Wigan Album

My grandfather, Richard Roughley, was one of the rescuers. His photo is with the others in the book about this.

This colliery, Abram Colliery, was better known as the Maypole Colliery. It ceased producing coal in 1956. It was situated at the extreme end of Park Lane, Abram. There was a memorial stone placed at its location, a few years ago

I have been trying to find out on different mining internet sites, as to what date the Maypole pits' were sunk, without any success. Does anyone have any knowledge of it?

Albert, the first sod was cut on 19 April 1895. by a Miss Keen. The pit was abandoned in March 1959. (Info from The Colliery Guardian, sourced via www.communigate.co.uk/lancs/acl/page14.phtml).

Nev, thank you. What I cannot understand is the earlier photograph is depicted as being Abram Colliery, I can only recollect one colliery actually in Abram, and that was the Maypole, where I worked. If the earlier explosion occurred in 1881, and the Maypole was sunk in 1895, they must be two different collieries.

Hi Albert, Abram Collieries was a collective title in the early days, for several pits. The one where the accident of 19 Dec 1881 occurred and 48 lives were lost was later known as Albert Pit. This closed in 1933, and I believe was the one where a lighted cigarette was dropped though a hole in the concrete cap, resulting in an explosion. The pit was situated just off Bickershaw Lane, near Bolton House Road. The area later became the Albert Disposal Point for opencast operations.

Thank you for all your research Nev. After the pit stopped coal production. I suspect a lot of time afterwards would be taken up with salvage work. I remember, I was serving in the R.A.F. in Germany, in 1956, when I saw it in an English newspaper, reporting the closure of the Maypole Colliery.

I always thought the Albert pit was a drift mine.Has anyone any information?

Wigan Junction Colliery would probably have been classed as an Abram Pit. I always remembered Albert Pit being a Drift Mine.

Steve. I recollect that when I worked at the Maypole, (although I never went into them myself), I was told that there were some disused tunnels that joined up with the Junction Colliery.

Albert, that's correct. Immediately after the explosion, the first rescuers entered Junction pit workings in a bid to reach Maypole.

I believe the pit where the 19th Dec 1881 explosion occurred was called Arley pit at Abram. My GG Grandfather was killed there.

My great uncle, James Conway died in the Maypole disaster of 1908. Does anyone in the Wigan area have any photographs of the time with the identities of victims and family - I have seen the fund raising postcard but am trying to source the portrait that was used for this. Please contact me with any leads.