YORKSHIRE MAIN COLLIERY

The following pictures and information relate to collieries in the South Yorks division. The information is taken from documents written in 1978-1979.

MANVERS  MAIN

This excellent picture of the upcast shaft shows the large fan ducting in the foreground where the return air was pulled out of the mine and dispersed into the atmosphere. 

The shaft was sunk in 1868 to the 281 yards deep Barnsley Seam.  Other seams worked were the Park Gate, Swallow Wood, Melton Field and The Silkstone Seams.  Output was 450,000 tons per year, manpower 1,300 local men.

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BARNBURGH

Another excellent picture showing roof supports on the pit top.

The shafts were sunk between 1912 and 1915 to the Thorncliffe seam, other seams worked were the Newhill, Barnsley, Swallow Wood , the Parkgate seam and the Meltonfield seam.

Output was 450,000 tons per year and the mine employed 1090 men.

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CADEBY

The Barnsley seam provided the bulk of Cadebys output from its sinking in 1893 and the shallower Beamshaw seam and deeper Dunsil seam were worked in later years.

The colliery employed 1180 local men and produced 400,000 tons of coal per year.

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DINNINGTON

The colliery was sunk between 1903 and 1905, the shafts reached the Barnsley seam at a depth of 666 yards, other seams worked were the Swallow Wood, and the Haigh Moor.

The colliery employed 950 men and produced 400,000 tons per year, most going to power stations.

The colliery was located twelve miles east of Sheffield.

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ELSECAR

 

The colliery was situated in the vicinity of workings dating back as far as the 17th century.

Coal extraction proper began at the mine between 1905 and 1908 when the shafts were sunk to the Parkgate seam at 364 yards. other seams worked were the Silkstone, Thorncliffe and the Swallow Wood  seam.

The colliery out put was around 400,000 tons per year.

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 TREETON

Sunk in 1874 to the 333 yards deep Barnsley seam and then deepened to the Swallow wood seam at 404 yards in 1934. Other seams worked include the Wathwood, and the High hazel. The colliery employed 800 men and produced 500,000 tons per year. The colliery was situated four miles south of Rotherham.

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BROOKHOUSE

Situated on the outskirts of Sheffield, the colliery had the unique feature of having its two shafts nearly a mile apart. The yearly output of 200,000 tones was from two fully mechanised faces in the Silkstone seam, its 600 men produce high quality house, industrial and coking coal.

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MALTBY

 

Sunk between 1907 and 1911 to the Barnsley seam at a depth of 820 yards, The colliery had a history of high methane emission and was one of the first in Yorkshire to adopt a methane drainage system. The colliery produced 750,000 tons a year, it employed 1,400 men.

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SHIREOAKS

Situated in Nottinghamshire the colliery was administered by NCB South Yorkshire area.  The colliery was sunk in 1856 and in 1954 it became the first in Yorkshire to use a Trepanner cutting machine for use in the Clowne seam.  In 1964 the colliery occupied first place in the productivity league.  Annual output was 450,000 tonnes per year.  The colliery employed 600 men and worked 3 fully mechanised faces.

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SILVERWOOD

 

Silverwood was one of Yorkshires million-tonners.  It produced over a million tonnes of coal a year and employed 1,600 men.  The colliery was one of Yorkshires most modern, it was sunk between 1900 and 1905 to the 740 yards deep Barnsley seam, other seams worked were the Swallow Wood and the Meltonfield seams.  Silverwoods coal was high quality coking coal and was used mainly by the iron and steel industry.

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STEETLEY COLLIERY

A Nottinghamshire colliery under the administration of Yorkshire.  It was sunk in 1873 and was 595 yards deep, it worked the Clowne, High Hazel and Top Hard seams.  Coal production was fully mechanised with huge power loading machines cutting and loading coal automatically as they moved along the two production faces.  The workforce of 500 men produced 330,000 tonnes per year, mainly for power stations and house coal.

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KIVETON PARK

 

Sunk in 1866 to the Barnsley seam and deepened to the Thorncliffe at 669 yards in 1884.  The yearly output was 450,000 tonnes per year, won from 3 Clowne faces equipped with power roof supports.  A drift from the Clowne seam was started in 1974 and completed in 1977, the drift was used for man riding and materials.  Other seams worked were the Barnsley and the High Hazel seams.

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MANTON

Another Nottinghamshire colliery but administered by South Yorkshire, 2 miles east of  Worksop.  Its shafts at over 950 yards are among the deepest in the country.  Shaft sinking began in 1898 to the Top Hard seam at 723 yards, other seams worked were the Deep Soft and the Parkgate seams.  The current output is 900,000 tonnes a year from 4 faces in the Parkgate seam.

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Thanks to Jim for sending in the following pictures of South Kirkby Colliery, he wrote the following.

My house in 
Hemsworth backed on to the fields that led down to Kirkby pit. 
Depending on which way the wind was blowing we could hear the tannoy 
system in the pit yard. The pictures where taken September 1991.

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