Coventry Colliery

Last updated

Coventry Colliery
Location
Location Keresley
CountryEngland
Coordinates 52°27′25″N1°31′41″W / 52.457°N 1.528°W / 52.457; -1.528
Production
ProductsCoal
History
Opened1911
Active1917–1991
Closed1991
Owner
Company1911–1924: Warwickshire Coal Company
1924–1947: Coltness Iron Company
1947–1991: National Coal Board

Coventry Colliery was a coal mine located in the village of Keresley End in northern Warwickshire, between Bedworth and Coventry, England. Closed in 1991, the site today has been redeveloped as a distribution park, owned by Prologis.

Contents

Wykens Collieries

Wyken Collieries Ltd had started to extract coal from coal seams within the Warwickshire Coalfield from 1862, across three mining developments in North Warwickshire: [1]

In 1902, the company commenced trial excavations at Keresley north of Coventry, and soon discovered a viable coal seam. The sinking of a new mine was sanctioned by an Act of Parliament, but not started due to economic problems. [1]

Development

The abandoned dual-steam engine pump house of the Coventry Canal/Oxford Canal at Hawkesbury Junction. Made redundant by the sinking of the shafts of the Coventry Colliery in 1913, after this time water ingress into the colliery was pumped out into the canals The Engine House at Hawkesbury Junction, Warwickshire - geograph.org.uk - 1124546.jpg
The abandoned dual-steam engine pump house of the Coventry Canal/Oxford Canal at Hawkesbury Junction. Made redundant by the sinking of the shafts of the Coventry Colliery in 1913, after this time water ingress into the colliery was pumped out into the canals

On 14 February 1911, the investors in the Wykens Collieries formed the new Warwickshire Coal Company Ltd, to take over the mines of the Wykens company and develop the coal seam at Keresley. [1] The sinking of the shafts of the Coventry Colliery were begun immediately. By 1913, the shafts had reached below the geographical reach of the single 114 feet (35 m) shaft of the Hawkesbury Junction steam engine pump house supplying water to both the Coventry and Oxford Canals. Originally built in 1821, it housed a Newcomen steam engine, which was brought from Griff Colliery, where it had already worked for 100 years. Named Lady Godiva , it was decommissioned in 1913 but left in place, moved to the Dartmouth Museum in the 1960s. This geographic resource meant that the colliery had an immediate outlet for its pumped-out water ingress. [2]

Operations

With the twin shafts sunk to a depth of 720 yards (660 m), the mine began operating in 1917. [3] Originally, the colliery had its own branch from the Coventry Canal, but in 1919 with the return of the men from the First World War, production increased. A separate and new 2 miles (3.2 km) private railway was constructed from the LNWR's Coventry to Nuneaton Line at Three Spires Junction. [3]

As a result of the mines expansion, the village of Keresley expanded. Modern new houses were built in the new expansion areas of Keresley Newlands and Keresley End, which included the inclusion of inside toilets and good sized gardens. In 1924 the mine company built a Social Club, operated by the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. [4] The club closed in May 2012, after losses mounted to £500 per day. [5]

The former Coventry Colliery Social Club Coventry and Keresley Colliery Sports and Social Club - geograph.org.uk - 227272.jpg
The former Coventry Colliery Social Club

In 1924 all shares in Warwickshire Coal Co Ltd were acquired by the Coltness Iron Company (CIC) Ltd. With the closure due to complete workout in 1927 of the Craven Colliery, all miners were transferred to the Coventry Colliery. [1] With significant contracts to supply coal to electricity generation stations in Birmingham and Coventry, including the Hams Hall power stations, the company hired in over 1,000 coal wagons. By 1939, the last year of full production before the Second World War, the colliery was producing over 1,000,000 long tons (1,000,000 t) of coal per annum. [1]

Memorial to the former workers of both the Coventry Colliery and the smokeless fuel plant, now located on the redeveloped ProLogis distribution park Keresley - Coventry Colliery Memorial.jpg
Memorial to the former workers of both the Coventry Colliery and the smokeless fuel plant, now located on the redeveloped ProLogis distribution park

Nationalised on 1 January 1947, the colliery became part of the National Coal Board's (NCB) Area 4 (Warwickshire). In the early 1960s, the NCB started a development of a smokeless coal plant, known as a Homefire Plant, on site. [4] This came into production in 1967, and resultantly in an NCB reorganisation the Coventry Colliery became part of the South Midlands Area (SMD). [1]

Somewhat unusually for a colliery in the Midlands, there was substantial support for the UK miners' strike (1984–85), and it had a majority of the workforce on strike for a large part of the dispute.

The colliery closed for redevelopment in October 1991, [1] with the site handed over to the local authority in 1996. The Homefire Plant closed in 2000.

