Dronfield & Unstone
Collieries > C-D
Dronfield & Unstone Collieries. SK 36/37.
Apperknowle 381785
Barns
Bull Close 358767
Cowley 338771
Cowley New 337778
Day Hole 351767. Tramway shaft 34857705
Dronfield Silkstone (Old) 362784
Dronfield Silkstone (New) Main 350788
Dronfield Woodhouse 333786
Fallswood (New) 359778
Fallswood (Old) 355780
Fullswood ? May be one of the two above.
Firthwood 366785
Gomersal 356780
Gosforth 342782
Grass Croft
Green Lane
Hill Top 354774
Hirst Hollow 328781
Hundall 386771
Hundow
Kitchen Wood
Longcroft
Mickley 326793
Moor Top (Unstone)
North Unstone 369783
Oxclose 338781
Riddins
Ryefield No1
Sicklebrook Lane
Sloads colliery
Railway Bill Head. Glynn Waite.
Sheards Colliery (Possibly Sheards Gosforth Colliery) Photograph Copyright. Robert Gratton.
John Sheard owner from 1874-1881.
Summerley 369780
Summerley Colliery Coke Ovens 36967 78063
Stubley 340787
Town Field (Dronfield)
Trownymain 388794
Two Oaks (Unstone)
Unstone 378770
Unstone Drift
Unstone Grange 381777
Unstone Main 373776
Unstone Silkstone 37337715
Barns Colliery.
January 10th 1852.
Workmen Wanted.
Good workmen steady in their attendance to work may meet with constant employment. Apply to Spurr and Hunter Barns colliery Stubley Dronfield. Men accustomed to the Blackshale bed preferred.
March 27th 1852
Engine tenter wanted accustomed to work a winding colliery engine may meet with employment on application to Spurr and Hunter Barnes colliery Stubley.
Bull Close Colliery.
October 7th 1871.
Accident at Bull Close Colliery.
On Friday morning an accident happened at Bull Close colliery to a man named George Booker a miner in the pit who had brought a wagon of coal to the bottom of the shaft. Whilst there the cage was being raised and the wagon thereon 'tipped' striking Booker on the head and chest inflicting serious injury and laying bare the skull in a frightful manner.
September 2nd 1874.
Boiler Explosion at Bull Close Colliery.
On Monday a steam boiler connected with the engine used for raising coal at a colliery belonging to Mr. J.L. Hewitt at Bull Close Colliery Dronfield exploded doing a considerable amount of damage and placed the lives of several men in great jeopardy. The damage is estimated at between £250/£300 beside the stopping of the pit for several weeks which will throw a considerable number of men idle.
August 17th 1889.
Colliery and Plant to be Sold.
Bull Close Colliery and Farm Dronfield, under an execution from the Sheriff of Derbyshire re William Hewitt. John Turner and Son will sell by auction on the premises of William Hewitt colliery proprietor and farmer the whole of the fixed and loose colliery plant. Horizontal winding engine eighteen inch stroke with fly wheel and four feet metal drum, donkey engine to feed boilers. Headstocks with two pulley wheels four feet in diameter, two winding ropes, two pit cages, pit bank weighing machine by Hodgson and Stead of Manchester, cart weighing machine by Pooley, two coal tipplers, two coal screens. Sale commences 10:00am. Bull Close is about one mile from Unstone and Dronfield stations.
September 3rd 1892.
Colliery Plant for Sale at New Bull Close Colliery.
For sale all the colliery plant comprising of, 5 horse power vertical engine boiler combined with injector, drum and clutch gear complete. The pit is about 1 mile from Dronfield station.
Dronfield Silkstone Colliery and Company
July 26th 1879.
Dronfield Silkstone Coal Company; Winding up Order.
(Summary p4 col 3).
Davis and Shoesmith have received instructions from the Official Liquidator to sell by auction the loose plant and machinery etc. Hallowes sinking pit portable steam engine and boiler combined. The new and old collieries at Gosforth horizontal steam engine 14 inch cylinder. Two spare winding drums 10 foot and 8 foot. Two winding drums for flat ropes and spur wheels, pit wagons or corves, round and square slack wagons, 1,300 pit props, set of haulage gear by Olivers Chesterfield, 20,000 common bricks, wagon tippler.
November 20th 1880.
The Dronfield Silkstone Colliery Company.
In the Chancery Division the Master of the Rolls had before him a claim in the winding up of the company to £1,138 by the owners of the Somerville Colliery which adjoins that worked by the company. The claim to recover damages to that amount in respect of wrongful working beyond the boundary alleged to have taken place in 1878.
