Ellesmere Colliery was a coal mine in Walkden, Manchester, England. The pit was located on Manchester Road, a short distance south of Walkden town centre.[1]
There were three shafts on the colliery site, with a fourth upcast shaft located a distance to the NNW. No. 1 shaft was sunk to the Five Quarters mine at a depth of Шаблон:Convert. The Шаблон:Convert deep No. 2 shaft and Шаблон:Convert No. 3 shaft were located on either side of the engine house.[2][3] The Шаблон:Circa1866 engine house contained a central ventilator and the winding engine was from local iron founder'sNasmyth Wilson, which powered a 30-inch by 54-inch winder.[1] It wound one cage in each shaft and the winding drum had a stepped Шаблон:Convert and Шаблон:Convert diameter to cater for the differing depths. The 1800s wooden headgear was replaced with metal structures in the 20th century, with one surviving until 1955.[2] At least one of the shafts intersected the underground canal of the Worsley Navigable Levels,[1] and although coal winding ceased in 1921 it was retained for water pumping and ventilation.[2]
The colliery was served by the Bridgewater Collieries Railway, which connected other lines such as the LNWR and also to the Bridgewater Canal.[3] The Walkden Yard maintenance depot was later constructed on the western side of the pit.[4] The Walkden offices of the company were also located to the southwest of the site.[1]
Bridgewater merged with others to form Manchester Collieries in 1929. The electrification of Ellesmere engine plant in 1936 led to the closure of the nearby Roughfield Colliery.[5] Pumping continued until 1968 and after the National Coal Board demolished the buildings at both sites and the shafts were filled-in. Sometime later a violent explosion occurred in a house in Walkden caused by firedamp accumulating underground and eventually forcing its way to the surface. To prevent a recurrence a borehole was drilled down No.1 shaft and a methane extraction plant built at the top.[2]