Transport

Originally, the colliery had its own branch from the Coventry Canal. [3]

But the large amounts of spoil created, and the reduction in shipping charges associated with building materials, necessitated the building of a temporary 2 miles (3.2 km) private railway, which connected with the LNWR's Coventry to Nuneaton Line at Three Spires Junction near Foleshill. [3] In 1919, with the return of the men from the First World War, production increased. The line was hence rebuilt as double track with extensive sidings adjacent to Three Spires Junction, and formally used for the distribution of extracted coal. [1]

Ex-GWR 1500 Class No.1501, now in preservation at the Severn Valley Railway Rth Rly GWR 1501 Bewdley 22.09.12R edited-2.jpg
Ex-GWR 1500 Class No.1501, now in preservation at the Severn Valley Railway

On site the railway operated both 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) and 2 ft (610 mm), the later used for the distribution of spoil and goods onsite. [1] The company bought its own locomotives to operate these private lines, bought new and secondhand from a range of manufacturers, including Andrew Barclay Sons & Co., North British Locomotive and Peckett and Sons. [1]

In the early 1960s, with the Beeching Axe making ex-British Railways (BR) steam engine types cheaply available, the NCB bought three ex-Great Western Railway 1500 Class 0-6-0 Pannier Tanks in 1962, No.s 1501, 1502 and 1509. All three were sent to Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. in Scotland for refurbishment before use on the colliery system, and their being brought into operation resulted in all of the other existing standard gauge locomotives being scrapped onsite. [1]

In 1970, the NCB contracted in British Rail Class 08 diesel shunters. [1] The three 1500 Class locomotives were sold into preservation at the Severn Valley Railway, with 1502 and 1509 providing a kit of spares to refurbish 1501, before they were scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge in October 1970. 1501's boiler certificate expired in 2006, and is currently undergoing overhaul on the SVR. [1]

Locomotives

The colliery company/NCB owned and operated locomotives were: [1]

LocomotiveGaugeTypeManufacturerBuiltAcquiredDisposedNotes
Renown4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)0-4-0ST Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. 191119111933Bought new, sold on to other owners
Coventry No.14 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)0-6-0T North British Locomotive Company 193919391970Bought new, 1962 to Ansley, 1963 to Newdigate, 1965 to Haunchwood, 1967 back to Newdigate, 1970 sold to Quainton Rly Soc. Now used as Thomas
Coventry No.24 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)0-6-0ST Peckett and Sons 19 May 1924 [6] 1924September 1969Type OX1. Bought new, works No. 1662. Refurbished at Andrew Barclay in 1963, it worked at the Arley Colliery, before returning to the Coventry Colliery in September 1968. Scrapped onsite by Thos. W. Ward the following year
Coventry No.34 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)0-6-0STPeckett and Sons192519251963Type OX1. Bought new, scrapped onsite
Coventry No.44 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)0-6-0STPeckett and Sons192719271963Type OX1. Bought new, scrapped onsite
Coventry No.54 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)0-6-0T Sharp, Stewart and Company 19331962Ex-Barry Railway Class A, scrapped onsite
William Stratford4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)0-6-0TAndrew Barclay Sons & Co.192319581962Ex-Baddesley Colliery, scrapped onsite
No.15014 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) 0-6-0PT Swindon Works 194919621970Acquired from British Railways 1962. Sold into preservation at the Severn Valley Railway
No.15024 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) 0-6-0PT Swindon Works194919621970Acquired from British Railways 1962. Source of spares for No.1501, scrapped October 1970 at Cashmore's, Great Bridge
No.15094 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) 0-6-0PT Swindon Works194919621970Acquired from British Railways 1962. Source of spares for No.1501, scrapped October 1970 at Cashmore's, Great Bridge
Coventry No.62 ft (610 mm)0-4-0WT Orenstein & Koppel 191119291942Ex-Thos. W. Ward
Coventry No.72 ft (610 mm)2-A John Fowler & Co. 193819381961First diesel to operate on the colliery system

Prologis Park, Coventry

Warehouses developed on Prologis Park, a distribution park built on the site of the former Coventry Colliery. The site retains its connection to the UK National Rail Network via Network Rail Redevelopment at Coventry Colliery, Keresley - geograph.org.uk - 227046.jpg
Warehouses developed on Prologis Park, a distribution park built on the site of the former Coventry Colliery. The site retains its connection to the UK National Rail Network via Network Rail

After British Coal handed the site over to the local authority in 1996, the site was divided into three areas: [4]

After the closure of the Homefire plant in 2000, that area was also redeveloped as part of the distribution park. Retaining its connection to the national rail network via Network Rail, the site also has road connections to the M6 motorway.

In 2008, a memorial was erected to the former miners of the colliery and workers at the smokeless fuel plant.

The link road off Wheelwright Lane, which commences next to the level crossing, is named Winding House Lane.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Coal Board</span> British statutory corporation, 1946–1987

The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "vesting day", 1 January 1947. In 1987, the NCB was renamed the British Coal Corporation, and its assets were subsequently privatised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nantgarw</span> Human settlement in Wales

Nantgarw is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Cardiff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Coalfield</span> Coal mining area in England

The Kent Coalfield is a coalfield in the eastern part of the English county of Kent. The Coalfields Trust defines the Kent Coalfield as the wards of Barham Downs and Marshside in the Canterbury district, and the wards of Aylesham, Eastry, Eythorne & Shepherdswell, Middle Deal & Sholden, Mill Hill and North Deal in the Dover district.

