The Later Neston Collieries, 1875-1927

As well as the coal mining undertaken at Neston between 1759 and 1855 there was a later period of working which started in 1875 and finished in 1927. This operation was initially owned by the Neston Colliery Company but, later, this became the Wirral Colliery Company and variant names.

The mine operated at the bottom of today’s Marshlands Road in Little Neston, on the northern side. This was the site of the former Little Neston Colliery and later the Anglican Smelting, Reduction and Coal Company which closed in the early 1860s.

The mine worked a number of coal seams partly under the land surface but, more extensively, under the bed of the Dee Estuary. Like the earlier collieries in the area, the mine worked the Two Foot, Five Foot, Six Foot and Seven Foot seams; it also exploited the King Seam which was about two feet 6 inches (0.76 metres) thick.

The colliery was said to be producing about 100,000 tons annually in the 1890s; this had reduced to around 60,000 tons by 1923. A dedicated railway line was constructed between the colliery and sidings at Parkgate which, in turn, gave access to other lines; thus Neston coal was able to reach the homes, industries and docks on the Mersey side of the Wirral as well as locations elsewhere.

The mine was a major local employer and, at its peak in the early 1920s, over 300 men worked there. Over the years there were hundreds of accidents and fifteen people are known to have died there including a sixteen-year old boy.

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