Towneley Colliery

Overview

A Burnley Coalfield colliery, also known as Towneley Desmesne, sunk in the late 1860s by Brooks and Pickup and worked for eighty years across four seams before closing in 1949 — its site now part of Towneley Park.

History

Towneley Colliery, also recorded as Towneley Desmesne Colliery, was sunk on the Burnley Coalfield in the late 1860s, connected to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's Burnley-to-Todmorden line (later known as the Copy Pit route) and, by tramway, to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Brooks and Pickup began coal production from the colliery's main shaft, the Alice Pit, in late February 1869. Over the following seventy-five years the colliery worked four seams — the Arley, Dandy, King and Yard mines. By 1923 it was owned by Brooks & Brooks Collieries and employed 770 men. Under the National Coal Board, only the Yard, Dandy and Lower Mountain mines remained in work before the colliery closed on 6 March 1949. Even after closure, the Towneley Desmesne shafts continued to be used for pumping, keeping neighbouring workings dry, until the closure of Bank Hall Colliery in March 1971 finally ended that role too.

Workings

The Alice Pit shaft, sunk in the late 1860s, gave access to four seams worked over the colliery's life — the Arley, Dandy, King and Yard mines.

Closure

Closed on 6 March 1949; its shafts continued to be used purely for pumping water away from neighbouring workings until Bank Hall Colliery's own 1971 closure ended that role.

What remains

The former colliery and coke-oven site is now part of Towneley Park, a public open space; some structures from the colliery's working life reportedly survive on the site.

Recorded claims

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

• Towneley Colliery was sunk on the Burnley Coalfield in the late 1860s; Brooks and Pickup began coal production from the Alice Pit shaft in late February 1869. ¹
• The colliery worked the Arley, Dandy, King and Yard mines over 75 years; by 1923 it was owned by Brooks & Brooks Collieries and employed 770 men. ¹
• The colliery closed on 6 March 1949, after which its shafts were kept in use purely for pumping water away from neighbouring workings until Bank Hall Colliery's 1971 closure. ¹
• The former colliery and coke-oven site now forms part of Towneley Park, a public open space in Burnley. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Towneley Colliery — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
2. (primary) Towneley Desmesne Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society

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