History

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The facts & figures

Bestwood Colliery
Bestwood Colliery miners
  • The 10th Duke of St Albans was responsible for the creation of the Bestwood Coal and Iron Company with Lancashire entrepreneur John Lancaster.
  • The pit was sunk in 1872, with the engine house being built in 1873.
  • Its engine was built in Wigan by R J & E Coupe of Worsley Mesnes Iron Works. It was powered by 2 steam driven pistons.
  • Coal production began in 1876.
  • In 1876, 64 houses were built for the workforce of the Bestwood Coal and Iron Company.
  • By 1884 the company employed 720 men (550 underground). around 2000 in its peak, and approximately 1600 in 1967, a few years before closure.
  • The mine closed in 1971. Difficult geological conditions had meant it had become increasingly difficult to mine.
  • The grounds were converted into the country park we now know as Bestwood Country Park.
  • The unusual twin-cylinder vertical winding engine is only one of two surviving in the country and the only one still in it’s original position.
  • The engine house itself is now listed as a monument.
  • By the early 1990s, the engine and engine house were causing concern as they started to fall into a state of disrepair.
  • The country park received a £963,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund grant to restore the old building in 2006.
  • As of 2009, restoration work is currently underway to transform Bestwood Winding Engine House into a location for all the community to enjoy.