Industrial Tracks

Some people still remember the tramway that ran from Furness Colliery down to the canal and railway siding. It passed under Buxton Road and beneath the building that is now the (closed) Fish and Chip shop. It was recorded by John Farey in his 1817 books about the agriculture and minerals of Derbyshire. The railway was still in use until the early 1960s.
Less known is the railway, also mentioned by Farey, that linked Furness Vale Quarry with the canal. It ran through the tunnel, which of course still exists, to the two canal wharves owned by the quarry company. Building stone was shipped to Manchester and Stockport. It does not appear on any maps. The quarry was in operation until at least the 1960s but the railway must have been removed long ago.

Ringstones Colliery which closed in 1896 was linked to the canal at Bridgemont.  Rather than a railway or tramway, the mine employed an overhead ropeway which carried coal in suspended tubs. One stone tower remains in Ringstones Clough, all other remnants have long disappeared. Again, this was never mapped.

Hello Dolly Lane !

In this article we will follow a route from from Furness Vale to Bugsworth.  We will start at the bottom Station Road and as we cross the bridge  we pass over the River Goyt, the original boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire. Look at the change in the masonry of the bridge parapet and you will see where the Toll Cottage once stood.  The bridge is known as Joule Bridge or sometimes Jolly Bridge and this was part of the Thronsett Turnpike . Turnpikes were abolished by Local Government Act of 1888 to much local rejoicing.

The name of this little hamlet of Gow Hole was recorded in 1587 as Jawhill, the earliest record. Various spellings are subsequently found, no doubt, as the name became corrupted: Joliehole; Jollyhole; Jowhole and finally Gow Hole and as we have seen Joule in reference to the bridge. 

The junction of Marsh Lane and Ladypit Road in the 1920s.  The coal wharf is behind the wall onthe right.

THE KETTLESHULME GUNPOWDER HUT

Marie Cunningham has been researching a footpath leading westwards from Neighbourway Farm in Kettleshulme and in doing so has discovered some fascinating local history. 

Turn down Side End Lane, alongside St.James Primary School, and after about 150 metres a narrow road leads off to the right. This road only serves a few farms and eventually peters out. About half way along is Neighbourway Farm which is also known as Green Low Heath. Opposite the farmhouse is a short track leading across the field and this is the start of an alleged footpath leading westwards across Todd Brook, towards Charleshead Farm. Although the path appears on some maps, its route is uncertain and the right of way has never been enforced. This little road is just over 150 metres long and at the end is a small windowless brick built structure which had a slate roof which has fallen in but the walls are still standing. Not much is known about the hut but Peter Garlick of Neighbourway has always known it as the Gunpowder Hut. The Garlick family has lived at Neighbourway since c1930.  Jim Etchells who lived close by at Near Carr told Peter that a member of the Hewitt Family lived at Charleshead and collected gunpowder from the hut. He stated in 1993 that the gunpowder hut was used up to the time of the first World War.

 The Hewitt family were involved in mining in the area. 

 Jas Hewitt lived at Green Low Heath (Neighbourway farm)  Kettleshulme. (Kelly's Directory of Cheshire 1892, the 1901 census and the Finance Act (1910) record of 1913.  

 John Hewitt lived at Winters Close, Rainow. (The 1910 Finance Act records)

 Margaret Hewitt was at Dales Farm c1913

 Sydney Hewitt was an agricultural implement dealer in Kettleshulme - no location given (Kelly's directory of Cheshire 1914)

 William Hewitt was an iron steel and implement merchant and in 1906 was Kettleshulme sub-postmaster (Kelly's directory 1906) 

 

Dales farm, as well as being the post office, is the location of the shop which Marie believes was where the gunpowder was sold. It's a stone built low level building at the end of the house which fronts the main road opposite the school but it is two storey at the rear. Raymond Lomas can remember c1950 the paraffin cans etc which had been left behind when the shop closed 

 

Could Mr Hewitt have lived at Greenlow Heath and built the gunpowder hut because he was an agent for the Nobel Dynamite Company ?

Marie has found a snippet of information in a book "Rainow Caught in Time" written by the Rainow History Group it reads 

"In June 1878 there was an experiment with dynamite at the home of Mr Sutton in Tower Hill.  Several unsuccessful attempts had been made by a local miner to blow up a very large tree root with ordinary blasting powder. 

Mr Hewitt of Kettleshulme, agent for the Nobel Dynamite Company experimented with the use of dynamite and successfully blew it to pieces"

On the other side of Todd Brook is an area of marshy land which was used to grow willow for basket making. The man-made clay pans and drainage channels used for growing the willow can still be seen on the ground but once again more detail is not known

The Hewitt family were long associated with Furness Clough Colliery as well as managing Castedge Mine in the Goyt Valley and the pits at Charleshead.

Dynamite was the invention in 1867 of Swedish chemist and inventor, Alfred Nobel (1833 - 1896), just one of his 355 patents. On his death, most of his wealth was left in trust to fund the Nobel Prize. 

The British Dynamite Company was established by Nobel in Ayrshire in 1871. At its peak it employed nearly 13,000 workers. The name changed to Nobel's Explosives Ltd in 1877 but the name disappeared through mergers at the time of the First World War although it was resurrected in 1920.

Marie is still researching the subject of both the Gunpowder Hut and the footpath and would appreciate any further information. Please write to furnesshistory@gmail.com

from a Macclesfield newspaper of June 1878

Location of Neighbourway and the Gunpowder Hut

Lady Pit. A Local Coal Mine

Lady Pit, one of our local collieries closed in 1903. It was operated by the Beard and Bugsworth Colliery Company  and was one of several mines owned by  L & E Hall. This mine, also known as Beard Colliery was opened in 1816 – 1818 and was the largest in the vicinity of Furness Vale.  There were numerous shafts: Air Pit; Chain Pit; Furnace Pit, Lady Pit; Blind Pit, Deans Piece Pit and Bullbower Pit.

A feature of the mine was the Jowhole Tunnel which was dug in 1853. This ran in a straight, almost westerly direction to a yard off of Marsh Lane near Gow Hole Farm. Here was a wharf where coal could be loaded by tipplers on to road vehicles. A horse drawn tramway ran through the tunnel and this opened into a number of sidings at Gow Hole. The site is now Nick Rowleys Yard.

The opening of the railway between Sheffield and Manchester allowed high quality, inexpensive coal to be transported across the Pennines and our local mines could not stand up to the competition.

Lady Pit was sited at the point where Dolly Lane meets Lady Pit Road. The buildings have been demolished and the land restored to farming.  The colliery was served by a short railway line which extended from Gowhole sidings, crossing the field on a low embankment which may still be seen in the photograph below.

Beard and Bugsworth Colliery - Lady Pit

Lady Pit, owned by the Beard and Bugsworth Colliery Company stood at the corner of Ladypit Road and Dolly Lane. It closed in 1909.  I had never seen any photographs of the mine and assumed that none had survived. It's surprising what can be found when studying and enlarging an old photograph. One picture from our archives features Bangs Bridge, the footbridge over the canal near the water treatment works. Look in the background and there, behind a very long goods train is Lady Pit.  At that distance it is a little bit misty but all of the buildings can be clearly seen.

The chimney survived long after closure only to be demolished in the late 1940's by a lightning strike which scattered the bricks a distance of 100 metres..