Early Clanny-type J.H. Naylor lamp, once owned by the Wigan Coal & Iron Company
This early J.H. Naylor lamp, a Clanny type, once belonged to the Wigan Coal & Iron Company.
The company
The Wigan Coal & Iron Company was formed in 1865, when John Lancaster’s collieries were joined with those of Lord Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, who already owned Haigh Colliery. It had pits at Haigh, Aspull, Standish, Westhoughton, Blackrod, Westleigh and St Helens, big ironworks near Wigan, and Manton Colliery in Nottinghamshire.
In 1896 its pits at Haigh included the Alexandra, Bawkhouse, Bridge, Lindsay and Meadow Pits. The Alexandra employed more than 650 people and the Lindsay Pits over 350. At Aspull, the Crawford, Kirkless, Moor and Woodshaw Pits employed more than 1,000 between them.
By the 1920s it was the biggest colliery owner on the Lancashire coalfield, with about 9,000 workers. Its Parsonage Colliery at Leigh had shafts, sunk between 1913 and 1920, that were the deepest in Britain at the time. It also worked the Berkune iron-ore pit near Dalton-in-Furness until 1898. In 1930 it merged with Pearson & Knowles to form the Wigan Coal Corporation.
The maker
J.H. Naylor of Wigan was founded in 1860 and became one of the great British lamp makers. A Wigan-made lamp from Wigan’s biggest pit owner is a nice pairing.
Gallery
Lamp record
| Maker | J.H. Naylor, Wigan |
|---|---|
| Type | Early Clanny type (glass below, gauze above) |
| Owner | Wigan Coal & Iron Company (formed 1865) |
Credit. Lamp and photos: Andy Jones.
