Bradford Colliery
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[edit] A Brief History of Bradford Colliery
In the reign of James I (1603 - 1625) Bradford Colliery at Bradford-with-Beswick had an annual output of 10,000 tons (tonnes) and it was probably supplying the entire needs of nearby Manchester. With the rapid expansion of Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, this colliery was eventually unable to meet the demand and additional coal had to be brought in from neighbouring collieries such as those at Clayton, Moston, Worsley and Clifton. Clayton Colliery was so close to Bradford Colliery that it eventually merged with it.
In the early days, coal was mined at shallow depths, but even so, the capital required was beyond the means of all but the wealthy and it was recorded during Tudor days that several hundred pounds had been invested at a colliery in Bradford village where one of the shafts was 67 feet (20.4m) deep.
A document, dated October 21, 1740, shows that John Seddon of Manchester leased, "---- the mine and mines, vein and veins, seam and beds of coal kannel to be found in the land around Bradford ----". In return, Seddon agreed to pay the sum of £50 per annum for such coal as was raised by ten "gotters" (miners, colliers or coal hewers). Shallow workings were probably operated at Bradford Colliery until the 19th century and it is known that coal was wound in a shaft from 1845 onwards.
It is clear that Bradford village supplied all the colliery’s manpower until 1870. In that year Edward Bryan and his six sons arrived from nearby Pendleton to work at the colliery and it is at this time that there is the first evidence of a strike, since local miners "---- were so suspicious of these strangers that they did not go underground until they had had a good look at them". The Bryans remained and in time they became "gradely Bradford folk".
When the Lancashire Miners Federation came into being on April 19, 1881, its first Secretary was a Bradford Colliery man, Thomas Seddon, who was also elected Secretary of the Miners Federation of Great Britain, from its inception in 1889 until 1910. Many Bradford miners made names for themselves in wider spheres. A Miners Federation representative, returned to the House of Commons in the General Election of 1910, was J E Sutton, who was a Checkweighman at the colliery.
Typical of many families, who served at Bradford Colliery during its relatively slow growth until the end of the World War II, was John Bryan, a Checkweighman and Secretary of the Bradford Branch of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). A grandson of the Edward Bryan of the 1870 intruders, John Bryan was a loyal supporter of the NUM who was liked and respected by both management and men.
The labour force supplying Bradford Colliery up to World War II was mainly drawn from descendants of the pioneer miners and their progress in social and political affairs followed a pattern that was typical of mining communities throughout Britain.
In 1896, the workforce at Bradford Colliery consisted of 404 underground workers and 125 surface workers, the Manager and Under Manager being H L Wood and George Bentley, respectively. It appears that the Parker Seam was the main coal seam being worked at this time.
Up until 1935, the colliery was known as Bradford Coal Company and then as Bradford Colliery Company. Between 1935 and 1947, when it was nationalised, it was under the control of Manchester Collieries Limited and the seeds of reorganisation were sown in the deepening of Parker Shaft (No. 2) to the 900-yard (823m) level of Deep Pit Shaft (No. 1). Following nationalisation, Bradford Colliery came under the control of the National Coal Board (NCB).
[edit] A Profile of Bradford Colliery
The first modern shaft at Bradford Colliery was sunk in 1854 and this was Deep Pit Shaft (No. 1) and it was reputed to be the second deepest in British coalfields. A second shaft was sunk in 1906 and this was Parker Shaft (No.2).
Reorganisation and reconstruction of the colliery was completed in 1958 when four faces were in operation in two seams - three faces in the 6-feet (1.83m) thick Roger Seam and one face in the 3 feet 8 inch (1.12m) thick Crombouke Seam. The two shafts, now both 900-yards (823m) deep, had insets at 730 yards (667.5m) deep. From each of these, two level horizons were driven, one pair in a northerly direction below Newton Heath and into the Moston area and the other pair westerly below Holt Town and Ancoats.
Shaft No. 1 served as a "downcast" to carry fresh air into the colliery and this was equipped with a cage for winding men and supplies. Shaft No. 2, fitted with a Koepe-winder installation, was the "upcast", which extracted stale air. This had two skips each of 12-ton (tonne) capacity and coal was brought to the surface in these. The winding time from the 900-yard (823m) level was 97 seconds, the capacity of the shaft being up to 400 tons (tonnes) per hour.
The coal seams lay at a gradient of 1 in 1½ to 1 in 2½ and were worked so that roadways were level. Every face was fully mechanised, coal being won by a 150hp (112kW) BJD Anderton shearer, cutting a 30-inch (76cm) wide slice of coal on its run from the lower level main gate to the higher level tail gate. On the return journey it ploughed the coal into the face conveyor. Hydraulic props and link bars supported the faces. The colliery had long been connected to the adjacent coal-fired power station in Stuart Street by means of a tunnel containing a conveyor belt to transport coal directly to the boilers.
Although about £8M was spent on the colliery after nationalisation, its life was cut short, due to adverse geological conditions, and on September 6 1968Bradford Colliery closed. In its final year it produced 538,808 saleable tons (tonnes) of coal at an overall productivity rate of 31.8cwt (1.62 tonnes) per man shift. At the time it was employing some 1,500 men and about half of these were found jobs in neighbouring collieries or in other areas.
[edit] Postscript
Although Bradford Colliery closed in 1968, it was not until 1973 that major demolition work started at the site. The steel headgear of No. 1 shaft was dismantled and in contrast the relatively new concrete Koepe tower and winder of No. 2 shaft were blown up.
Even though there were still substantial reserves of coal in 1968, the underground workings were causing a great deal of subsidence and in particular large areas of Bradford village and Miles Platting were being affected. Houses and factories alike were reporting structural damage and even one of the large gasholders at Bradford Gas Works was touched by subsidence. The expansion plans for Bradford Colliery included working seams below Collyhurst, Cheetham and Ancoats with the attendant risk of still more subsidence. Consequently the NCB decided that they had no alternative but to close the colliery down.
[edit] Early Fatalities at Bradford Colliery
· 21 November 1622: Ffrancis Taylior of Bradford killed with a fall to …. coale pitte, was buried at Manchester Collegiate Church (Manchester Cathedral). · 16 January 1661 or 1662: Thos. son to John Hilton slaine at Bradford coal pitt. · 10 November 1664: Thos. Greene slaine at Bradford coal pitt.
