Swan Lane Colliery

Also known as	Long Lane Colliery, Swan Lane Collieries
Location	Near Hindley Green and Dangerous Corner, Wigan, Greater Manchester — 53.5328, -2.5508 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	c. 1864–1893 (first closure)
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	Edward Johnson (1868–?), Swan Lane Brick and Coal Company (1886–1910), Swan Lane Collieries Ltd (1910–1928)

Overview

Collieries at Swan Lane and Long Lane near Hindley Green, sunk about 1864, worked by the Swan Lane Brick and Coal Company and then Swan Lane Collieries Ltd. Swan Lane was restarted in 1910, employed 651 in 1923 and closed in 1927.

History

The Swan Lane and Long Lane pits lay about three-quarters of a mile north of Hindley Green station, near Dangerous Corner, and were sunk about 1864, with two shafts at Swan Lane. In 1868 the colliery belonged to Edward Johnson of St Helens; that August an explosion killed three men (see Disasters, below). In March 1878 two datallers repairing a road were killed when timber set the day before gave way.

The Swan Lane Brick and Coal Company bought the collieries about 1886. Swan Lane closed in 1893 and Long Lane in 1905, after a Walker fan had been fitted at Long Lane in 1897-98. Swan Lane was restarted in 1910 by Swan Lane Collieries Ltd and employed 544 men underground and 107 at the surface in 1923. At closure it had 384 underground and 99 at the surface. It closed in November 1927 and was abandoned in December 1927.

Geology

Lancashire Coal Measures; seams not named in the sources.

Workings

Two shafts at Swan Lane and pits at Long Lane; a Walker 'Indestructible' fan at Long Lane from 1897-98, driven by a 14 by 24-inch horizontal engine.

Closure

Swan Lane closed in 1893 and Long Lane in 1905; Swan Lane restarted in 1910, closed in November 1927 and was abandoned in December 1927. The reason is unknown.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Hindley Green Colliery — 0.7 miles (1.1 km) SW
Hewlett Colliery — 0.8 miles (1.3 km) N
Eatock Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.5 km) E
Strangeways Hall Colliery — 1.5 miles (2.4 km) W
Abram Colliery — 1.5 miles (2.5 km) SW

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

Disasters & major incidents

Swan Lane Colliery explosion, 1868
17 August 1868 · Explosion · 3 fatalities
On 'reckoning Monday', 17 August 1868, when only day men were in Swan Lane Colliery, Hindley Green, the collier Charles Abbott fired gas with his naked light in an unbratticed working place in the Four Feet. Two men who went in after him died in the afterdamp. The owner was fined for neglecting the first general rule.

Recorded claims

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

The pits at Swan Lane and Long Lane were sunk about 1864. ¹
Swan Lane closed in 1893, restarted in 1910, closed in November 1927 and was abandoned in December 1927. ¹
Employed 544 underground and 107 at the surface in 1923. ^1,2
Its plans show workings in the Hindley Yard, Blue, Ravine, Hindley Green Four Feet and Three Feet seams. ³
In 1868 the colliery belonged to Edward Johnson of St Helens and worked the Yard, Four Feet and Five Feet seams. ^4,5

Photographs & further reading

Swan Lane Collieries (NMRS) (reference)

Owners, shafts, ventilation, workforce and closure dates, from the G. Hayes collection.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Swan Lane Collieries — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) Swan Lane Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Mine plan: Swan Lane, Hindley Yard (Wigan Five Feet) — British Geological Survey
(primary) Colliery explosion at Hindley: loss of three lives (Wrexham Advertiser, 22 August 1868) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
(primary) Fatal colliery explosion (Monmouthshire Merlin, 22 August 1868) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

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