Rotherham Collieries
Black Hill Colliery
The first edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1841 shows Black Hill Colliery off Black Hill Lane (now Wickersley Road) between the Stag and the Brecks. The area is now covered by housing.
Dinnington Main
In 1899 preparations were being made by the Sheffield Coal Company to sink a new colliery at Dinnington. The company did not have the resources to complete the work and entered into a partnership with the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Co and this joint company, the Dinnington Main Colliery Company, came into being in 1900. The sinking of Dinnington Colliery began in 1902 and the pit opened in 1904 when the Barnsley seam was reached. The first coal was raised in 1905 and a second shaft opened in the same year. Coking ovens were built in 1907. The sinkers and miners were housed in tin huts known as 'Tin Town'. The Dinnington Colliery Company built Dinnington Colliery Institute in 1908 with many recreational facilities and new housing for the miners. By 1911 the colliery was providing employment for 450 surface men and 1,568 below ground. Pithead baths were installed in 1937. In 1945 prior to nationalisation it was owned by Amalgamated Denaby Collieries Ltd., Denaby Main, Doncaster, Yorks. The colliery closed in 1992.
Eastwood Colliery
This existed in the 1840s between the railway and the canal at Eastwood.
Firbeck Colliery
The site of Firbeck colliery spans the border between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at Langold. The 400 acre Langold estate was laid out as the basis of a planned stately home in the early 1800s but the house was never built. The grounds became part of Firbeck Colliery about 1925 and were later owned by the National Coal Board. I know little about it except that a country park now covers the former colliery, though if you look carefully and trip up a bit you can find the remains of mining.
Harry Croft Colliery
There was once a colliery within the parish of Anston called Harry Croft. The colliery was sunk between 1924 and 1926 and closed in 1930.
Kiveton Park Colliery
Kiveton Park Colliery was developed in the rural village of Kiveton from 1864 when Carrington & Company leased rights to mine coal in the area around Kiveton, sinking beginning on 6 June 1866. The Barnsley seam being reached on 5 December 1867, just over 400 yards (370 m) below the surface. In 1873 the Kiveton Park Colliery Company was formed. Initially gas was obtained from the Beighton Gas Company but in the 1870s the company began to make their own. This lasted until 1956 when it drew its supply from the grid.
A new shaft was sunk in 1886 to reach the Thorncliffe seam, reached its target at a depth of almost 700 yards (640 m). This coal was used for coking purposes and coke ovens were built adjacent to the colliery. The seam, because of a band of dirt at its centre, was, at that time, an uneconomic proposition and abandoned only 10 years after work commenced. Another shaft was sunk adjacent to that serving the Barnsley seam and connected to it. For ventilation purposes this shaft was taken down to the Silkstone seam at over 700 yards (640 m). Passing through the High Hazels seam at just over 300 yards (270 m) this was opened up in 1900 because of its very good quality house coal, the small coal mined was used for manufacturing purposes. Until 1929 all coal was mined by hand but in the years to 1940 the mining was mechanised.
In 1928 an amalgamation took place between Kiveton Park and Sherwood Collieries and in 1944 they were taken over by the United Steel Companies. The mining industry was nationalised in 1947. The Barnsley seam was worked out in 1970, after just over 100 years of providing coal from its reserves. The colliery was closed in 1994.
The colliery site has now been reclaimed and is now Kiveton Community Woodland with walks, cycle track and some recently-planted wooded areas together with a number of fishing ponds called Kiveton Waters.
Masbrough Collieries
The coal seams at Masbrough were exploited from the 1760s by the Walker Brothers to provide fuel for their ironworks. The first was at Garrow Tree at Holmes. By 1901 there is no sign of the mine on the Ordnance Survey map of Masbrough. By then housing and allotments covered the site. Holmes Colliery, between the River Don and the canal just north of the Phoenix Bessemer Steel was noted 'Disused' on the 1901 map. Jordan Colliery off Meadowhall Road was still in operation in 1901. It was reopened in 1894 after being closed for thirty years due to flooding. It looks to me as if Meadow Bank Road now cuts through the site. The 1850 Ordnance Survey map shows Swallow Wood Pit just below Garrow Tree but this has gone by 1888.
