson — supervised operations as manager and engineer until his death in 1837, and reported reaching the Four Foot seam in 1832; the original shaft, sunk to around 650 feet, produced nearly 27,000 tons of coal in the first six months of that year alone. The shaft was lost to flooding in 1834, prompting Fitzgerald to form the Pendleton Colliery Company in 1835, with George Stephenson himself serving as a director; Robert Stephenson directed the sinking of larger, deeper shafts from 1836-37. Water problems persisted, and a far more serious flood struck in 1843, by which point the colliery employed nearly a thousand men producing a thousand tons of coal a day — the disaster proved financially catastrophic, with Fitzgerald's losses eventually totalling at least £50,000, and it took until June 1846 to pump out more than 157 million gallons of water. Work resumed in January 1847 with a celebratory procession, but Fitzgerald, having spent some £100,000 on the colliery against accumulated partnership losses of over £140,000, was declared bankrupt the following year. Andrew Knowles and Sons acquired the underlease in 1852 and developed the colliery into, for a time, the deepest coal mine in the country, its shafts eventually reaching 3,474 feet. On 4 November 1925, a sudden 'crump' — a violent upward heave of the mine floor — struck the Rams seam workings at a depth of 3,550 feet, killing six men (see Disasters, below). The colliery closed in 1939 once the Rams seam was exhausted, and the site was later used by the Manchester Oxide Company for industrial processing.

Workings

Reached the Three Foot and Worsley Four Foot mines from the late 1820s, later deepened under Andrew Knowles and Sons to 3,474 feet — for a time the deepest coal mine in Britain — working the six-foot-thick Rams seam at extreme depth.

Closure

Closed in 1939 once the Rams seam was worked out; the site was subsequently used by the Manchester Oxide Company for industrial processing.

What remains

A memorial bench and two plaques naming the colliery's dead were unveiled at St Thomas' Church, Pendleton, in November 2024, on the centenary approach of the 1925 disaster.

Disasters & major incidents

• Pendleton Colliery Floor Heave, 1925
  4 November 1925 · Other · 6 fatalities
  At 3,550 feet — among the deepest workings in Britain — the floor of Pendleton Colliery's Rams seam suddenly heaved upward without warning, killing six men in a genuine rockburst, or 'crump'.

Recorded claims

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

• Robert Stephenson, elder brother of the railway engineer George Stephenson, supervised Pendleton Colliery's operations as manager and engineer from the late 1820s until his death in 1837, while George Stephenson himself served as a director of the Pendleton Colliery Company formed in 1835. ¹
• A catastrophic flood in 1843 eventually cost John Purcell Fitzgerald over £50,000, requiring more than 157 million gallons to be pumped out by June 1846; Fitzgerald was declared bankrupt in 1848 having spent around £100,000 on the colliery. ¹
• Andrew Knowles and Sons, who acquired the underlease in 1852, developed Pendleton into, for a time, the deepest coal mine in the country, with shafts eventually reaching 3,474 feet. ¹
• The colliery closed in 1939 once the Rams seam was exhausted; the site was later used by the Manchester Oxide Company. ¹
• On 4 November 1925, a sudden floor heave ('crump') struck the Rams seam workings at 3,550 feet, killing six men — see Disasters, below. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Pendleton Colliery — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
2. (primary) Pendleton Colliery Floor Heave — Pendleton — 1925 — Northern Mine Research Society

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