This is number 1, in the small series of King Coal, in and around the Ashton in Makerfield and Haydock area, which was a part of the Lancashire Coal Field production area.
Long Lane colliery also known locally as Crowpit, was situated to the south of Bryn Road, formaly Long Lane, Ashton in Makerfield.
Lockett Road, Ashton in Makerfield, entrance to the now South Lancs Industrial Estate, almost runs through the former colliery site.
Owners where:- Garswood Coal & Iron Co. Ltd to 1929, Garswood Hall Collieries Co. Ltd 1929 - 1946, National Coal Board 1947 - 1955
The colliery was started in 1892 and sunk two shafts, Number One up cast and Number Two downcast both being 16ft in diameter and down to the Pemberton coal seam.
Production ceased at Long Lane in 1955 and this colliery was partly responsible, in creating the local slag heap area known as the Three Sisters, now reclaimed and a recreation area.
Taken from the Royal Humane Society Records,
Royal Humane Society case no. 42,628: ‘At 1:00am on the 1st July 1916, four men named Gallagher, Lynch, McLoughlan, and Ashurst were at work repairing the roof in the four-foot seam at the Long-Lane Colliery, Ashton-in-Makerfield, when a fall took place, burying all four men.
A rescue party, consisting of Martin Rowley, Patrick Regan, Thomas Eden, and Thomas Kelly, at once went to their assistance, it being found that the fall, which was estimated at about 14 tons of stone and earth, had completely buried McLoughlan and partly buried Lynch, with iron girders on top of both. Ashurst and Gallagher were easily liberated, but it was only after one and a quarter hours’ arduous work that Lynch was reached and got out, and a quarter of an hour later when McLoughlan was also freed, but he was then dead. Owing to the confined space in which the rescuers had to work it was necessary for one man to lead, this post being taken by Martin Rowley. There was a constant fear of another fall, which might have taken place at any moment, so that great risk was incurred.’
One Royal Humane Society Silver Medal was awarded (to Rowley), and three Royal
Humane Society Bronze Medals were awarded for this action.
Mr. Martin Rowley who was born in 1885 and at the time of his gallantry, was employed as a contractor at Poplar Bank, Ashton, was killed in an accident, on the 5th July 1941, at the same Long-Lane Colliery, following a fall of stone from the roof whilst setting up a prop, and is buried at All Saints R.C. Church, Golborne.
Many of the local Collieries’s, had men such as Rowley, Regan, Eden and Kelly who would not hesitate to put their own lives in jeopardy to save the lives of their fellow miners or to recover their body’s, to enable their family to give them a decent burial. The calibre of these men is of the highest and could be relied on in extreme circumstances.
King Coal to some, was a very expensive commodity indeed.
The landscape is now totally different from the former colliery site, with no sign of the former connecting railway. Business units now occupy the site and surround the old shafts of Long Lane Colliery.
The cache is only a couple of strides from the public footpath with ample parking close by. Your own pen will be required and possibly tweesers. This is a quick cache and dash to the next one in the local.
This is Muggle central especially during the week so great stealth is required in retrieving the cache. Please replace the cash as found. More caches in the series are below.
Others in the small series are:-
king-coal-2-garswood-hall-colliery-new-pit
king-coal-3-park-colliery
king-coal-4-old-boston-colliery
king-coal-5-wood-and-lyme-pits-haydock
If you compleate all 5 in the small series, there is a photo for your profile. Contact me for the code to paste on your profile.
