The Best Guide for the Neston Area

Revamped Website Reveals More of Neston Coal Mines' Story

The coal mines at Neston have been a topic of interest for local people for years. Now there is an opportunity to find out much more about them.

A website dedicated to Neston collieries has been significantly revamped to tell much more of the story about Neston's mines and miners.

"The website was originally set up to give background information on the early collieries at Neston which operated from 1759 to 1855," explains the site owner and local author, Anthony Annakin-Smith. "However, I was also getting lots of enquiries about the later mines which worked until 1927 - many locals had relatives who worked there. It seemed right to add information on these operations too."

Many people will be keen to visit the image galleries which bring together pictures of different aspects of the collieries. Other content includes a timeline of events, with the names of many workers. The events ranged from the comic, such as the general election candidate who decided to go underground to canvas the miners for support (he lost!), to the tragic.

"I wanted to use the website to remember all those who tragically lost their lives while working at the Neston mines," said Anthony. "New research shows that at least 42 men and children perished in accidents over the years; the youngest was just nine years old." Some of these individuals have graves in local churchyards and the site includes images of these.

For those who are keen to research their ancestors the website also includes an updated database of the 600+ men known to have worked at the early Neston collieries.

Anthony added: "There is scope to grow the site considerably over time with new research or contributions from users who have images, documents or other relevant information."

The website can be found at www.nestoncollieries.org

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