Opened, after a lot of hard work and around £55,000, by Wigan Coal & Iron Co in 1881 to replace older pits in the area. A large Cornish beam engine was installed in 1876 to deal with the anticipated heavy water ingress.
The main winding engine was a fine and large Haigh Foundry machine with 36" x 78" cylinders driving a flat rope drum. Flat ropes were used here until 1955 making it a contender for Britain's last flat rope pit. Served by a branch from the Standish Collieries railway. Closed in January 1961. Don't know if there any remains.
More information: Sinking of three shafts started in 1875 but the No 1 shaft was an old 1840s shaft enlarged and deepened. No 2 and No 3 were sunk to just over 600yds. The winding engines were on the large side - two cylinder 36" x 78" flat rope engines by Haigh Foundry, Wigan.
As the working area around No 2 shaft was badly faulted, the winding engine was removed and transferred to the new Victoria Colliery, being replaced by a much smaller and older 21" x 60" two cylinder engine in a separate engine house. The colliery was furnace ventilated until 1920 when a Sirocco fan was installed. There were two surface-mounted underground haulage engines and a boiler plant of 6 Lancashire boilers whose flues led to a fine 225ft chimney visible from miles away.
The colliery was served by sidings off the Standish Collieries railway system which took the output to the Standish Washery, Crooke 'Docks' (canal tip) and the LNWR main line at Rylands Sidings.
Giant's employed 533 men in 1954.