Agecroft Colliery - the last pit in the Valley
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มิ.ย. 2024
- The last pit in the valley is about Agecroft Colliery in Salford, which was situated in the Irwell Valley.
When it closed in 1990 it brought to an end 200 years of Coal mining in the area.
Produced as part of the Irwell Valley Mining Project. which received Heritage Lottery Funding
The story is told by Paul Kelly, a former Miner, who worked at Agecroft
Top man - NO PITS SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLOSED - Real jobs - real industry
Thank you Paul so much for this very informative film. I'm a Lancashire lad originally but left for the South in 67. I had friends who lived in Lowton, so I'm well acquainted with Parkside, Agecroft, Golbourn, and Brickershaw and have always been fascinated by the history of the area and its mining heritage. When you pointed out the building in Deansgate I was quite surprised just how bloody deep Agecroft was! Thanks again and I'll be putting the mining museum on my to-do list before I fall off my perch. God bless you all.
Well done, worked down Agecroft in the early 70's on 2 west, and 13 in the extreme wet.
My Dad worked there for over 30 years. I still have his brass retirement miners lamp. I used to go there with my Dad to collect his wages and he treated me to a Huge meat & potato pie in the miners cafe.👍👍
My Dad worked in Agecroft first in 1971/1973 and from 1981/1990. He loves his job in fact he spent almost 40 years working down the mines. He loved his time working down Agecroft. And hated it when the pit finally closed down. When it did close my Dad retired and moved back home to Ireland there simply wasn't any more coal mines left for him to work In
Thanks Paul brilliant video. I worked in the Warwickshire coal fields trained at birch coppice mine then Coventry mine and daw mill. Miss the mine so much it’s a lost world. I would love to travel them roadways one more time.Full respect to every miner good luck to you all
Absolutely bloody fantastic. Great overview.
Very heart felt film. Well made and well narrated.
A great shame it's all gone. My local colliery at Treeton and Orgreave have totally disappeared. Such structures and community lost.
I remember the smell of Orgreave coal and coke been worked and the waste burnt off. That flame from the top of the gas chimney never seemed to go out. How I miss that. That and the railways around them.
My dad was a Steward at Mosley Common and did some time at Astley!
Astley is visible from the East Lancs and is well worth a visit. There is more than the pit head and engine house though! There are a couple of workshops and the managers office has found a use as a café / restaurant ..... there are also quite a few outside displays too!
They also hold one of the best Bonfire Nights I have been to!
Very interesting film thank you.
My dad worked at Agecroft in the 80s; Scotch John. It was a job for life when he first went down t'pit but my god, it was a brutal job!
I worked down mines and, actually, it was not as 'brutal' as myth would have you believe. I worked in a three foot high seam on a 'hand filled' face. It was OK, actually. Nobody complained and the 'crack' was good. Do a search for the Johnny Handle folks songs about mine workers.
Well done, a brilliant documentary! I served my apprenticeship with the CEGB from 1976 to 1980 and went down the Agecroft pit during my final year's training. We walked for what seemed like miles through different chambers and levels to get to the coal face where it was all happening. At the time I seem to remember the Miners Union were campaigning for a £100 weekly wage... an absolute bargain even in those days after having seeing what those boys had to endure on a daily basis... a tough, tough job.
The CEGB served me well..
Brilliant. Very accurate I worked in the Cwm colliery in the 70s done all those jobs brought back many memories. Thanks well done.
I was born in Salford. though my kids and I now live in Bournemouth. I tell them how every morning I would walk to school and see in the distance the towers and buildings of the pit and power station. I was determined never to go down the pit, and when the Miners Strike of 84/85 occurred I did all I could to support the miners who did a far tougher job than I could ever imagine doing. A few weeks ago I took my kids to see the Agecroft memorial - as an acknowledgement of a link my kids want to maintain between themselves, Salford and I hope their class origins. Thanks for a great video - it was a pleasure to watch and you should be proud of what you have achieved.
Fantastic video Paul, thank you for keeping the memory of Agecroft going 👍
I spent most of my early life in my local pit. We broke so many European records.. I hated it but luved it at the same time. I so wish
I was still there. With my brothers.
Brilliant video, thanks. I lived in Sale, Cheshire and in the 1950's would sometimes see miners still with black faces walking down the road. I studied Mining Engineering at Newcastle Uni. I did my coal face training at Ashington Colliery in Northumberland. I ended as shift Undermanager at Bilsthorpe Colliery in Nottinghamshire. I cycled through the picket line in the "Ted Heath" strike in 1971. I left the industry in 1972 and qualified as a Civil Engineer, working on underground railways. Once I worked two weeks at Bradford Colliery in Manchester, now the site of Manchester City's ground. The NCB was a great place to be trained. Even as a manager I spent a lot of time 'on the tools' and there were few jobs that I could not do even though I became more office bound.
