[2] In 1862 work started at Mosley Common to sink three shafts to a depth of 500 yards in an area where coal had been mined for some time.
The old workings were originally called Stonehouse Pits but the new colliery was sunk to access the deeper seams earlier mining had not reached.
The sinking of the 12 feet diameter No 1 shaft encountered much water and massive pumps installed from John Musgrave & Sons in Bolton who also built the winding engine which survived until 1964.
By 1933 while part of Manchester Collieries the combined total for the pits was 1,729 underground and 489 on the surface rising to 1,711 and 531 in 1940.
[6] Mosley Common Colliery was one of the country's largest and most modern pits after refurbishment and development work by the National Coal Board completed in 1962.