Silverwood
Silverwood Colliery was situated on Hollings Lane between Dalton and Ravenfield Common. It was owned by Dalton Main Collieries Ltd and was originally known as Dalton Main until some bright spark came up with the idea of re-naming it after the local woodland (Silver Wood being preferred to Gulling Wood for obvious reasons). The sinking of the first shaft for Dalton Main began in 1900 and production began in 1905 when the coal seams were reached at a depth of 746 yards. At one time the pit, tips and railway sidings covered a vast area between Thrybergh, Ravenfield, Flanderwell and Sunnyside. It drew colliers from housing estates all over the area.
There was a Paddy mail crash on 3 February 1966. Shortly after 6 a.m. the day shift men had gone down the pit to board the "Paddy mail". It was normal practice for the 'man-rider' to be followed by a second train which carried equipment. On this day the second train suddenly ran out of control and gaining speed caught up with the 'man-riding' train hitting this hard in the rear. Ten men lost their lives and a further 29 miners were injured.
The colliery closed in 1992 and there was a large coal washing and reclamation project for several years. The old area of tip around Woodlaithes Farm has now been developed as rather posh housing known as Woodlaithes Village complete with village pond grandly called a lake. Other parts of the site are still being worked on and it is intended to provide local amenities - probably another country park. Reclamation work finished in 2006, with the Forestry Commission planting tree saplings in 2007. The coal tip has been grassed completely and the once dangerous slurry lake turned into a freshwater nature reserve.
Swinton Common
A colliery exited here in 1875 but I have no further information.
Thorpe Hesley Collieries
Barley Hall Colliery (I've also seen it called Barley Hole) was north of the village of Thorpe Hesley and was sunk in 1886-87. It closed in 1974.
In 1850 Old Park Gate Colliery sunk near Scholes Common on the site where the Kimberworth Park pub is located today. Old Park Gate Colliery closed in 1909. A new pit was sunk there called Park Gate (New Deep) Colliery which was closed in 1924.
Smithy Wood Colliery was situated to the east of Thorpe Hesley but most or all of this was in the Borough of Sheffield. In 1881 it was registered to and worked by Newton Chambers Co. who also operated Rockingham (? not sure where this was), Thorncliffe (Chapeltown Sheffield) and Grange (Kimberworth) Collieries. I think it closed in the 1970s.
There was also a colliery at Thorpe Common: this was probably Thorpe Pit sunk in 1900 by Newton Chambers.
Thurcroft
In 1902 Thurcroft was owned by Thomas Marrian of Thurcroft Hall who leased the coal under his estates to Rothervale Collieries Ltd. The sinking of the colliery began in 1909 but because of problems with water and faults in the rock the coal measures were not reached until 1912. In 1913 full time mining commenced and there was a large increase in population as the mining company began to build housing for miners coming to work in the pit. In 1918, coke ovens and a brickworks were erected at Thurcroft. The brickworks was later taken over by Butterley Brick (closed 1992). Manpower at the colliery reached a peak in 1931-9 and again in 1947 when over 2,000 men were employed.
Initially only the Barnsley Seam was worked but the Parkgate Seam was was opened up in 1942 to meet the war time increase in demand. The Barnsley Seam was exhausted in 1967 and working in the Parkgate Seam finished in 1972 because of difficult working conditions and extreme temperatures. In 1976 an extensive modernisation scheme was intended to take the pit into the next century but closure came in 1991. The workforce, together with Rotherham Borough Council and the Coalfield Communities Campaign, fought to keep the pit open, run by the miners, but the attempt foundered on British Coal's demand that they pay the cost of maintaining the mine during the negotiations. In 1995 proposals to turn the colliery site into a waste tip met with widespread opposition. Thurcroft Colliery like most of the pits around here is now closed. The site has been reclaimed and housing is being developed there.
In 2011 a new website Thurcroft Colliery has been set up by two ex-miners. If you have any information of photographs please let them know.
Wales Collieries
Shallow seams of coal are near the surface in the Wales area and were mined by lay brothers from Bradenstoke Priory during the Middle Ages. By 1598 Hewet Osborne's mines were producing 2,000 tons a year. The collieries were further developed by the Dukes of Leeds. There was also a small colliery at Waleswood in the 18th century.
Wentworth Collieries
Coal was mined around the village of Wentworth. The Ordnance survey Map from about 1840 shows collieries at Low Wood and another near Cortworth so there may have others.
Opencast mining in the fields around Wentworth began in June 1942. By July 1944 5 million tons of spoil had been removed to produce 750,000 tons of coal. The open casting continued into the early 1950s coming right up to the outskirts of the village itself. The land has now all been restored and it is well nigh impossible to see where the excavations existed.