Rewatched this again after not long visiting Astley Mining Museum for myself, really interesting to see up close, can't wait to visit NCM Wakefield soon though to see even more what it would have been like below the surface.
That was brilliant that! I'm an old man now. I was an electrician in the iron and steel industry. (John Hall Castings Oldham) coal and steel go hand in hand.i was drawn to it like a magnet. It closed in the 1990s. Very sad day. Thanks for this brilliant video. People need to see this.
MY FATHER TOMMY BRANNELLY WORKED AT AGECROFT WITH LOTTY AND MANY OTHERS. I REMAIN SO PROUD OF THEM ALL. THATCHER KILLED THEM ALL MORE POISONOUS THAN ANY GAS. RIP TO YOU ALL. THANKS FOR ALL YOU DID. VINCENT BRANNELLY
Excellent documentary pal many thanks for making :)
A grafting generation.
Massive respect for the guys that did this. Needing work like this again to sort society out now
Served my time at Agecroft as a fitter, 80-89. Rum old place to work.
Damn good apprenticeship though. Including the brutal shit, conditions and piss taking. Kind of sets ya up for anything that could be thrown at ya after that.
Bit different from the snow flake world we live in now mate.
Worst pit I was sent to work on chocks, there was a Deputy who was a complete Bstard big head.
@@johnlander3164 worked the last shift at Tower, I would have been more than happy to have stayed down there,
I came from a former Lancashire pit village and my brother mined at Leigh.What was done to the coal industry was a crime, if we had kept it going we would have had no fuel problems now, we should ignore the green lobby, all other countries do, and reopen the mines.
Tebbit admitted later that he and the Tories closed too many mines
did your brother work at Bickershaw and/or Astley? By the way, up in West Cumbria a new Met Coal Mine is opening employing 500+ people over 300 underground, have a look here: www.westcumbriamining.com
Hope other companies follow their lead and open some more, Cheers.
Sure enough, but I don't want to send my kids down any mines.
Great video about agecroft, my grandad use to work there until he retired. Was a shame to see it disappear, just like the miners club closing and moving to Swinton.
They might have been a dirty hole but it was great working in the mines and a great bunch of lads
Great documentary. That museum looks a must visit
Superb professional job thank you. Very moving .
Thanks Paul. very interesting and important to remember
Maggie, the auld Witch put paid to all the Pits, Miners were the Salt of the earth, who worked for a pittance. My grand dad my Dad and my Son were all miners, I Salute each and every one.
Most of the men worked through the 1984-85 strike at this pit
THEY WERE LOADED !, WE GOT £190 A WEEK THEY WERE GETTING £500 A WEEK. THE FIRST 2 YEARS I WORKED IN THE 80s I GOT £29.50 . AND THIS WAS FOR A TRADE. They were all big headed,
Unfortunately It was time they were closed
@@TheSUPERSOLE you are on drugs, and talking absolute Rubbish. The most ma man and son earned was £15 per week, you call your self SUPERSOLE, , yer A SUPERIDIOT.👍🏻
@@wiganbinmon6776 Not in Scotland.Big Man.
Fascinating,well done mate. I remember delivering ppe to agecroft in the 80s for arco.now driving a bulk tipper and used to run ash from Drax to the block plants, not anymore as they now burn biomass.dont get ne started about us now importing millions of tons of coal ash to make our block's absolute disgrace other countries burning coal and us buying there ash!!!!
🏴⚒️ Respect ⚒️
Never been down , wouldnt ever want to work down. If i had it would have been RAWDON PIT moira. Donisthorpe pit. Oakthorpe pit was also close but already capped... very interesting, great video. I would have fell asleep and the mice eaten me aswell😉
Very well made. Great information for people (of Salford etc) who don't know about the history around them.
Nice documentary, an industry now long ogne. thanks for this
Very interesting upload, also interesting is the depth of the mine at around 2,000 ft. I had a work mate who emigrated to South Africa in the early 80's, he worked in gold mines at a depth of around 7,500 ft. He always said that temperatures down there were sweltering and had to be air conditioned.....
