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Pemberton

25 Comments

Summersales Colliery
Summersales Colliery
Photo: Derek Winstanley
Views: 8,020
Item #: 11440
1979. Engine House and pit baths at the rear. The entrance to the drift mine was to the right by the trees. Coal was mined under Winstanley Estate.

Comment by: dave johnson on 10th August 2009 at 18:41

Is this the site where Browns sausage skin factory was?

Comment by: Derek Winstanley on 11th August 2009 at 15:52

Yes. Suasages replaced coal!

Comment by: james hornby on 11th August 2009 at 20:09

my cousin brian hornby had his engineers place here making gym equipment

Comment by: Dee on 11th August 2009 at 21:45

is this the plot of land where the new morris homes estate is now in highfield?

Comment by: Derek Winstanley on 12th August 2009 at 01:14

Don't know. I haven't lived there for 30 years, but I am told there are now houses on the site.

Comment by: james hornby on 12th August 2009 at 11:47

yes , there are new houses on this site .

Comment by: fred foster on 14th August 2009 at 07:45

When it closed, my cousin Alan Bradshaw was overman there and Tom Lowe, my dad's cousins son was undermanager.

Comment by: Jack on 14th August 2009 at 15:30

I am pretty sure the managers name was foster. I wonder if there is anybody else on here who worked there besides me?

Comment by: RON HUNT on 14th August 2009 at 15:47

I remember, must have been late 1950's, a few of us ( We were always playing in the 'LONG WALL') were walking home via the yard. The manager? approached us and was talking to us. He asked us a question.( Don't know what the question was or why he asked us???) Anyway we got it right and he gave us Half a Crown. That was a fortune to us. We immediately went into the canteen and spent it on sweets and pop<g> Happy Days. The frightening thing is... It dosen't seem 50 years ago!!!!!!

Comment by: Derek on 15th August 2009 at 03:02

Yes, Foster was the manager and Lowe the undermanager. We used to hear the miners' clogs as they walked passed Highfield View.

Comment by: dee on 16th August 2009 at 21:13

Thanks Derek, I live in one of the new houses and thought i recongnised the estate in the background but wasn't sure so cheers for that, Dee. x

Comment by: Derek on 23rd August 2009 at 01:06

Dee. Can you post a photo of how it looks now?

Comment by: Roy.C on 3rd September 2009 at 17:51

Yes the managers name was John Foster and the undermanagers name was Tommy Lowe and I think the overman was Dick Roughley.
The mechanical engineer was Joe Webster and the electrical engineer was Jack Shaw,this was in approx:1955/56.at this time I was a mechanical apprentice and was there for 12 months.

Comment by: winder on 5th September 2009 at 20:11

I had the privilage of meeting John Foster and talking about the history of the coal mines around Haigh and Arley.
John lived in Arley Lane Haigh opposite Arley Coll and was a true gent.
He passed away about 2 years ago

Comment by: Roy.C on 8th September 2009 at 22:38

Here we go again you have all whetted my appetite.
As I understand it Summersales Colliery came into being from Pemberton Colliery.
A tunnel was driven from Pemberton Colliery,which they called the Summer Hall Tunnel.
This was driven by a man called Bill Foster and when I was there it was always called Fosters tunnel.
The idea was to exploit the coal reseves under Winstanley estate.
It was also realised at that time that it would be more economic to buy the land and to sink a shaft rather than transport the coal long distances underground to the railway sidings at Pemberton Colliery.
A shaft was sunk which was approx:about 30 yards deep to my recollection,but this was never used to wind men and the pit remained as a walk down mine.They then built the usual buildings plus a screening plant which enabled the coal to be sold directly to coal dealers,hence the name Summersales.
To the previous commentator saying they got money from the Manager which they spent in the canteen the Manageress of the canteen in those days was a Mrs Unsworth and her husband was in charge of the lampshop.
Finally I never understood why Summersales Colliery was in the No 3 St Helens Area branch of the coal board when quite
obviously it is in wigan

