John Pit

Please can anyone give me any idea where the shaft to "John Pit" would have been (circa 1860s)? My 3xgt grandfather died there and I can't sort out the location from my (limited) map resources and ability. Thanks!

I think that the main shaft was where the lake is now, but there is a capped shaft off to the left of the lake.

My 2x Gt grandfather used to live in the John Pit cottages in the 1800s.

Here's an idea, easy to follow if you know the area. I & another forum member used to work there

ol mother reilly....What was the mans name?

I'm sure that the foundations of the loco shed were still there in the late 90s.

Art think it was Arthur Lucas/Lucan he was married to the girl who played Kitty.

I have to say I love that ariel shot cause that is where I ride my horse past the monument and on into Elnup Woods. Sorry to go off on a tangent. Just ignore me!

Thank you all very much - I don't know the Wigan area myself but with the aid of all the above I now have a much better idea. Art, if it was my 3x grandfather's name you were asking for it was James Gore (died 1862).
Thanks again for your help.

Right ol mother reilly. It's documented in a book I have, here's a scan for 1862:

That's him - it was just before Christmas, too. According to the newspaper report the tub was full and the other 5 men in the cage waiting to come up got out (including his son) but not James ... The paper said it had been very stormy, but surely a full tub of coal would be very hard to "blow" down a shaft??!

Hard to pinpoint anything without knowing the details.Was the cage at the top or another mouthing? had it something to do with the weather, or blown out of a mouthing above by explosion (shot firing etc)
The pit was only sunk 6 years before the incident (1854), so it would have been a pretty raw site at the time. I believe the underground haulage system steam powered engine was on the surface, running down the shaft by a pulley system. So everything was primitive in those days

Well, most of the information I have came from a newspaper report, so I don't know how accurate it is - the date and company name differ from those in your book extract but it is definitely the same incident ...

From the "Wigan Observer" Friday, December 26, 1862, Page 4, Column a.

FATAL COLLIERY ACCIDENT. -- The gale which raged so furiously in this neighbourhood on Thursday night and the whole of yesterday, was productive of a fatal accident at the Standish and Shevington Coal and Cannel Company's "John Pit," near Wigan. Between five and six o'clock yesterday morning six men employed at the colliery entered the cage at the bottom of the shaft in order to ascend. Before the signal had been given the noise of something falling was heard, and five of the men hurriedly left the cage. The sixth, James Gore, an old man, between 50 and 60, was unable to follow the others before a tub of cannel, which had been blown into the shaft from the pit brow by the force of the gale, fell upon the cage, completely smashing it and inflicting such injuries upon Gore as caused his immediate death. Deceased resided at Crook, near Wigan, and he leaves a wife and five children.

I was horrified when I first read it - what a way to go.

I'm guessing the "cage" would have resembled more of an open platform than the modern versions?

My dad was born at John pit cottages in 1932.He remembers it differently the shaft was in front of where the baths were shown to be the baths used to be 4 cottages, there was a 12ft wall around the shaft they knocked cottages down in 1937 to build the baths my dad bill smallshaw lived at no.3

I can assure you that description is right.
It was about 100yds walk up the hill past the engineers workshop to the main winding shaft (downcast). No shafts anywhere near the baths. The botom of that shaft was where I started work at Johnpit, in the piteye (usually referred to as the pittee).
If your dad lived in SLG, I think he lived at the bottom of Giants Hall Road in the pit houses on the main road,(opposite the Co-op) next door to George Hancock. He had a sister, can't recall her name. Was his dad called Bert?
Next door on the other side of the Smallshaws were the Worthingtons

Here's a pic of Johnpit on top of the hill, with the Washer dirt rook behind it, See if your dad remembers this

By the way Lynn, forgot to ask. How is your Dad?
Ask him does he remember the Culshaws, Denis (deceased) was about his age

Did you live in g h lane My sisters name is Betty There was a disused shaft 30 yards in front of the cottages also the loco shed was on the top line the single line ifront of cottages was only used to take coal to the barges at crook

I take it that this is Bill amswering on Lynns PC.
Howdo Bill. this is Denis Culshaws younger brother,(I'm 6 years younger than you) I'll post a few names, to see if you remember.
from Giants all Rd: The Smiths Alan & Don, Frank Collins, The Whitters, Wilkinsons, Derbyshires, Bennets etc
Then t'pit houses, your next door neighbours, Lizzie the milk woman,May Hancock, Jones's across the road, Lyons, Roy & Jack, Easthams, Bill Wilky & his bro,Marrows, too numerous to mention. I do recall on VE night, the bonfire outside Bert Seeds Shop on the cobblestones.
Any of these memories take you back?
Just to refresh your memory, this is Bert Seeds when it was an outdoor, before my time

The photo you have posted is of my grandfather Roberts shop before Bert Seed took over at the back in the yard where the stables .Grandad had a fruit &veg round going toCrook& shevvy.My mother worked for him before marrying my father Frank.

