Huncoat Colliery
 

Just wondering if there are any old coal miners on here. I worked at Huncoat Colliery from 1962 to 1968. Did a little at Hapton Valley then moved to Coventry Colliery until 1992.

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

i'm sure my grandad used to work at that one, don't know what years though - Archie Mclean

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

Was he a large gentleman with grey hair and glasses.

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

My dad worked there as an electrician Bryan Yates.

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

he was slim, about 6ft, no glasses and i don't know how his hair was back then, i wasn't born

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

My Gt. grandfather John Floyd came up from Cornwall when the tin mines closed and helped to sink Huncoat pit and then worked there for many years.He had a big family almost all girls but my grandfather did not follow in his footsteps and left Huncoat with my mother about 1912 to move to Accrington.It's not quite your time at the pit Mog,but still part of it's history.

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

my husband david sidebottom worked at huncoat and hapton valley he left valley to go to parkside but cant remember the years he did have a spell in mansfield ,,,,,,,

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

My dad thinks that my grandad (his ex father in law) used to work at a drift mine, somewhere near Rosegrove, was there one there?

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

I am pretty sure Thorny Bank was a drift mine. It was just Accrington side of the Hapton Inn and not far from Rose Grove. I drove a coal tipper for a short while and loaded there a few times, A NCB man showed me the entrance to the drift once and I vowed that if I had to starve I would never venture down a coal mine. Silly me went down Hapton Valley one shut down with a mate who was an engineer. The men who work underground deserve every penny they get, and more.

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

You are quite right, Thorny Bank was a drift mine. But there was also a drift into Hapton Valley mine. This was used as a conveyor system to bring coal out of the mine. I worked mainly at Huncoat and here are a few names of the young timber lads as we wetre called before we did our coal face training. Tony Boardman, Malcolm Taylor, Roy Tattersal, Alan Macnamara, Pat Varley, Dave and Mick Higgson, Brian Stevenson,
Ian (Pocket) Powers, Billy Baron. Will have think of some more.

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

was at Bank Hall training pit meself, best job i ever got sacked from.:D knew most of the lads yeh mention Mog, Pat Varley was a good mate of mine, croaked a good few years back. another yeh may know who was a good mate of pats n mine was "Trev"-Brian Trevithick? your kids in that list aint he?

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

My mate was Ken Lowe and he was an engineer. He later moved to Yorkshire pits and then somewhere down on the South coast.

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

dont know much about pits im glad to say but about 60 yrs ago yes i can remember that far back just a trip was arranged from all saints church clayton to go down hapton valley pit i dont remember much about it but about 40 yrs ago i went down huncoat pit with a group of women from the meter testing station in clayton i do remember a bloke called brian maden & others took us down i was quite impressed at the bottom of the lift shaft quite high with strip lighting that was the best bit until we finished up in a local pub about 90 min later i couldnt believe men worked in such awful conditions they deserve every penny they earn violet

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

One side of my grandmothers family were tin miners in Cornwall before moving up here. I wonder if it was for the same reason

Re: Huncoat Colliery
 

Whilst digging around I found this if it's of any interest

Hapton Valley and other North East and Mid Lancashire Collieries.