Lancashire Mining Museum

Astley Green Colliery Museum

Useful Information

Location:	Higher Green Lane, Astley Green, Tyldesley, Manchester. M29 7J. Astley Green, Tyldesley. (53.495260, -2.447205)
Open:	All year Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun 13-17. [2026]
Fee:	free, donations welcome. [2026]
Classification:	Coal Mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Lancashire Mining Museum, Higher Green Lane, Astley Green, Tyldesley, Manchester. M29 7JB, Tel: +44-1942-895841. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1908	Colliery opened.
1912	first coal produced.
1928	becomes part of the Manchester Collieries Consortium.
06-JUN-1939	underground explosion, 5 miners dead and 5 injured.
01-JAN-1947	nationalized.
1970	Colliery closed.
1982	non-profit The Red Rose Steam Society Ltd. operates the colliery as a museum.
2013	winding engine restored.
25-NOV-2022	museum and association renamed The Lancashire Mining Museum.

Geology

Description

The Astley Green Colliery Museum is a mining museum located in the buildings of the former Astley Green Colliery. Lately it was renamed Lancashire Mining Museum. There is a headframe and the winding house, and a restored mine train, but no underground tour. The headframe, which is locally called headgear, was built by Head Wrightson of Stockton-on-Tees and completed in 1912. It is the last existing pit headgear on the Lancashire coalfield. On top are two large and one small wheel, where three elevators were mounted, powered by a twin tandem compound steam engine made by Yates and Thom of Blackburn. It was the largest steam winding engine on the coalfield with 3,300 horsepower.

There is a collection of 28 colliery locomotives, the largest such assembly in the United Kingdom. A section of approximately 200 m tracks and one locomotive were restored, a second in the working. As far as we know train rides were planned, so far we could not find any information on those. During the regular open hours they are not offered, but probably on special events or dates. The "Underground Experience" is a re-creation of a long wall coal extraction process on the surface, more or less a replica mine, but is not yet completed. The former Colliery Manager’s Office was transformed into a Miner’s Cottage, a museum of the home of a miner family. Afternoon Tea Events held regularly in the Pit Whistle Tea Rooms, reservation is required.

The mining was started in MAY-2008 by the Pilkington Colliery Company. They had to sink a shaft 30 m deep to reach the coal seam, but the main problem was that the overlying sediment was wet and unstable, and so the sinking of the shaft was difficult and expensive. The engineers developed several novelties and published a paper on the sinking of the shaft with the Institute of Mining Engineers. The first coal was produced after the completion of the shaft and headframe in 1912. The company was renamed and merged later the mine was nationalized. The worst event in its history was an underground explosion, quite common in coal mines with methane emanating from the coal seam. The explosion of 06-JUN-1939 killed five miners and injured five more.

After the mine became unprofitable in 1970 it was leased to The Red Rose Live Steam Group. When they opened the site as a museum the renamed the association The Red Rose Steam Society Ltd. Finally, in 2022, museum and association were renamed Lancashire Mining Museum.