Clyne Wood Colliery Steam Winding Machine

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a small twin cylinder horizontal steam winding engine on the site of the Clyne Colliery. The engine is about 2m long and built of cast iron on an I beam base. There are two cylinders with pistons and cranks connecting via chevron drive gears to a winding drum set above the engine. The brake mechanism can be seen inside the drum. The engine is marked J Wild and Co Ltd, Oldham with a patent date of 1891. It sits at an angle and appears to have been pulled slightly out of position. Nearby are the stone bases with holding-down bolts of an engine house, and the site is in the centre of large coal tips.

The engine, though a design of 1891, may have been installed in 1912 or in the 1890s. Its unusually small size reflects the fact that the colliery was working shallow coal deposits in this area. Few steam winding engines survive in Wales, and this one is in a remarkably complete condition.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the early nineteenth century coal mining industry. The structures may be expected to contain archaeological information in regard to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. A colliery may be part of a larger cluster of industrial monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.