Astley Green Colliery Museum facts for kids
Astley Green Colliery Museum
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| Location | Astley in Greater Manchester, England |
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| Type | Heritage centre |
The Astley Green Colliery Museum is a super cool place in Astley, near Tyldesley, in Greater Manchester, England. It's run by the Red Rose Steam Society. This museum used to be a real working colliery, which is a coal mine, from 1912 to 1970. Now, it's a special protected site called a Scheduled Monument.
The museum covers about 15 acres (that's like 11 football fields!) right next to the Bridgewater Canal. It's really important because it has the last remaining pit headgear and engine house from the entire Lancashire Coalfield. These are big structures used to get coal out of the ground.
Contents
History of the Coal Mine
Why Astley Green Was Built
The Astley Green Colliery was built to dig deep for coal. This coal was found under a huge swampy area called Chat Moss. People really needed a lot of coal in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Also, other coal mines in the Irwell Valley were running out of coal. So, a new mine was needed!
Building the Mine and Its Life
Work on the mine started in 1908. It was built by the Pilkington Colliery Company. This company was part of a bigger group called the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company. The mine began producing coal in 1912.
In 1928, Astley Green Colliery joined with other local mines. They formed a large company called Manchester Collieries. The mine was updated in 1947 when the government took control of all coal mines. Astley Green Colliery finally closed down in 1970. After that, it was opened to the public as a museum!
What You Can See at the Museum
The Astley Green Colliery Museum is special because it has the only remaining headgear and engine house from the old Lancashire coal mining area.
The Headgear
The headgear is a tall structure made of strong iron. It has big metal beams and plates joined together. At the very top, there are two large wheels and one smaller wheel. This headgear is almost 30 meters (about 98 feet) tall! It was built by a company called Head Wrightson and finished by 1912.
The Winding Engine House
Inside the winding house, you'll find a giant steam engine. It was made by Yates and Thom in Blackburn. This engine house has the biggest steam winding engine ever used in the Lancashire coalfield. It's a super powerful engine with 3,300 horsepower! It helped pull coal and miners up and down the mine shafts.
Locomotives Collection
The museum also has a huge collection of 28 colliery locomotives. These are special trains used in coal mines. It's the biggest collection of its kind in the whole UK!
The Museum's Railway
Restoring the Tracks
As of summer 2019, amazing volunteers have been working hard. They have restored and built about 200 meters (about 650 feet) of railway track. This means visitors might soon get to ride a train!
Operational Locomotives
Currently, one of the locomotives is working. Another one is being fixed up. Once it's ready, passenger services can start on the railway. Imagine riding on a real colliery train!
See also
- List of Collieries in Astley and Tyldesley
- Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester
- Listed buildings in Astley, Greater Manchester
