Burnley Coalfield and had a number of coal mines such as Aspen Colliery next the canal and the East Lancashire line, having both a canal basin and railway siding. Mining here is thought to have commenced in the early 19th century and the colliery closed in 1930. The remains of the site which includes two stone-built engine beds and a bank of 24 beehive type coke ovens are protected as a scheduled monument. Others in the hills to the south, include: Broadfield Colliery which in the 1840s had a surface tramroad connected to the printworks at Foxhill Bank via Moscow Mills; Sough Lane Colliery which had a tramroad connecting it to Knuzden; And Town Bent Colliery . PoW camps During World War II, a number of PoWs (particularly Italians) were interned in camps near Oswaldtwistle. Governance Oswaldtwistle was once a township in the ancient parish of Whalley, covering Oswaldtwistle Moor in the south and with Knuzden Brook forming the boundary with Blackburn, and as far as the village of Belthorn. The township became a civil parish in 1866. Between 1894 and 1974, the area was administered by an urban district. It has since become an unparished part of the borough of Hyndburn. Economy It is important to note the contribution of Alfred N. Waterhouse in Oswaldtwistle. In the 1940s, he created what became Shopfitters Lancashire Ltd and in the 1950s, the firm moved from Accrington to Rhyddings Mill, Oswaldtwistle. He was a very successful entrepreneur who manufactured the shopfittings. At its peak in the 1960s, Shopfitters (Lancashire) Ltd employed over 80 salesmen nationally, and had an annual turnover measured in millions, in an age when a new house cost about £3,000. The firm closed in the 1980s. The town centre is home to a number of high street multiples, including: Bargain Booze, Coral, Betfred, Cohens Chemist, Travis Perkins, as well as McColl's (previously Gateway), which opened in 1980. There is also a Tesco Express, which opened in 2009, built on the site of the former retained fire station, which closed in 2003. A Spar is in the town, which opened in 1991. There are also a number of independent businesses in the town - Whitaker’s Butchers, sues barbers, martins bakery and the vault micro pub and gin bar to name a few. Other stores include an appliance repairs/sales, numerous takeaways, numerous barbers, estate agents, off licences, bakers, butchers, funeral directors