Scheduled Monument: Danebower Colliery Ventilation Chimney, 750M North East Of Holt (1018820)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Danebower Colliery ventilation chimney, 750m north east of Holt PARISH: MACCLESFIELD FOREST AND WILDBOARCLOUGH DISTRICT: MACCLESFIELD COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 30387 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SK00956992 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a stone-built ventilation chimney for a furnace which provided ventilation for one of the shafts at Danebower Colliery. The colliery, now disused, used to stand beside the River Dane 110m to the south east of the chimney. The colliery was probably in use along with other mines in the Buxton area from 1780-1880 and was last worked in 1925. The furnace and chimney were constructed during the early 19th century, but only the chimney now remains. The chimney is square and tapers slightly towards the top. It stands 8m tall and 1.3m wide at the base. The construction is of well-mortared freestone with walls about 0.4m thick. It is almost complete except for some missing stone at the top. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Coal has been mined in England since Roman times, and between 8,000 and 10,000 coal industry sites of all dates up to the collieries of post-war nationalisation are estimated to survive in England. Three hundred and four coal industry sites, representing approximately 3% of the estimated national archaeological resource for the industry have been identified as being of national importance. This selection, compiled and assessed through a comprehensive survey of the coal industry, is designed to represent the industry's chronological depth, technological breadth and regional diversity. The term `nucleated' is used to describe coal mines that developed as a result of increased capital investment in the 18th and 19th centuries. They are a prominent type of field monument produced by coal mining and typically consist of a range of features grouped around the shafts of a mine. The simplest examples contain merely a shaft or adit with associated spoil heap. Later examples are characterised by developed pit head arrangements that may include remains of engine houses for pumping and/or winding from shafts, boiler houses, fan houses for ventilating mine workings, offices, workshops, pithead baths, and transport systems such as railways and canals. A number of later nucleated mines also retain the remains of screens where the coal was sized and graded. Coke ovens are frequently found on or near colliery sites. Coal occurs in significant deposits throughout large parts of England and this has given rise to a variety of coalfields extending from the north of England to the Kent coast. Each region has its own history of exploitation, and characteristic sites range from the small, compact collieries of north Somerset to the large, intensive units of the north east. A sample of the better preserved sites, illustrating the regional, chronological and technological range of nucleated coal mines, together with rare individual component features are considered to merit protection. Danebower Colliery ventilation chimney is one of only nine surviving in England. It is in very good condition with only a few stones from the top courses missing. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 21st January 1999