Scaitcliffe Colliery

Location	Accrington, Lancashire — 53.7510, -2.3680 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1880 (sinking began)–29 June 1962
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	George Hargreaves & Co. (1880–?), Hargreaves Collieries Ltd (?–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1962)

Overview

A colliery near the centre of Accrington, sunk to the Lower Mountain by George Hargreaves & Co. between 1880 and 1892 and later linked underground to Huncoat. It employed up to 287 people and closed on 29 June 1962.

History

Scaitcliffe Colliery lay close to the centre of Accrington, south of the railway station, beside the old line to Bury near Howard & Bullough's Globe Works. George Hargreaves & Co. sank it to the Lower Mountain between 1880 and 1892, and it worked that seam alone throughout, raising household and manufacturing coal. An earlier Scaitcliffe pit nearby had been worked from 1859 to 1883. The company employed an average of 160 men below ground and 19 on the surface; the returns give 138 in 1894, 218 in 1923 and 287 in 1940. Before 1930 the company linked Scaitcliffe and its Calder Colliery underground to Huncoat, which wound the coal from all three.

The colliery passed through Hargreaves Collieries Ltd to the National Coal Board in 1947, when it raised 62,000 tons. The board raised employment to 182 underground and 25 on the surface, but by 1960 it was shedding men quickly, and the colliery closed on 29 June 1962.

Geology

Lower Coal Measures: the Lower Mountain seam.

Workings

Shafts to the Lower Mountain, linked underground with Calder Colliery and Huncoat Colliery, which wound their coal before 1930.

Closure

Closed on 29 June 1962 after the NCB had cut its workforce from 1960.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

Huncoat Colliery — Linked underground before 1930; Huncoat wound Scaitcliffe's coal.

Nearby mines

Whinney Hill Colliery — 1.2 miles (1.9 km) N
Aspen Colliery — 1.3 miles (2.1 km) W
Huncoat Colliery — 1.7 miles (2.8 km) NE
Moorfield Colliery — 1.8 miles (2.8 km) N
Rishton Colliery — 2.1 miles (3.5 km) NW

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

Sunk to the Lower Mountain by George Hargreaves & Co. between 1880 and 1892. ^1,2
Before 1930 it was linked underground to Huncoat, which wound its coal. ¹
Employed 138 in 1894, 218 in 1923 and 287 in 1940; 62,000 tons in 1947. ³
Closed on 29 June 1962. ²
An earlier Scaitcliffe pit was worked from 1859 to 1883. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Scaitcliffe Colliery (NMRS) (reference)

Sinking, employment under the company and the NCB, and closure.

View source

Scaitcliffe Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) (reference)

Seams and employment 1894-1954, and those killed.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Burnley Coalfield — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
(secondary) Scaitcliffe Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) Scaitcliffe Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) Scaitcliffe (a) — Buddlepit Mine Database

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