Location | |
---|---|
Location | Carcroft |
County | South Yorkshire |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 53°34′55″N1°11′11″W / 53.581932°N 1.186288°W |
Production | |
Products | Coal |
Production | 700,000 tonnes (770,000 tons) |
Financial year | 1930–1931 [1] |
History | |
Opened | 1908 (coaling began in 1911) |
Closed | 1970 |
Owner | |
Company | Bullcroft Main Colliery Ltd Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd British Coal |
Bullcroft Colliery was a coal mine situated by the village of Carcroft north of Doncaster. It operated from 1908 to 1970.
The Bullcroft Colliery Company was formed in April 1908 and sinking of the shafts commenced immediately. In January 1909, at a depth of 100 feet (30 m), a water course yielding over 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L) per minute was struck, it was capped back and sinking continued but only a month later, at 180 feet (55 m), another water course, big enough to be described as a "subterranean river", was struck - too much for the steam operated pumps to cope with. Electric pumps were brought in to cope with the flow but even with a capability of 6,250 US gallons (23,700 L) per minute they couldn't cope and sinking was stopped so the full situation could be assessed. [2]
It was decided to withdraw the pumps and freeze the ground. Commencing January 1910 the first freeze was unsuccessful and a second, after the shafts had iron "tubbing" installed, commenced in February 1911. This was successful, and sinking recommenced finally reaching the coal measures in December 1911 at 657 yards (601 m) below the surface. [3]
Before the colliery company arrived, the nearby settlement of Carcroft consisted of only 50 houses. By 1910, an additional 400 houses had been erected to cope with the influx of miners and their families. [2]
Between 1908 and 1940 the company traded as Bullcroft Main Colliery Ltd. It merged with five other collieries (Brodsworth, Hickleton, Markham Main and Yorkshire Main) in 1940 to form the Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd. In 1947, the enterprise was nationalised into British Coal. [4] [5]
The colliery worked normally until 1968 when it was joined to Brodsworth Colliery by a 550-yard (500 m) drift and a 1,800-yard (1,600 m) long conveyor made it possible that Bullcroft coal could be brought up at Brodsworth for washing etc.
The collieries officially merged in 1970, with the final shift clocking off on 25 September of that year. [1] As the last remaining seam could be reached via the Brodsworth Colliery, the Bullcroft shafts were filled, using spoil from pit heaps and capped. Bullcroft Colliery kept its landsale depot to deal with concessionary coal and retained a locomotive to work it for about a year afterwards.
The colliery was served by a branch off the Hull and Barnsley and Great Central Joint Railway and a connection to the West Riding and Grimsby Railway. [6]
The colliery had its own football team, which competed in the FA Cup on numerous occasions.
On 20 March 1923, John William Severn Carlin aged 20 was crushed by a tub that he had uncoupled from the front, the incline from the mine entrance was steep, the tub ran away with him still in the kneeling position and crushed him against the stationery tubs, he sustained broken femur and internal injuries, he died at Doncaster Infirmary after surgery of shock and exhaustion. The coroner gave a verdict of accidental death and asked that the colliery ensure that tubs are uncoupled from behind in future. John left a wife of three years.
On 13 January 1937, Kenneth Oliver, 14, was killed in accident whilst he was uncoupling tubs from the internal conveyor system. Oliver was under adult supervision, but his death lead to questions being raised in Parliament about boys working in mines. [7]
On 19 October 1941, six men died whilst trying to deal with problems within the mine. An ignition of gas just after 3:00 am caused an explosion and killed the men outright. They were about 430 feet (130 m) distant from the shaft bottom and all, bar one, had been members of the mine rescue team. [8]
The 76 acres (31 ha) of land [9] that the colliery occupied above ground is now used as a community parkland. There was a proposal in 2013 to sift the spoil for usable coal. [10] However, the price of coal fell soon afterwards and the plan was abandoned. The local community want the area to be landscaped and the spoil tip removed as has happened at other neighbouring collieries such as Askern, Bentley and Brodsworth. [11]
Brodsworth Colliery was a coal mine north west of Doncaster and west of the Great North Road. in South Yorkshire, England. Two shafts were sunk between October 1905 and 1907 in a joint venture by the Hickleton Main Colliery Company and the Staveley Coal and Iron Company.