The shop has been empty for a number of years, it's just been bought by someone & the stables have been knocked down. where the labour club was behind it is now a private housing estate, & the Co-op is now the SLG Labour club.
Quite a few changes since you left the village Bill. next door to the club where the NFS fire station was, is a block of flats & maisonets. Your old house is still there tho' along with the rest of the "pit houses".
The old Co-op:

Well that's a novelty. A new labour club. I hate to think how many have been closed and not re-opened.

The old one (born 1921) in Giants Hall Rd was sold for development, so the new one was born, 100yds away

I took a walk yesterday round the wasteland that was once the site of John pit.

I believe ©art©'s map of the layout at John pit isn't quite correct, for the shafts are near the small lake as evidenced on my visit as well as recorded data. The area where the shafts are proposed to be have no significant features and are not where the shafts are.

I believe there were three shafts at this pit, upcast, downcast and the furnace shaft. I would imagine the furnace shaft became totally redundant with the introduction of modern ventilation methods, and since it had no winding gear it wouldn't have been used for manriding.

I can't comment on the position of the buildings and other surface structures as I haven't researched them in any depth. On the map below I've outlined the remaining evidence of the shafts, but it's not too hard to see the fencing from above. I've circled in red the shaft locations. The orange circle is where I suspect the third shaft to be. If you were to visit the site you wouldn't struggle to find these.



Here are some images of the shafts where they can be seen to this day







Now, with aid of my map, compare the well known image of John pit against today's fenced off shaft positions





The scales are different so they appear closer/further apart than they seem. I cannot accurately locate the other shaft as there is little evidence. I took some pictures of some rubble and an outsource of minewater with a steady flow. This point is higher than the lake water level which is why I strongly believe the shaft is here.











Today the shafts are nothing but some gravel surrounded by a fence. No longer open, no gaping dark hole. One of the shafts (presumably the furnace) was filled from the bottom to within 170 metres of the surface in 1935. Filling was completed later by the National Coal Board from a plug in the shaft at 170 metres depth up to the surface. It was reported that the shaft was insecure and an inspection revealed that there was settlement in the shaft fill and the security fencing was in disrepair. Excavation of the fill down to a depth of 3 metres exposed a collapsed fan drift with no evidence of voids. Loose fill material was removed and backfilled with clean stone which was mounded to counteract further settlement and new fencing was errected around the shaft in 1997. This is all that remains for you to see today.

I appreciate this thread was started a few years ago now but it may be of use to others.

Hi Chris thanks for the post i enjoy a walk round John pit, i had a relative who worked there and find it all fascinating, any information you could post would be great

I met a couple when I was walking round there they'ed gone up to look at the memorial.
He was telling me he had wrote a book about the memorial which you can pick up free at Shevington library

Cheers jon i will pop in and pick one up when I'm passing, thanks for the heads up

wasn't one of the entrances to John pit a walk in one.??

John Pit's Brother.

Hi Kay there was a drift mine in Elnup woods but I'm not to sure were the exact entrance was, there are still bits & bobs about in the woods though, there used to be a lot on a wigan style website but its no longer active.

My boss at Parkside came from John Pit,his name was Horace Smith,does anyone remember him.

a friends dad took us for a walk .we went to one and we walked a little way in and it was blocked off further down.
This was about 55 years ago it was called the john pit.

Spud, Horace Smith was well regarded by members of Parkside and Haydock male voice choirs.

Horace was a gent Tonker,sadly he died soon after I left,he started Parkside choir,one one of the early members was Stan Talbot,a leccie,who went to Heinz,but always stayed a member,sadly Stan has now died.

Kayleigh, That may have been Standish Hall drift.

hi Tuddy do you know where the entrance was exactly?

No Jack, I don't. Somebody on here will know.

Thanks Fella

You will find in photos of Wigan / work / mining on the first page there are two photos of standish hall drift .Around 1954 a tunnel was driven from John pit connecting to Standish Hall drift , after that date the John pit shaft was used only for winding personel and as a ventilation shaft.The coal from John pit was then transported up the connecting tunnel to the drift mine then up to the surface by conveyor belt.
If you look at Chris's Google photo with the 3 circles the entrance to the drift mine was approx. 400yds to the NNW . It looks like you can still see the railway track and the path from the drift mine to John Pit ( later renamed Standish Hall Colliery) the entrance was on the first small hill that you encounter when walking on the level ground from the John Pit shaft.
I worked there in the 50's

This info may be of interest for members who like to study the areas historic past.
Taylor pit which is shown on Arts map was used as the upcast shaft for John pit in the early fifties.
At the bottom of this shaft was a small level tunnel (A Sough) leading to the canal at Crooke .I think the entrance to the Sough is near the marina ,it has a metal gate over the entrance.
This Sough was developed around 1810 to allow the water to be drained from the mine direct to the canal without requiring pumps.
The Sough was built for transporting coal in very small barges to the canal. The miner would push the barge along the tunnel with his feet.

How do I put a photo on this thread. I have one showing the baths etc
Thanks
Peter

Nice one Peter, its great to hear your memories, please keep them coming!