the extract below may also be of interest to you;
Industrialisation
a photograph of the Winding Gear at Snipe Colliery, AudenshawUntil the 19th century, Audenshaw was mainly a farming area supplemented by bleaching, hatting and coal mining which continued well into the 20th century. At Hooley Hill, farming gave way to calico printing works during the 19th century, and later a linen factory was established. There was some hatting in Hooley Hill. Butterworth, a local historian, mentions two working hatters in 1823, but during the 19th century the area became a slum and was to be demolished to be rebuilt later.
Coal mining started in the 18th century, working valuable seams near the surface, and, as these became waterlogged or exhausted, 19th century mining changed to deep seam mining. The Chamber Colliery Mining Company owned three pits; Oak Pit in Oldham, Wood Park Pit in Bardsley and the Ashton Moss Pit, Audenshaw, known as the Snipe Pit. All three worked the famous Roger Seam. The Ashton Moss Colliery opened on May 22, 1880 and tram lines were laid to take coal down to the canal locks. The Chamber Colliery Company had a large number of canal boats in the 1920s to take coal from the Snipe Pit to factories along the canal. The Snipe Pit was one of the deepest at the time. According to the Colliery Guardian in 1892, the shafts went down 952 yards and produced good quality coal. Saltpetre was adapted for gas, domestic use or steam power and coal from the Black Mine seam was well-known locally for producing good gas and domestic coal. The colliery closed in 1959.
Taken from
http://www.tameside.gov.uk/audenshaw/history