Agecroft Colliery was a coal mine on the Manchester Coalfield that opened in 1844 in the Agecroft district of Pendlebury, Lancashire, England. It exploited the coal seams of the Middle Coal Measures of the Lancashire Coalfield. The colliery had two spells of use; the first between 1844 and 1932, when the most accessible coal seams were exploited, and a second lease of life after extensive development in the late 1950s to access the deepest seams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holbrooks</span>

Holbrooks is a residential area of Coventry, West Midlands, England.

Bedwas Navigation Colliery was a coal mine in the small Welsh village of Bedwas, two miles (3.2 km) north of Caerphilly. The colliery opened in 1913, and closed after the miners' strike of 1984-85.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keresley End</span>

Keresley End is a village in the Nuneaton & Bedworth District of Warwickshire, England, also known as Keresley Village or Keresley Newlands. Population details can be found under Exhall. It is situated approximately 1.5 km north of Keresley, an outer suburb of Coventry, and, being close to the former Keresley colliery, it was where many coal miners lived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daw Mill</span>

Daw Mill was a coal mine located near the village of Arley, near Nuneaton, in the English county of Warwickshire. The mine was Britain's biggest coal producer. It closed in 2013 following a major fire. It was the last remaining colliery in the West Midlands.

Nantgarw Colliery was a coal mine and later developed Coking coal works, located in the village on Nantgarw, Mid Glamorgan, Wales located just north of Cardiff.

The Astley and Tyldesley Collieries Company formed in 1900 owned coal mines on the Lancashire Coalfield south of the railway in Astley and Tyldesley, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. The company became part of Manchester Collieries in 1929 and some of its collieries were nationalised in 1947.

Tyldesley Coal Company was a coal mining company formed in 1870 in Tyldesley, on the Manchester Coalfield in the historic county of Lancashire, England that had its origins in Yew Tree Colliery, the location for a mining disaster that killed 25 men and boys in 1858.

Fletcher, Burrows and Company was a coal mining company that owned collieries and cotton mills in Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. Gibfield, Howe Bridge and Chanters collieries exploited the coal mines (seams) of the middle coal measures in the Manchester Coalfield. The Fletchers built company housing at Hindsford and a model village at Howe Bridge which included pithead baths and a social club for its workers. The company became part of Manchester Collieries in 1929. The collieries were nationalised in 1947 becoming part of the National Coal Board.

The Warwickshire Coalfield extends between Warwick and Tamworth in the English Midlands. It is about 25 miles (40 km) from north to south and its width is around half that distance. Its western margin is defined by the 'Western Boundary Fault'. In the northeast it abuts against steeply dipping shales of Cambrian age. The larger part of the outcrop at the surface consists of the Warwickshire Group of largely coal-barren red beds. Until its closure in 2013, the Daw Mill mine near Arley within the coalfield, was Britain's biggest coal-producer in the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bickershaw Colliery</span> Former coal mine in Lancashire, England

Bickershaw Colliery was a coal mine, located on Plank Lane in Leigh, then within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astley Green Colliery</span>

Astley Green Colliery was a coal mine in Astley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It was the last colliery to be sunk in Astley. Sinking commenced in 1908 by the Pilkington Colliery Company, a subsidiary of the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company, at the southern edge of the Manchester Coalfield, working the Middle Coal Measures where they dipped under the Permian age rocks under Chat Moss. The colliery was north of the Bridgewater Canal. In 1929 it became part of Manchester Collieries, and in 1947 was nationalised and integrated into the National Coal Board. It closed in 1970, and is now Astley Green Colliery Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradford Colliery</span> Coal mine

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.

The Tarenni Colliery and its associated workings, are a series of coal mines and pits located between the villages of Godre'r Graig and Cilybebyll located in the valley of the River Tawe, in Neath Port Talbot county borough, South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheldale Colliery</span> Former coal mine in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England

Wheldale Colliery was a coal mine located in Castleford, Yorkshire, England which produced coal for 117 years. It was accessed from Wheldon Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haydock Collieries</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnley Coalfield</span> Coal mining region in England

The Burnley Coalfield is the most northerly portion of the Lancashire Coalfield. Surrounding Burnley, Nelson, Blackburn and Accrington, it is separated from the larger southern part by an area of Millstone Grit that forms the Rossendale anticline. Occupying a syncline, it stretches from Blackburn past Colne to the Yorkshire border where its eastern flank is the Pennine anticline.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Coventry Colliery". warwickshirerailways.com. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  2. Nicholson (2003). Nicholson Guide Vol 3 – Birmingham & the Heart of England. Harper Collins. p. 125. ISBN   0-00-713666-8.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Covetry Colliery". waymarking.com. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "Keresley". LocalHistories.org. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  5. Sandish Shoker (4 May 2012). "Coventry Colliery Club closes as losses mount to £500 a day". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  6. "Works Plate: Peckett & Sons Ltd No.1662 Bristol 1924. As carried by an 0-6-0ST with outside cylinders". invaluable.com. Retrieved 19 June 2012.