Wigan Album
Hindley
10 Comments
Photo: dk
Item #: 19179
I think that is St. Peter's church in background and I would bet there are not many around who can remember the pit head. If anyone can, and can help to date this better than late 40s early 50s, the info would be much appreciated.
Is the vent chimney California Pit? It's still there of course but the landscape has changed dramatically.
the church spire is St Johns at the bottom of Ladies Lane and the pit is called Well Pit and was an air pit for Hindley Deep Pit.
locomotive looks like a standard class four built from 1951 onward
I'm almost certain it's a LMS 2f 2-6-0 Ivatt, built between 1946-1953. These engines were quite common on this line, and used by BR on many branch lines for light mixed traffic.
Great footage DK.
Thanks for the help but I still don't get the chimney. I have posted another compilation taken from the other side of the lines looking this way which shows more buildings and slaggies which may help.
In my memory there were two concrete caps knocking about in the grey waste near to the square lodge but no buildings except for a chimney that was much further down the line about half way towards John England's.
dk,by the word 'chimney',do you mean the big square thing in the foreground? This was in fact a chimney for the furnace that was at the bottom of this shaft which,by heating the air caused it to rise up this shaft and pulled fresh air in at the main Deep Pit downcast shaft.On your 2nd sequence of film you can see the Deep Pit and the winding engine house in the background of the 3rd frame.I haven't seen very many images of the Deep Pit before and the buildings must have been demolished soon after these photos because I can't remember them from the early to mid 60's although the chimney in the 1st photos was still there and I think still is,though I haven't been round there for a long time.
Chris, there are pits and vents all over the place here. This vent is marked on 1908 maps but must have been capped or filled long ago. I shall post another sequence which will not help at all to explain the other pictures but shows the Deep Pit pithead where it is mapped. There were perhaps five chimneys in this vicinity and a lot of the caps can still be seeched out: a pub on every corner and a pit in every field.
chaps,,
think the church may be St Catherines,,,looking from platt lane fields,,,,
Sorry birkybanker - these stills are from a film sequence and the rest of it shows it as Hindley quite clearly. If you are interested in the films, or for anyone else interested for that matter, drop me an email on this link and I will give you an address in Rose Bridge where you can pick up a disc.
Love to see the film. How can I contact dk? The email link in his comments does'nt work