October 17th 1891.
Dispute at Dronfield Silkstone Colliery owned by the Unstone Coal and Coke Company.
On Monday a dispute between the above company and the men in their employ at the Dronfield Silkstone pit again came up before the Eckington magistrates. It will be remembered that there has been friction between the manager Mr. R.J. Barnes because Mr. Barnes would not let the men leave the pit when they liked by walking up the engine plain when the engine was at work.
Fallswood Colliery October 31st 1863.
Wanted.
Wanted a number of colliers at this colliery. Steady men will meet with constant employment.
Gosforth Colliery
December 27th 1890
Important Colliery Case.
On Monday at Eckington petty sessions before J.F. Swallow esq. and Major L. Butler-Bowden the adjourned case in which John Sheard proprietor of Gosforth colliery Dronfield and George Parkes manager of same were charged by H.M. Inspector of Mines. The prosecution was fully gone into at the last hearing, the case was adjourned for the prosecuting solicitor to produce the plans of the mine that he had forgotten to take the proper course to ensure their production at the last meeting.
The charge was for neglecting to put a certain number of boreholes at a distance of not less than 5 yards in advance of certain working places. Fred Webster collier said he was boring during the month of November in the number 5 heading and he had only bored 4 yards when he came to water. John Moseley undermanager of the Gosforth colliery said on the 6th November he examined number 5 and number 12 headings. In the number 5 the centre borehole was only 4 yards and the number 12 was 3 yards 9 inches. He did not think that there was a dangerous accumulation of water in either place.
(Long report-procedures-questioning etc).
Mr. Sheard was fined £10 plus 13/6d costs. Mr. Parkes was fined 1/- plus 13/6 costs. Mr. Busby mentioned the question of the Crown Court subpoena which they had been obliged to procure and he considered the costs ought to be borne by the defendants. The bench ordered Mr. Sheard to pay £1.
This was one of the most serious cases that had been before the bench for years. The whole of the men employed in the pit might have been drowned.
The hearing of the case lasted two and a half hours.
Grass Croft Colliery
March 12th 1898
New Colliery Opened.
Messrs. W. Jackson and Sons have opened a new colliery called the Grass Croft colliery. It is situated about 1 1/4 miles from Dronfield on the road leading from Dronfield Hill Top to Barlow.
Green Lane Colliery
May 7th 1870
Colliery Sale.
Mr. Siddall begs to announce that he has received instructions from Messrs. William Booker to sell by auction at the above colliery on Monday 9th May the whole of the working plant and materials. One horizontal engine of 30 horsepower. Diameter of flywheel 11 feet 6 inches. Winding drum 6 feet. 56 coal wagons, headgear and 250 yards of pitch pine conductors.
Hill Top Colliery Dronfield
December 22nd 1869
Colliery Sale.
Mr. G. Siddall has been favoured with instructions from Mr. William W. Barker who has finished his colliery to sell by auction on Monday 27th December the valuable colliery plant, Horses and other effects. Winding and headgear, ten; four hundredweight corves, six tons of wrought iron, bridge rails, weighing machine, four carts, bellows and coke barrels and also a peach mare 13 1/2 hands, brown horse 15 1/2 hands, brown mare seven years old 15 hands, brown mare eight years old 16 hands. Sale to commence at 1:00pm at Dronfield on December 27th.
February 8th 1890
Offence against the Coal Mines Act at Dronfield.
On Monday at Dronfield petty sessions George Hoggart colliery manager Dronfield was summoned by H.M. Inspector of Mines for an offence against the Coal Mines Act 1887 'by failing to produce an adequate amount of ventilation for the safety of the persons working in the mine' at Hill Top Dronfield on 18th December.
The defendant was manager and part owner of Hill Top Colliery Dronfield. The mine used two shafts to get to the workings and they are some distance from the shafts. The ventilation on 18th December was passing down one shaft and instead of going into the workings it went right out of the other shaft. On that day the manager's brother went into the workings and found that a certain amount of choke gas or carbonic acid existed. He informed his brother but nothing was done by the manager to remedy the matter that day and on the following day the pit was allowed to remain precisely in the same condition. On the 20th a man named Hurst went into the pit and the defendant informed him not to go into the workings of the mine as he knew the choke gas still existed. When the defendant became aware of the choke gas all he had got to do was put up a brattice cloth and instead of the air passing down one shaft and up the other it would have diverted it and sent it into the workings and cleared away the gas.
