Coke Ovens

The coke ovens, dating from around 1850, are a bank of 'beehive' coke ovens that are now overgrown and partly in ruins. They are primarily constructed of brick, with a sandstone rubble retaining wall at the lower (east) end. The structure is a rectangular block built into a slight slope, measuring approximately 30 meters by 12 meters, and originally contained two rows of six kilns each; the northern side is more severely damaged. Each kiln has a circular plan with a diameter of about 4 meters and features a domed vault approximately 2.5 meters high, made from a single skin of yellow/brown bricks laid in header bond, which are now vitrified at the inner end. Some of these bricks are stamped with the initials WFB. Originally, each kiln had a round-headed ventilation hole at the front, a flue at the back, and a circular charging hole at the top. The ovens were built by an unknown firm and were later superseded by the coke ovens established immediately to the north by the Towneley Colliery and Brickworks Company, which began production in 1874. This site is a large and relatively well-preserved example of a now uncommon type of industrial structure.