Kilnhurst Colliery
The coal mines at Kilnhurst were originally called Thrybergh Hall Collieries. The first shafts were sunk in the 1850s, reaching the Barnsley Seam in 1858. Deeper shafts were sunk in the 20th Century to reach the other coal seams that underlie the area.
- Swallow Wood seam in 1917.
- Parkgate seam in 1923
- Silkstone seam in 1929.
Attached to the colliery was brickworks. From 1850 a branch of the South Yorkshire Railway ran through the brickworks and later the colliery. This became a through line linking Sheffield and Doncaster from 1864, enabling the transport of heavy goods away from the area of production to the various areas of sale. The colliery was connected underground with two other mining operations, Warren Vale Colliery and Warren House Colliery. A new No.4 Shaft was sunk in 1937.
The collieries were variously owned by:-
- J. & J. Charlesworth Ltd of Wakefield.
- From 1923 to 1936 Stewarts & Lloyds Ltd of Glasgow. John Brown was the sub-lessee who actually ran the collieries.
- From Tinsley Park Colliery Co. Ltd Sheffield. John Brown was the sub-lessee who actually ran the collieries.
- From 1945 the collieries were run by the Manvers Main Colliery Company up to 1947.
- From 1 January 1947 Kilnhurst Collieries were vested to the National Coal Board.
Between 1950 and 1956 Kilnhurst was merged into the South Manvers complex. When this was done all coal was transported underground to Manvers where it was drawn to the surface. The brickworks closed in 1975 and the last coal was mined in 1989. The site was redeveloped to accomodate industrial units.
Comments from Roger 15 Jan 2007:–
"I was looking for some information on the tramways of Tinsley Park and I came across several very short references to Kilnhurst Colliery which you may find interesting. I have cobbled these together in some order and added a few memories of my own. If anyone can answer the Bob's question or even know when the line to Piccadilly closed I would like to know. I only remember this as the shunting neck which allowed the wagons to be shunted into the brickworks. I do not remember any diesels working on the line.
The earliest colliery on the site, adjacent to the canal at the south end of the village was known as either Thrybergh or Thrybergh Hall Colliery which worked the Barnsley seam from 1858.
The brickworks, along with the local pottery, was served by a branch of the South Yorkshire Railway from Mexborough, this becoming a through line linking Sheffield and Doncaster from the 1860's. From its sinking this line also served the colliery. The railway junction from the main line was known as Thrybergh Colliery Junction until the early days of 20th Century Rotherham when the line to Thrybergh ( Silverwood Colliery ) was opened and the old signal box replaced. The original, hipped-roofed wooden signal box fell backwards into the River Don and was replaced by a gable-ended second-hand structure.
The first owners were Wakefield-based J. & J. Charlesworth who developed the workings with the opening of the Swallow Wood seam in 1917 and prepared the way for extraction from the Parkgate seam which came on stream in 1923, the year when Charlesworth's were succeeded by Glasgow-based steel and coal company Stewarts & Lloyds Ltd. Under their ownership, in 1929, the Silkstone seam was opened up.
Sheffield steelmakers John Brown & Co., was a sub-lessee of Stewart and Lloyds and this continued following the sale to the Tinsley Park Colliery Company on 28th April 1936. The sinking of a new, No.4 shaft was undertaken between 1937 and 1939.
To many the colliery was known as 'Bob's' or 'Bob's 'ole' after, I was once told a long serving manager.
The railway branch, which was diverted around the new colliery site, crossed the main road and followed it towards Rawmarsh but continued in a straight line towards Warren Vale Colliery. There was a line into Kilnhurst brickworks which was shunted by the colliery locomotives, I remember a large Andrew Barclay locomotive in the 1960's doing the job. It either had a cast steel plate or it was painted on the saddle tank that its owners were Tinsley Park Collieries, although they went with nationalization. Kilnhurst Road had to be crossed to reach the brickworks and a level crossing was provided within a double bend on the road, something that, in the interests of road safety, went not long after the branch closed. The brickworks had its own narrow gauge railway which ran around the quarry area on lightly laid and easily realigned track and fed the clay onto a conveyor which took this over Kilnhurst Road to the brick making shed and kilns. I remember a small locomotive, possibly from Ruston & Hornsby and a collection of side tipper wagons working here in the 60's."
Contact Roger Email roger-milnesatfsmail.net (remember to change at to @).