Silverwood Colliery was a colliery situated between Thrybergh and Ravenfield in Yorkshire, England. Originally called Dalton Main, it was renamed after a local woodland. It was owned by Dalton Main Collieries Ltd.
The Maltby Main Colliery was a coal mine located 7 miles (11 km) east of Rotherham on the eastern edge of Maltby, South Yorkshire, England. The mine was closed in 2013.
Kiveton Park Colliery was a coal mine in the village of Kiveton Park, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.
Kellingley Colliery, known affectionately as the 'Big K', was a deep coal mine in North Yorkshire, England, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) east of Ferrybridge power station. It was owned and operated by UK Coal.
The South Yorkshire Coalfield is so named from its position within Yorkshire. It covers most of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and a small part of North Yorkshire. The exposed coalfield outcrops in the Pennine foothills and dips under Permian rocks in the east. Its most famous coal seam is the Barnsley Bed. Coal has been mined from shallow seams and outcrops since medieval times and possibly earlier.
Pleasley Colliery is a former English coal mine. It is located to the north-west of Pleasley village, which sits above the north bank of the River Meden on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border. It lies 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Mansfield and 9 miles (14.5 km) south of Chesterfield. From the south it commands a prominent position on the skyline, although less so now than when the winders were in operation and both chimney stacks were in place. The colliery is situated at about 500 ft (152m) above sea level and is aligned on a NE–SW axis following the trend of the river valley at this point.
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell, Staffordshire in Stoke on Trent, England. It was the largest mine working the North Staffordshire Coalfield and was the first colliery in the UK to produce one million tons of saleable coal in a year.
Yorkshire Main Colliery was a coal mine situated within the village of Edlington, south west of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.
Dinnington Main Colliery was a coal mine situated in the village of Dinnington, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.
Hatfield Colliery, also known as Hatfield Main Colliery, was a colliery in the South Yorkshire Coalfield, mining the High Hazel coal seam. The colliery was around 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Hatfield, South Yorkshire, adjacent north of the railway line from Doncaster to Scunthorpe northeast of Hatfield and Stainforth railway station.
Bradford Colliery was a coal mine in Bradford, Manchester, England. Although part of the Manchester Coalfield, the seams of the Bradford Coalfield correspond more closely to those of the Oldham Coalfield. The Bradford Coalfield is crossed by a number of fault lines, principally the Bradford Fault, which was reactivated by mining activity in the mid-1960s.
Wheldale Colliery was a coal mine located in Castleford, Yorkshire, England which produced coal for 117 years. It was accessed from Wheldon Road.
This is a partial glossary of coal mining terminology commonly used in the coalfields of the United Kingdom. Some words were in use throughout the coalfields, some are historic and some are local to the different British coalfields.
Hapton Valley Colliery was a coal mine on the edge of Hapton near Burnley in Lancashire, England. Its first shafts were sunk in the early 1850s and it had a life of almost 130 years, surviving to be the last deep mine operating on the Burnley Coalfield.
Barrow Colliery was a coal mine in Worsborough, South Yorkshire, England. It was first dug in 1873, with the first coal being brought to the surface in January 1876. It was the scene of a major incident in 1907 when seven miners died. After 109 years of coaling operations, the mine was closed in May 1985.
Bentley Colliery was a coal mine in Bentley, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, that operated between 1906 and 1993. In common with many other mines, it suffered disasters and accidents. The worst Bentley disaster was in 1931 when 45 miners were killed after a gas explosion. The site of the mine has been converted into a woodland.
Upton Colliery was a coal mine near to the village of Upton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site was 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north west of Doncaster and 10 miles (16 km) north east of Barnsley. Coal was transhipped from the colliery by the former Hull and Barnsley Railway line.