Mow Cop Tramway Tunnel

The Tramway Tunnel beneath Mow Cop is a remarkable piece of early 19th-century industrial engineering, built to serve the coal industry of the Biddulph Valley and surrounding collieries. Its purpose was to move coal efficiently from pits on the Staffordshire side of the gritstone ridge to the Macclesfield Canal in Cheshire, opening up access to wider markets.

Coal had been worked around Mow Cop since the late 1700s, but transport was a major problem. The steep hills and poor roads made haulage slow and expensive. To solve this, a horse-drawn tramroad was built in 1803 linking Tower Hill and Stonetrough collieries with Congleton Moss. As production increased, a more direct and reliable route to the canal was needed.

In 1832 a new tramway system was authorised, including the construction of a tunnel driven directly beneath the ridge at Mow Cop. This allowed wagons to pass through the hill rather than climb over it. The tunnel is approximately 335 metres long and runs straight and true through the gritstone. Parts were brick-lined where the rock was unstable, while long sections were left as bare stone, blasted by hand using gunpowder. Drill holes can still be seen in the rock.

The tunnel floor slopes gently downwards from near the centre in both directions, allowing wagons to roll naturally. Horses hauled coal wagons through the tunnel, while outside it the line connected to a series of gravity-worked brake inclines. Loaded wagons descending the steep slopes helped haul empty wagons back up using rope systems — an efficient but dangerous method of operation.

The tramway served several collieries and ran down to a wharf on the Macclesfield Canal at Kent Green. However, by the late 19th century coal production shifted to larger pits such as Victoria Pit, which were connected directly to the North Staffordshire Railway. The older tramway became redundant and was abandoned around 1880. Rails were removed and the tunnel entrances were sealed.