One of the area’s most threatened heritage sites has received a major funding boost to ensure it is preserved for future generations.

The 200-year-old coke ovens at Aspen Colliery in Oswaldtwistle - known locally as the ‘fairy caves’ - will benefit from £75,000 from WREN’s FCC Heritage Fund.

Work to rebuild and repair these relics of the industrial revolution could now begin as early as next March.

Coun Clare Cleary, cabinet member for regeneration at Hyndburn council, said: “We are incredibly lucky to have such an historic site on our doorstep and grateful to WREN for helping us to make our restoration project a real possibility.

“Many locals don’t realise the ovens are there, or the key role they played in the region’s economic past, so it will be great to be bring them back to life again - even if they won’t be operational.”

Councillor Clare Cleary

The coke ovens were originally used to convert coal from Aspen Colliery into coke, which was then used as a smokeless fuel in the nearby steelworks.

The ovens closed in 1930 and were declared an ancient monument in 1977. However, their condition has deteriorated over the years and in 2008 they were classified as ‘at risk’ by preservation group Historic England.

WREN is a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community, biodiversity and heritage projects close to landfill sites. The funding will prevent the site from decaying further and remove it from the at risk register.

Once the restoration project is complete, visitors will be able to learn more about the coke ovens’ history thanks to interpretation boards.

Peter Moralee, WREN’s grant manager for the FCC Heritage Fund, said: “We are delighted to be funding such a worthwhile project and helping to safeguard the future of what is one of the country’s most at-risk heritage sites.”

Coke ovens played an important role in the development of the industrial revolution, and their remains can often be found close to collieries and on canal banks.

The Aspen site’s importance stems from the fact that it retains this relationship with the local colliery and the adjacent Leeds-Liverpool canal.

In spite of degradation they have suffered over the years, the coke ovens remain among the best-preserved examples of this type of structure in the North West of England.