Ladyshore Colliery

Ladyshore Colliery, originally named Back o' th Barn, was situated on the Irwell Valley fault on the Manchester Coalfield in Little Lever, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Founded by Thomas Fletcher Senior, the colliery opened in the 1830s and mined several types of coal. It became infamous as a result of the owners' stand against the use of safety lamps in the mines. Women and children worked in the mines, under poor conditions.

Closed in 1949, it was the last colliery to remain in use by the canal. Only the colliery office (now a house) and the stables have survived.

Coal mining had its own terminology, whilst some terms were common in all areas, some were used only in the Lancashire Coalfield. Following are some terms used in Ladyshore Colliery, taken from Weep Mother Weep.

Ladyshore Colliery was situated in the Irwell Valley, on two sides of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal. The colliery was opened in the 1830s and originally had three pits, Ladyshore, Victoria and Owl Hole. The deepest was Owl Hole, which reached 55 fathoms (101 m).

The geology of the Irwell Valley made coal easier to mine; thrown upwards by the fault, the Coal Measures were often to be found at reasonably shallow depths. Unfortunately floods were common as water seeped into the pits. In 1835, one such flood occurred at Ladyshore. Mining in the affected pit ceased in 1884, but the shaft remained in use as the upcast ventilation shaft for the colliery. Eventually a tunnel was driven to Farnworth Bridge Pit, also owned by the Fletcher family, to dewater and ventilate the mines.

At various stages, the owners connected the two sides of the colliery. Around 1850 a bridge was built over the canal (bridge number 67) and some time around 1881, the bridge was railed to make a tubway. In 1905 the owners entered into discussion with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company in an attempt to establish an endless steel ropeway across the canal, and to deliver coal using a possible rail spur to the colliery. Although these talks were abandoned, in 1908 the subject was again raised, again with no result.

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