PONTESFORD COLLIERIES
Known working life-
1793-1862
History.
In 1793, Probert, Lloyd, Jones & Co installed a 33" engine at this mine for pumping. Plans in the Boulton & Watt collection dated May 1793 show several drawings of a double chimney stone house for this engine, the chimneys being part of the structure for economy of building and to give extra stability. These have all been crossed out, however, and overwritten "Engine house in Wood". A second drawing dated July 1793 shows timber frames and a timber engine house. This must have been cheaper to build but it would have increased the fire risk considerably.
The engine is recorded as having consumed 2,715 tons of coal in the period July 1808 to July 1811. This is an average of 905 tons per year or 21/2 tons per day. At least the colliery could produce the coal on site at no additional cost. The dimensions of the engine quoted in 1809 were :-
Length, centre of beam to inside 10' 61/2"
Length, centre of beam to outside 9' 01/2"
Total 19' 7" (allowing 2 x 21/2" for chain width)
Stroke at piston 7' 0"
Stroke at pumps 6' 0"
The working barrels of the pump were 11" diameter to the 65 yard level and then 6" diameter to the 75 yard level.
In 1831, John Lawrence Snr wrote from his home at Minsterley Park requiring parts for a new engine to be urgently sent to the Britannia Inn, Shrewsbury. From there they were to be carried to the colliery by a team of horses from the Snailbeach Company, the latter being based on either Mardol or Boathouse Quay on the river. In the same year Messrs How, agents for Lord Tankerville, refused to allow the mine manager to break his contract and leave until the new engine had been installed. It is possible that this was the engine that was sited in No.2 engine house.
Another stone engine house was built about 1847, supervised by the engineer from Snailbeach Mine. It is not known, however, whether this was to contain the original 33" engine or another purchased at a later date. By the mid-19th century, the rich Snailbeach Company had taken a major interest in the colliery, presumably to ensure coal supplies for their engine houses and smelting activities. A second hand 20" engine was purchased in 1859 for pumping and winding. The outside length of the beam was recorded as 91/2ft, giving a 7ft stroke, and the flywheel was 14ft in diameter and weighed 41/2 tons. Details of the pumping gear are not given but the winding shaft was 120 yards deep. The 8ft diameter winding drum was about 21 yards from the pulley, giving a total effective rope length of about 141 yards. To allow for contingency, a rope 180 yards long was bought.
Details of the engine purchase are preserved in a notebook belonging to the Snailbeach engineer Mr Davies. It was bought from the Union Foundry of Wakefield for the cost of £280 and the final terms were :-
Messrs Eddy & Sons
Bought of Joseph Howden
Engine, Brass & Iron Founders
For 1 engine and boiler delivered at Wakefield
Railway station on Trucks as agreed £265. 0. 0
Deducted for repairing bolts, cutting key bed in flywheel shaft 10s
Total £264. 10. 0
Snailbeach Lead Mines-
The engineer's notebook is full of detailed sketches of the engine parts and a drawing of the piston shows how the diameter could be varied to fit the cylinder by tightening the 4 adjusting screws on the piston. The cooling cistern was mounted outside the lever wall and was made of riveted iron plates. The mine engineer at that time must have been quite accomplished to make some of the engine parts required on the available equipment. Despite this, he could not tackle all jobs and, when a steam pipe broke, he had to take the fitting to a foundry in Mold to be repaired.
Further sketches in the notebook show how an angle bob was installed to enable a new lift of pumps to be operated in Malehurst Shaft. A second hand L-bob was bought from Snailbeach Mine and installed midway between the old 30" winding engine and the east side of the shaft, which already contained one lift of pumps. The capacity of the new lift of pumps was calculated at 250 gallons per minute with an engine speed of 14 strokes per minute. This was an ideal measurement, however, since the engine would more likely be working at 5-6 strokes per minute. At the slower speed, the shock loading on the pitwork and engine would ensure a longer life.
In 1862, the Snailbeach Mine daywork book records that the mine mechanic, Vincent Hughes, went to Pontesbury Colliery to take down the engine. This job took 12 days and it was taken to Snailbeach Mine where it was re-conditioned. This probably signified that the colliery had closed since the workings would flood rapidly without the engine.
Surface Remains
The remains of 3 engine houses can still be seen today in the part of the village called Pontesford, so called because of a ford over a tributary of the River Rea. Pontesbury Colliery engine house stands to its full height and the facade has been changed very little since the engine was removed. The lever wall opening has been blocked up and the building converted into a dwelling. The boiler house was incorporated into the local blacksmith shop which was built onto the west wall. Inside, there are 3 stories and the pit is used as a cellar. The spoil tips around the building have been converted into a private car park and the shaft has been capped. In 1969, it was occupied by a Mrs Davies, whose family had lived there for three generations. Her father, who died in 1932 at the age of 89, was born there and this means that the engine was removed prior to 1840.
A small engine house on the south side of the river has been incorporated into two cottages It is a small building with three stories but there is little to see of interest due to extensive alterations.
In a clump of trees to the south of these cottages is a spoil tip and the ivy-covered remains of Nags Head Colliery engine house. This is still in a reasonable condition and the engine pumped from a circular shaft immediately in front of the lever wall.
Description courtesy of Shropshiremining.org