Comment by: rc on 8th November 2009 at 15:13

Some more points about Summersales.
The engine house contained two Alley& McClennan vertical 2 stage compressors which supplied all compressed air,surface and underground.
There were two drift walk down tunnels,one as described which was the downcast ie: the ventilation was sucked down this tunnel to ventilate all the underground workings.
The other entrance was down the side of the lamp room,in the photo the lamp room is the building at the left edge of the photo and the building in front of the engine house is the fan house which contained a multistage centrifugal fan for the mine ventilation.
To the left of the engine house you can just see the end of a building which was between the baths and engine house,this was the canteen.
The colliery did have a shaft and winding engine which were located as part and parcel of the screening plant and bunkers were coal was loaded onto lorries.
All coal was wound up this shaft.
As a point of interest one of the duties of Summersales engineering staff was to maintain a pair of pumps on the old Pemberton colliery site.In its heyday this site had four shafts,Kingpit,Queenpit,Princepit and Byepit,when it was shut a shallower version based on the Kingpit was left open with modified headgear and a winding engine and two large centrifugal pumps installed.
The staff who ran this were a fireman,pumpman and engine winder who worked a five day week,it was necessary to pump out huge volumes of water to prevent flooding in other collieries south of pemberton.
A bit long winded I know but thought it might interest someone.

Comment by: Chuff on 7th January 2011 at 01:05

You are quite right Roy C in saying that Dick Roughley was the Overman. Unfortunately he had to retire due to ill health (as did many miners) aged 51 years. He suffered quite a lot until his death in 1968 aged 60 years.

Comment by: fred foster on 24th January 2011 at 16:24

I think that you will find that Summersales is a corruption of Sumners dale. Sumners hall was on the site at one time

Comment by: Leonard walls on 11th October 2011 at 17:51

hi all, i lived in the houses to the right of the picture (sandpiper road) as you look at the photo the first building on the left was galaxy engineering and Brian hornbys gym building workshop, the little building to the in the middle was used by a bloke who built fitted bedrooms. the very large building in the middle was used for engineering. the building on the left to the back ground was indeed browns meat business , know to us as kids as the sausage factory, the blue bins used to stink. the building on the right at the back was another engineering business the owner was brian smith . the houses you see in the back ground are in "teal close". all the works buildings and now gone and this area in the photo is waste land at the moment the new houses are on the right of the photo

Comment by: greenfingers on 5th September 2014 at 16:06

the new houses are to the right of the picture what you see is now newly planted woodland and has been raised at least 30 feet all the rubbish was just covererd with soil then planted up the new houses all biult on the top before you came down the hill

Comment by: terrygus on 28th November 2015 at 14:42

I worked down there till it shut I worked on the arley loader with norman dingsdale alan Hewson joby Baldwin reg Thompson and 2 brothers hodens the deputys name was tommy darbishire tommy lowe was the undermanager and mr foster pit manager I enjoyed my days down there

Comment by: Ian Smith on 8th August 2017 at 15:10

My grandad worked here for many years Jimmy Taberner also my auntie Irene Cox worked in the canteen. Both now deceased.

Comment by: thomas brookes on 30th July 2018 at 20:20

THE BUILING IN FRONT WAS WHERE MY DAD USED TO WORK,AND ONE DAY HE TOOK ME TO SEE HIS MATE,I COULDNT BELIEVE IT WHEN MY DAD SAID,THERE ARE THREE TOMMY BROOKES,S STOULD HERE NOW.

Comment by: Shirley Foster on 27th September 2020 at 13:44

Lovely reading the comments about my dad, John Foster, who managed Summersales colliery all those years ago. He was literally a 'mine' of information about the Wigan and St Helens coal fields. His last job was at Bold Colliery. Sadly passed away in 2007.

Comment by: Carol Withington on 14th April 2022 at 11:13

My Dad, Len Withington used to own Highfield Engineering back in the 60s/70's - We used to go & play in the brook that runs along the side of the buildings. there was a rope swing on the tree across the brook. Fond memories

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