Although the defendant did not go into the workings for some unknown cause the man did, the result being that he was overcome by the damp and fell down and died. After the brattice had been put up the ventilation was rendered complete in 3/4 of an hour. They were then able to secure the body of the deceased.
The defendant was manager and part owner with three other men. There were only six men employed altogether. The colliery was now closed and the defendant along with his partners had lost all their money to the extent of £60 and they would now have to go and work in the pits as they were practically penniless. The colliery was opened in 1889 and was being filled up. The owners had paid all the expenses of the deceased man.
The object of the Coal Mines Act was to protect life and the defendant had neglected his duties very likely like other small owners did in the neighbourhood and he hoped that this case would act as a warning to those who undertook to work small collieries and impress upon them the fact that life must be properly protected. He was fined £10 plus costs.
Hundow Colliery
December 28th 1872
Mysterious Death at the Colliery.
A shocking and some what mysterious death occurred at the above colliery owned by Messrs. Bainbridge and Company Dronfield. A man named John Marples of about 50 a native of Apperknowle was found lying dead at the bottom of the pumping shaft a distance of about 85 yards.
Mickley Colliery
May have been one of several collieries in this area but a Mickley colliery was sunk in 1906.
October 8th 1887
Colliery Plant Sale.
John Turner and Son are honoured with instructions to sell Mickley colliery near Dore and Totley station near Sheffield. The whole of the colliery plant consisting of three winding and hand haulage engines, two direct steam pumping engines, two pitch pine headgears with spider pulley wheels and other equipment. October 22nd 1887. The above colliery has been disposed of by private treaty.
Riddins Colliery
August 17th 1872
Another New Colliery for Dronfield.
Another new colliery, one of two new shafts of a new colliery has just been commenced by Messrs. Andrew Badger and Sons on land called the Riddins about quarter of a mile south west of the town. The coal is that of the Silkstone bed.
October 1st 1864
An Earlier Dispute.
Mr. W.A. Badger colliery proprietor Dronfield charged Thomas Jackson collier of using threatening language towards him at the pit. Mr. Badger said Jackson was a violent man and threatened to smash his head in. The defendant applied for his wages of 25/- but Mr. Badger took his ticket and tore it up. Mr. Badger was to pay the wages and Mr. Jackson the costs.
Sloads Colliery
August 12th 1854
Colliery Sale.
To be sold by auction upon the premises of Messrs. Swindell and Salt Sloads colliery, complete gearing for the working of two pits, three new pit ropes, and ten corves.
Stubley (Hollow) Colliery
Abandoned by 1907
Shafts at least 193 feet deep.
Summerley Colliery
Summerley Colliey worked the local Silkstone or Blackshale seam.
It was sunk in 1871, producing coke for the Sheffield iron and steel works from its beehive shaped coke ovens.
The remains of these ovens are on private land and are a Scheduled Ancient Monument
The colliery closed in 1884.
Coke ovens. SK 36967 78063.
May 2nd 1877
Sale of Coals.
James Rhodes and Son supply their hand picked (branch) coal and Silkstone house coal, seconds house coal and screened Silkstone nuts direct to customers at the lowest market prices of the day to any part of the town. Information as to prices and orders addressed to No3 coal office Chesterfield station.
January 3rd 1880
Sale of Livestock.
Mr J.D. Styring has received instructions from the owners of the above colliery to sell by auction 28 ponies and horses and surplus stock etc.
November 29th 1884
Rhodes v Rhodes.
At the court of Chantrey. Summerly colliery Dronfield. Messrs. Nicholson, Greaves and Palmer are instructed to sell by auction on Monday 1st December. 170 pit corves, horse box, cage, tram rails, 10,000 sleepers and boiler. Dronfield station is within five minutes walk to the colliery.
Town Field Colliery
August 5th 1890
Accidental Death of Owner.
Thomas Gascoyne one of the proprietors of the above colliery died from injuries caused by falling down the pit. Frederick Gascoyne identified the body as that of his brother aged 47 at the inquest held at the Green Dragon Inn.
Two Oaks Colliery Unstone
August 6th 1892
Colliery Plant Sale.
To be sold by auction the colliery plant, 6 horse power haulage engine with drum, vertical boilers, Cornish pumping engine, cart weighing machine up to six tons. The colliery is situated within 1/2 mile of Unstone station.
Unstone Ironworks set up in 1848 by the local coalmaster Walter Rangley.
Hand Bill, Glynn Waite.
