Ian Winstanley A documentary account of the explosion which claimed the lives of over 200 men and boys. In many ways the disaster was typical of many Victorian disasters in mines and stirred the interest of the public for weeks. ...">

Books on Mining History

Weep Mothers Weep by Ian Winstanley
A documentary account of the explosion which claimed the lives of over 200 men and boys. In many ways the disaster was typical of many Victorian disasters in mines and stirred the interest of the public for weeks.
Landy Publishing
ISBN 0 9507692 4 X
OUT OF PRINT Text available as PDF file.

In Affectionate Rememberance by Geoff Simm and Ian Winstanley
Since the publication of 'Weep Mothers Weep', which told the narrative of the Wood Pit Explosion, Haydock, 7th. June, 1878 several interesting finds have come to light. A complete record of the Disaster Fund Subscriptions , diaries written in far away New Zealand, and perhaps the greatest find of all, a commemorative album of photographs taken at Wood Pit and in Haydock at the time of the explosion. These photographs are not just of local interest. They will interest and excite many historians and others who are interested in photography.
Picks Publishing

ISBN 0 9516843 5 3
OUT OF PRINT


With Hearts So Light by Ian Withstanley
A documentary account of the two events at Queen Pit that shook the village in 1868 and 1869. It was unusual in mining history that disaster should strike the same pit twice. What makes the Queen Pit Explosion unique is that they should come so close together. The book captures the mood of the village at the time from the point of view of the relatives of the victims, and the rescue operations at the pit are graphically described.
Picks Publishing
ISBN 0 9516843 0 2
OUT OF PRINT

The Romance of Coal 
In the nineteen thirties, Richard Evans commissioned a public relations document from the Albion Press, The result was 'The Romance of Coal' which gives information about the origins of coal, a historical review of coal mining, a short history of the Evans Company, methods of working coal at that time and how the coal was treated. The book provides a snapshot of a Lancashire Coal Company.
Picks Publishing
ISBN 0 9516843 2 9
OUT OF PRINT

The Unfortunate Colliery
The High Brooks Colliery was situated at Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan. In the 1860's, accounts of accidents and dangerous occurrences appeared so often in the local press, that it was referred to as 'The Unfortunate Colliery'. During this time, there were two serious underground fires, an entombment of the men and two violent explosions. The book gives an account of these incidents and records the day to day life of a Lancashire colliery at this time from contemporary records.
Picks Publishing
ISBN 0 9516843 3 7
OUT OF PRINT

Mining Memories 
Mining Memories contains over a hundred and fifty illustrations of industrial interest and copies of documents that are related to the history of coal mining in St.Helens. Many of the developments and important dates in the coalmining history of the country are recorded.
ISBN 0 9511881 1 9.

The Compleat Collier 
This is an illustrated reprint of an important document of the history of coal mining in Great Britain. it was first published in 1708 and reprinted in 1845 when it might have been lost forever had it not been for a printer in the North East who used the text to demonstrate the new printing technology. This new edition contains many illustrations depicting many aspects of mining.
Picks Publishing
ISBN 0 95164843 1 0
OUT OF PRINT

Hell Under Haydock 
As pit explosions go, being measured in the number of casualties, the one which occurred at Lyme Pit, Haydock, between St. Helens and Wigan, wasn't a big one, but it happened within living memory, just seventy years ago. Here, a retired schoolteacher, Ian Winstanley, himself a 'Yicker' with pride in the Lancashire collier, tells the story of the explosion for the first time. He has searched contemporary newspapers, official reports and spoken to men and women involved in that day of Hell, complete with fire and flames which happened under Haydock.
Landy Publishing
ISBN 1 - 872895 - 54 - 9
OUT OF PRINT

Parkside Colliery by Geoff Simm
Parkside colliery was one of the last deep mines to be sunk and go into production in the Lancashire coalfield. It was also one of the last to be demolished. When the twin towers were brought crashing to the ground, it left a cloud of dust drifting across the Lancashire countryside that carried the memories of a once great and proud industry. Geoff Simm worked at the colliery for all his miner's life. The book was written as a personal tribute to the many miners who, like the author worked at Parkside Colliery.

The Leghs and Haydock Coal
A detailed account of coal mining in Lancashire in the early 19th. cent.

From the Landmark Collector's Library:-

Collieries of South Wales : 1 by John Cornwell. 

Collieries of Somerset and Bristol by John Cornwell.

Other Mining Books

The Miners' Strike, Day by Day by Brian Elliot.

Collieries of North East Lancashire by Jack Nadin 

Children of the dark by Allan Gallop

My Ancestor was a Coalminer by David Tonks

Yorkshire Miners by Brian Elliott

Yorkshire's Flying Pickets by Brian Elliott and Bruce Wilson

The Orrell Coalfield, Lancashire 1740-1850 by D Anderson

Balmaidens, A Portrait of Women in the mining by Lynne Mayers

Yorkshire Mining Veterans: Volume 1 by Brian Elliott

Lancashire History

The Diary of Roger Lowe - Ashton-in-Makerfield's Samuel Pepys