| Summary : The upstanding and buried remains of Aspen Colliery, a group of associated beehive coking ovens known locally as the Fairy Caves, and an associated canal basin from where coal and coke was transported. It is located on the north side of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Blackburn Road, Oswaldtwistle. Coal mining at Aspen is thought to have commenced in the early 19th century and continued until the colliery closed in 1930. The upstanding remains of the colliery include two stone-built engine beds situated in the northern part of the monument and the buried remains of two capped mineshafts in the eastern part of the monument. To the west are 24 well preserved brick and stone-built beehive coking ovens arranged back to back in three rows or banks with central brick flue systems. The central and eastern row are the earliest, with the western row having been added at some time between 1893-1910. Adjacent to the canal towpath, on the south side of the coking ovens, is a stone wall which functioned as both a retaining wall and boundary wall. Between the coking ovens and the southern of the two capped mine shafts is a stone-lined canal basin, measuring 30 metres long by 8 metres wide, and to the east of the basin the ground is paved with original stone setts. The canal basin originally had direct access to the adjacent canal. Scheduled. |