I worked at Agecroft Colliery from 1986-1988. Trained at Parsonage in Leigh. Twas a tough graft. Not too good on the ole lungs either. This video made me smile. I don't miss coal mining or the place, even though the buildings looked space age too me as a young lad. I only miss the fellas and mates who I'd go down that great big bloody hole with. We'd drive under ground for 40 minutes to get to the district we were working in that day. Solar power is the way to go. Keep the earth clean. Burning fuel should only be used to make steal etc. Its a dirty fuel but is needed and is important, but not for power. The miners had a lot of power as a workforce, and they were fighting for what they believed was the right for a better pay deal. Margaret Thatcher was a tough iron lady who had an agenda and was never going to quit first. It was a battle of money in the end and families needed food on the table. A fight against a foe with an ego and no heart can only only lead to destruction. And so the coal industry went the way of the dinosaurs.....................
You need coal to make solar panels and the power is intermittent especially in the uk
Unlike tidal / marine abs nuclear; emissions free and continuous and reliable.
HI THERE PAUL.I USED TO WORK DOWN ASKERN COLLIERY NEAR DONCASTER AND WILL SHORTLY BE PUTTING A VID OF THE SHAFTS ON HERE.DISSPITE ASKERN CLOSING IN 1992 GAS IS STILL BEING PUMPED OUT OF THE SHAFTS GENERATING ELECTRICITY.I THINK I AM ONE OF THE FEW THAT IS STILL SAD ABOUT IT ALL AND I THINK I ALLWAYS WILL BE.LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE IT.
Excellent documentary. Thanks!
These old pits, assuming they are fully flooded with extensive workings can make excellent ground sourced heat pumps. I believe there is a Welsh colliery where this is being done to heat several thousand homes. It is not something for nothing but the old workings might as well be used as a carbon free energy source for as long as the shafts hold out.
Thank you ,
Enjoyed your films about Agecroft , Just a small error No5 shaft is in the middle of the roundabout if you clamber across the shrubs the manhole cover is the centre of the shaft , The vents are piped from No3 and No4 Shafts
my dad worked in cronton colliery for 30 years until it closed in 1984 working in a pit is one of the hardest jobs a man could ever do being so deep under ground and travelling out to the coal face 4 miles away just to get to work if something went wrong
you were in big trouble and far from help
you just look at the accidents in coal pits around the country over the years its a dangerous place to work
we should never forget the coal mines the black stuff kept the lights on at home and got us through two world wars
we own it so much and the men who risked there life to get it so deep under ground
Excellent history i, totally enjoyed it. Was a miner before became a fireman and miss the pits. Wish they still existed here in Scotland and UK!!!!
Over 20 years ago I spoke to a guy in his 90s who had started work at 14 in Sand Hole pit near Walkden. He told me that the coal seams were only around 3 feet deep and pit ponies couldn't be used so they used boys like him to drag tubs of coal out. He would be responsible for moving the coal for 6 miners who were paid by the weight of coal they cut and so would shout at him to take their full tub and drop off an empty one. The miners had lamps but he had to feel his way in the dark along the track which led to where the coal was collected.
great vid mate, so sad to think of all the work ,effort and communitys gone. i worked down the pit from leaving school in 1976 and look back with fond memories.
Great video thanks
I enjoyed that. Cheers.
I worked on both chimneys at agecroft one 385 feet & other 450 ft, our job was to clean off fly ash like a concrete wall on top of each chimney. We were employed by Bidders steeplejacks of Burnage Hall road,when Pete a brother of Syd Little of Little. & Large on T V said to Mrs Leach the Lady boss sorry but Im not laddering those for six n five an hour, so he got sixpence an hour extra whilst laddering only, it bought a portion of chips then.
They shut them all and now they realise they need coal for steel as you can't make steel without it! Two applications in pipeline one for Cumbria to mine anthracite coal and one for wearside for the steel and furnace use, just hope there's a few left to teach the trade of mining and youngsters willing to take up the challenge of a life underground!
plan on going soon for a bit o explore
Nice one Paul.did you know my dad he was a carpenter and he would check the shaft.his name was Ernie Newton aka the ( Spider)
Thank you for that!
Brave men deserved every penny not a job I'd relish terrified of the dark
After watching this I don’t think’ I ever moan about my job again
The gas % were 1 1/4% CH4 electricity off, 2% Ch4 withdraw men. 5%-15% ch4 explosive range, 9.5% ch being the most explosive. The official's lamp had an injection port and they were practised at discerning these percentages.
