EP 50 Narrowboat "POP" Chivers  on the Bridgewater Canal visit to Astley Green mining museum
Channel: Old, Rebellious, Not Out!!
Date: 03/12/2023

Narrowboat "POP" Chivers  on the Bridgewater Canal visit to Astley Green mining museum. Once  there were dozens of coal mines in this area, they drove the construction of canals and industry.
Today all gone, the Astley Green colliery museum has the last pit head winding gear in Lancs. Well worth a visit & part of the industrial heritage that made Britain great.

Astley Green Colliery Museum has the only surviving headgear on the Lancashire Coalfield. It is made from wrought iron lattice girders with rivetted plates at the joints. It has two large and one small wheel mounted at the top. It is nearly 30 metres (98 ft) high and was built by Head Wrightson of Stockton-on-Tees in 1910-11 for Astley Green Colliery. The sheaves were 20 ft. in diameter and the whole frame weighed 120 tons.
The site is protected as a Grade II Scheduled Monument. An English Heritage report puts the headgear in the AT RISK category  and unless repairs and maintenance can be carried out urgently it is likely that it will be lost forever. The structure has been deemed too unsafe for access and unless sufficient funds can be obtained to repair and paint the wrought iron, the trustees feel the only alternative would be demolition. The pit closed in 1970 and in 3 years time will be the 50th anniversary of its closure. The trustees have set this as a timescale to try and preserve this iconic structure for future generations. Plans are in place to upgrade the museum to make it a centre for community activities and to provide training in various skills that are being lost.

Links 
Bridgwater canal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgewater_Canal
Lancaster mining museum
https://lancashireminingmuseum.org/

Old Rebellious Not Out Shop
 https://old-rebellious-not-out.myspreadshop.co.uk/ 

#canal #narrowboat #canalhistory #historical #mining #astleygreen
#colliery #bridgewatercanal #steam #engine