Monument record 2583/1 - Kingfield Pit Colliery

<1> Ashmore, O, 1982, The Industrial Archaeology of North West England, p.27 (Book). SCH3181.

Pit bank of former colliery with embankment of tramroad (now footpath) running south-east to Macclesfield Canal.

<2> Bryant, A., 1831, Map of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH2114.

Marked on Bryant as Star Pit

<3> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, EDT 3/2 c.1850 (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

This map depicts a road, described as “old coal pit road, running south-east from an unnamed road between Wood Lane West and Moggie Lane. At its south-eastern end is a building and a sub-oval enclosure described as “coal pit bank and road”.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ9382, 1883 (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.

This map depicts the road, which is largely unenclosed, running to a building, shaft, saw pit, and earthworks of Kingfield Pit (Coal). A straight tramway runs south-east across Wood Lane and the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (the latter by bridge) to the towpath of the Macclesfield Canal. Most of the tramway from the colliery to Wood Lane runs on an embankment and a small building or structure is depicted on its north-eastern side on the north-western side of the lane (note this is depicted on the 1850 map). On the south-eastern side of the lane is a further small building or structure labelled airshaft. A further tramway, follows a slightly sinuous course north-east past Wood House and over Wood Lane, where it appears to have been truncated by the railway.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1896-1898, Ordnance Survey First Revision County Series (Epoch 2) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ9382, 1898 (Maps and Plans). SCH3848.

Spoil heaps are depicted to the west and east of the shaft. It is labelled “Old Shaft (Coal)”. The northern tramway is not depicted. The southern tramway is not labelled and the bridge across the railway along with the buildings either side of Wood Lane are no longer extant.

<6> Environment Agency, 2003-2020, Environment Agency LiDAR Surveys, Composite 1m DSM (2022) (Digital Archive). SCH7819.

The spoil heaps at the site of the colliery shaft are clearly visible as earthworks. The northern tramway survives as a slight earthwork as far as Yew Tree Road and may survive as an earthwork within gardens as far as Woodhouse Farm. The southern tramway survives as a much more substantial earthwork, due to the embankment, as far as Wood Lane. Modern maps show that it is being used for a trackway.

<7> The Coal Authority, Various, Coal Authority Web Mapping Service, 393382-006 & 393381-003 (Digital Archive). SCH8741.

The Mine Entry dataset gives the name of the shaft here as Kingfield Pit. The shaft, labelled air shaft on the 1883 map (see 4), is named as Star Pit.

<8> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Edwards R, 27/02/2024 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

There seems to be a marked disparity between the locations identified as Star Pit. Bryant’s map (see 2) appears to locate the pit immediately adjacent to the unnamed road near where the road to Kingfield Pit joins it (see 3). Bryant’s location for Star Pit doesn’t appear to correlate with either the location of Kingfield Pit or the location recorded by the Coal Authority. It is probable that the northern tramway once connected Kingfield Pit to Redacre Pit 800 metres to the north-east.