My grandad worked there he was terry (little nockie) ❤
Snowdown still stands rotting away
Back in the Late sixties at Walton Colliery ! I was a Supply Lad taking such things as Timber and Metal Rings directly to the Ripping Edge The shot Firer'er (The deputy that Rammed in the Dynamite into the Drill Holes and then with his Magneto He'd Blast the rock Face and all was left to Do was to Shovel the Rip as it was Named onto the Panza chain {Conveyor} which it would be Taken out of the Mine onto the Slag heaps; I Volunteered to do overtime that night just to watch the Ripper One man on his own was not allowed to work on his own for safety ? Larry as he was called Began to Clear away the Rip: it was far easier to Get onto the top of the Rip (A mound of fragmented Rocks which was brought down with the Blasting of Dynamite} and to Push the Pile of Rip Down onto the Panza Chain: The deputy Shot Firer'er Had long since Left us on our own: Larry He Climbed six feet onto the top of the Rip and has he stood upright on top of the Rip ! Suddenly He Collapsed and Rolled right to the Bottom of the Pyramid Shaped Mountain of Rock and lay there Briefly for a Few Seconds on the Ground where He got up onto his Feet and laughed: For a Brief Moment He staggered as if you was Drunk for a few seconds: He said that He could not work out why he Had collapsed ? And so He Climbed to the top of the Rip once More for the 2nd Time he Collapsed and Rolled back down to the Bottom of the Heap; He got to his Feet and staggered again and once more Climbed Back onto the Top of the Rip and rolled back from off the Rip: This time However; As I was now Facing Him . I Saw His Eyes were Rolling for about three seconds: But this Time He Began to realize why he was Collapsing from off top of the Mound ?? Standing on Ground Level Both of us were alright; But anything above Nine feet from Ground level was a Massive Pocket of Methane Gas that had built up above him and when his Head was within the Pocket of Gas He was Starved of Oxygen and was Knocked out Having No air to breath: Larry was able To Pass on a Message for the Deputy By Landline for him to Come Back and Check for Methane The Deputies Lamp is Not Accurate for Measuring quantities of Gas But he Guessed that there was about 9 % of Gas There was a Powerful Fan that then Thinned the Gas to where it Flowed down the Tailgate
Thank you for very detailed record - much appreciated
So so sad but I strongly believe coal will be mined again in Britain in the not to far future I use to work at agecroft collierie on the night shift moving coal about the holding area I was based at bickershaw transport and we took turns working at agecroft with the tippers it was a lonely shift because you was mainly on your own except for the loader but he use to disappear from time to time so you sat there doing nothing I later transferred to the Scottish coal field again with the transport based at Alloa
A lot of my Dads Miner friends had missing fingers
I went down, when photographer for Swinton Journal........never again!
nearst 2 collieryies to me where Sutton Manor and Cronton
Best job I ever had. Best crack rib takin wise. Chock doctor workin above a chock, somebody sends it up accidentally. Chock doctor loses his ear. Injured man comin up. who is it ? Van Gogh ! Cant beat it. No sympathy underground.
Who remembers TADPOLE. Head bigger than his body.
HI PAUL.I FOUND THE AREA WHERE YOU WERE IN THIS VID SOME TIME BACK.HOWEVER I CAN'T FIND IT NOW.IS IT ALL OVERGROWN NOW?WHERE IS THE NEAREST LOCATION TO IT I.E. STREET,ROAD ECT.THANKS.
Clipstone headstocks still standing
LOL at the strike badges it was a scab pit
There was still enough seams in Agecroft & THERE STLL IS - We know:
No pits Left
Enjoyed the documentary ,Agecroft worked throughout the big strike so was a bit of an embarrassment to the working class Salford.
Interesting.
Most miners from Agecroft worked through the strike because it was a huge mistake not like it was back in the 72\74 strikes back then the miners had something to strike for and thankfully they managed to get shut of the Tories. My Dad worked throughout the strike but he was there for both of the 70s strikes
@@pathfinder1962 all scabs have a good excuse.
@@danny20297 they weren't scabs they hadn't a snowballs chance in hell of winning that strike At that time that old hag a the upper hand I would have loved to see the miners topple the Tories for a second time but sadly that wasn't to be
Done me training there
I think it's a little insulting to the men to etch on that monument "men and women who toiled in the mine."
A bit of mining history, men, women and children all worked the mines in the Irwell Valley during the 19th Century. They all need to be recognised.
@@historyprojectMoston I've seen countless videos and photos of old mining operations. Not once have I ever seen a photo of a woman in a mine. 100% of the time it's 100% men. When women were in the mines they were given the same lite labor work that boys under the age of 10 years old were given. Countless men died in mines back then, and all were injured for life in some way. Can you name one historical woman who died or got hurt at a job?