Wigan Album

The Spiralarm is the one on the right. It was used to detect methane in mines and sewers. When activated, a red lamp in the base would have lit up. They were made by local company J H Naylor.

My father was a miner inspiring me to amass a large collection of lamps several of which are Naylors but non like yours. Very nice!

Carried one of those on the left for quite a while when working at Dairy Pit. The one on the right was a ton weight.

That Spiralarm is one of the early ones. Later models had less brass & more alloy in the general body. Miners in my day (50's) received ½ a crown (2/6d) per day to carry one..

Ken R, when you worked at Dairy Pit, do you remember if the workings in the King seam extended under a corner of Haigh Hall support pillar causing subsidance? The official plans don't show this, but I'm sure somebody told me so.

Loz. When I was there, they had been having some subsidence which showed up on the pathways in the Plantations, they were concerned with the Hall pillar, I didn't hear of an infringement of the pillar.