The Coal Industry

The mining industry in North Staffordshire goes back to the early 14th century. The North Staffs coalfields consists of 4 areas. These include Shaffalong, Cheadle, Goldsitch Moss and the Potteries. An area of 100 square miles was covered by the Potteries Coalfield, but only 30 square miles is covered by the other 3. The requirements for coal from the Pottery industry caused the industry to grow over the years. The transportation of the coal was mainly by canal, later the coal was transported by railway, the Potteries loop line was ideal for this.
The mining industry started with private individual owners and was nationalised in 1947. Due to the Government of the time, 1980's, and we all know who the Prime minister was, don't we, THATCHER, the death bell was sounding for all the pits in Staffordshire and in England, with Silverdale hanging on until 1998. Who was it who said, "Arthur Scargill doesn't know what he is talking about." The children, these days don't realise that people once went underground to get coal, it's up to us adults to make sure that these young people do know what went on in the pits!
All that is left for these children to understand is memorials, the odd wheel and landscaped slag heaps. The social and Industrial history of North Staffordshire will always have a place for the coal industry, without the coal industry, who knows, we may not have been known as the Potteries, without the coal we would have had no bottle ovens firing would we!
The following is the history of a few special mines that were once thriving in North Staffordshire:-
In 1854 a pit shaft was sunk to a depth of 500 yards to create Hanley colliery. In approx. 1910-1920 the pit shaft was sunk even deeper to a depth of 880 yards, which made it the deepest pit in the country. It was affectionately known in the Potteries as Hanley deep pit. In the 1930's approx. 2,000 men and boy's were employed at Hanley. The pit closed in 1962. In the 1970's the land was reclaimed and is now known as Hanley Forest Park, the slag heap is covered in grass and a delightful lake attracts families from around the Potteries. At the entrance to the Park on Town Road there is the wheel that once worked at the Pit.
In Longton there was once two pits that were later joined to make one. One of these was called Florence Colliery. In 1874 a pit shaft was sunk with two more following within the next 30 years. In 1950 money was invested in Florence and £7 million was spent on modernisation, the work continued until 1964. The colliery got it's name from the 3rd Duke of Sutherland's daughter. Florence was merged with Hem heath, the other Longton pit in 1990.
In 1924 the first sod was cut to build Hem Heath Colliery in Longton by the Duke of Sutherland. The main problem at Hem Heath was the lack of ventilation, Miners were unable to reach the required amount of coal production that was needed for the pit to continue. In the seams beneath Longton lay vast amounts of coal that was unable to be excavated due to the Pit shaft at Hem Heath. In 1950 work began to change the lay out of Hem Heath and a new colliery was practically built. Production never stopped during all the changes at the Pit. At this new colliery was a large A frame and due to this it was known locally as the 'big A'. The new pit shaft that was put in, in 1950 was 24 feet wide and 1134 yards deep, at that time it was the third deepest in England. This pit employed 1790 men in 1979 and produced over 1,000,000 tonnes of coal. Hem Heath merged with Florence in 1990 to become Trentham Super pit.
A number of Pottery manufactures put money into create a pit in Wolstanton, a shaft was sunk in 1920 to form Wolstanton colliery. In 1950 major reconstruction occurred, the work took 14 years, and Wolstanton was merged with Hanley deep pit and Sneyd Pit. More work took place to link Wolstanton with Chatterley Whitfied and in 1975 the underground connection was finished. With these underground connections Wolstanton was to be regarded as the Superpit of North Staffordshire, it then had the deepest pit shaft in Western Europe measuring 3759 feet deep. The Colliery closed in 1985.
In 1830 a Colliery was opened in Newcastle to produce coal for the iron and brick works, this pit was to be the last coal mine in North Staffordshire. This pit was Silverdale Colliery. In 1950, like so many collieries, modernisation took place at Silverdale and £20 million was spent. A new pit shaft was sunk and two drift mines each measuring 4,000 yards were introduced to produce 50 million tonnes of coal, in the Keele and Hanchurch area's. This Colliery closed in 1998.
Apedale Colliery, the Burley pit, 1850-1926.
This colliery is now an heritage centre where you can go underground and see what it was like working in the pits.
Discover the story of Apedale and it's surroundings from prehistoric times to the modern day. Artefacts at the museum include stones from a large 1st Century Roman building revealed at nearby Holditch in 1998. A number of authentic displays including a model of a drift mine, photographs, tools, and maps, demonstrate the rich heritage of the valley. The reconstruction of a miners cottage also provides a fascinating insight to the everyday family life from the past.
The Apedale mine experience starts when you collect your helmet and lamp from the lamp room. Along with an experienced miner you will be guided through authentic mine workings with real coal on show not mock coal seams which are evident in many other museums. For more information on Apedale Heritage centre follow the link on the Links Page.