Details

The monument includes the upstanding and buried remains of eight 19th century
beehive coking ovens together with associated extensive coal workings
consisting of shaft mounds, gin circles and platforms, and connecting
roadways. It is located on enclosed moorland on Aushaw Moss 450m south west of
Lower House. Although the precise date when coal mining began on Aushaw Moss
is unknown, documentary sources indicate that the workings here were
operational in 1850; by 1893 these workings had closed. The upstanding remains
include two rows of three stone built coking ovens situated facing each other
towards the eastern side of the monument, and one pair of stone built coking
ovens in the northern part of the monument. The ovens have an opening in the
top for charging or filling, probably by wheelbarrow, and an opening at the
front for drawing out the coked coal. As coal loses weight when turned into
coke the coking ovens here are thought to have made an important contribution
to the economic viability of the mining operations at Aushaw by reducing
transport costs down from the moor. Scattered around the monument are a number
of shaft mounds indicating locations where coal was extracted; these survive
as circular hollows each surrounded by a mound of spoil. Adjacent to many of
the shaft mounds are gin circles, horse powered winding arrangements for
raising coal from the shaft, or platforms on which stood man powered cog-and-
rung gins. Many of these dispersed shaft mounds are connected by a network
of raised earthwork roadways.
All field boundaries, fenceposts, gateposts, and drains are excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Coal has been mined in England since Roman times, and between 8,000 and 10,000
coal industry sites of all dates up to the collieries of post-war
nationalisation are estimated to survive in England. Three hundred and four
coal industry sites, representing approximately 3% of the estimated national
archaeological resource for the industry have been identified as being of
national importance. This selection, compiled and assessed through a
comprehensive survey of the coal industry, is designed to represent the
industry's chronological depth, technological breadth and regional diversity.
Extensive coal workings are typical of the medieval and post-medieval coal
industry, although this style of exploitation continued into the early 20th
century in some marginal areas which were worked on a very small scale with
little capital investment. In its simplest form extensive workings took coal
directly from the outcrop, digging closely spaced shallow pits, shafts or
levels which did not connect underground. Once shallower deposits had been
exhausted, deeper shafts giving access to underground interconnecting
galleries were developed. The difficulties of underground haulage and the need
for ventilation encouraged the sinking of an extensive spread of shafts in the
area worked. The remains of extensive coal workings typically survive as
surface earthworks directly above underground workings. They may include a
range of prospecting and exploitation features, including areas of
outcropping, adits and shaft mounds (circular or sub-circular spoil heaps
normally with a directly associated depression marking the shaft location). In
addition, some sites retain associated features such as gin circles (the
circular track used by a horse powering simple winding or pumping machinery),
trackways and other structures like huts. Some later sites also retain
evidence of the use of steam power, typically in the form of engine beds or
small reservoirs. Extensive coal mines vary considerably in form, depending on
the underlying geology, their date, and how the workings were originally
organised. Sites can include several hundred shafts spread over an extensive
area.
Coal occurs in significant deposits throughout large parts of England and this
has given rise to a variety of coalfields extending from the north of England
to the Kent coast. Each region has its own history of exploitation, and
characteristic sites range from the small, compact collieries of north
Somerset to the large, intensive units of the north east. A sample of the
better preserved sites, illustrating the regional, chronological and
technological range of extensive coal workings, together with rare individual
component features are considered to merit protection.

Coking is the process by which coal is heated or part-burnt to remove volatile
impurities and leave lumps of carbon known as coke. Originally this was
conducted in open heaps, sometimes arranged on stone bases, but from the
mid-18th century purpose built ovens were employed. By the mid-19th century
two main forms of coking ovens had developed, the beehive and long oven, which
are thought to have been operationally similar, differing only in shape. Coke
ovens were typically built as long banks with many tens of ovens arranged in
single or back-to-back rows, although stand alone ovens and short banks are
also known. They typically survive as stone or brick structures, but
earth-covered examples also exist. Later examples may also include remains of
associated chimneys, condensers and tanks used to collect by-products. Coke
ovens are most frequently found directly associated with coal mining sites,
although they also occur at ironworks and next to transport features such as
canal basins.
The associated extensive coal workings on Aushaw Moss are a rare surviving
example of 19th century coal workings where steam power was never introduced.
Remains of more primitive arrangements of both horse powered and man powered
winding shafts survive and these features, together with the remains of coking
ovens which survive reasonably well and roadways which connect many of the
shafts, form a well-preserved low investment coal mining landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Instone,E., Aushaw Moss - Coal Industry Step 3&4 Reports, 1994,

Source: Historic England