Heath, Holmewood - oldminer.co.uk

The years 1870-1930 saw a massive expansion of the British coal industry with output increasing from 11,000,000 tons in 1870 to 287,000,000 tons in 1913. It was in this era that the Holmewood colliery was developed from 1868. The Hardwick colliery company was formed in 1830 from the Wingerworth coal company and sank Lings colliery on Williamthorpe Road in 1840 which produced Top Hard Coal until its closure in 1896. By 1890 the company were looking for new mining leases and one was purchased for a large amount of coal by one of the company owners John Chambers. The company sold out to form a new company the Hardwick coal company, with a share capital of £350,000 in 1900 and which bought up other small colliery companies and private partnerships which had worked this area since the early 1800's.

On Thursday evening last a dinner was given in the schoolroom belonging to The Wingerworth Coal Company at North Wingfield for the sinkers, foremen and others in celebration of the opening of the Holmewood Colliery which was commenced about seven months ago on the Duke of Devonshire’s estate at Holmewood. The shaft is 63 yards deep and the coal, which was reached last week, proves to be a good hard coal of excellent quality and the seam averaging about 4 feet 9 inches in thickness.  A most substantive plant has been erected and the whole operations have been most successfully carried out without loss of life or limb. It is intended to lay down a short line of railway from the pit mouth to the “Dukes line” North Wingfield a distance of about half a mile.  

17th May 1876.  

Following the great wages dispute 400 men have recommenced work at Holmewood Colliery.   

All the men employed at the Holmewood Colliery came out on

strike on Wednesday.  

17th March 1900.  

27th May 1911.   

Interesting scenes on Sunday were watched by a large number of people in the unloading of three large boilers to be used to generate steam for the working of the plant in connection with 50 new coke ovens.

15th July 1922.

The King held an investiture at Buckingham Palace on Saturday when the Edward medal was bestowed on Messrs. Samuel Peters, Joseph Harrison, Harold Wood and Thomas Calladine of Hardwick Collieries Holmewood for bravery at a time when two men were entombed in the pit at Holmewood. It will be remembered that Messrs. J. James of Clay Cross and E.Watson of Hepthorne Lane were cut off by a fall of roof and imprisoned for 96 hours in a space  15 yards by 10 feet wide and 6 feet high. They were fed through a pipe and it was due to the indefatigable hard work and pluck that the four rescuers above together with the Manager Mr.Collis and other brave workers that the men were extricated little the worse for their adventure. Messrs. Samuel Peters , Thomas Calladine, Joseph Harrison and Harold West were received at the Home Office at 9.30a.m. Saturday morning last and conducted thence through to St. James Palace. In one room the hooks for receiving the medals were pinned on. Later the rescuers were received by his Majesty in another apartment.

Thus reads the Company report, "These four men were engaged for practically the whole time in a dangerous position at the face of the fall.  They were exposed to the risk of injury from falling stones and displayed a dogged courage and endurance."

Each medal is suspended on a royal blue ribbon edged with yellow.

Mr. Peters describing the event to our representative said, "He bad first to report to the Home Office and from thence we were led up to the palace. The party were all introduced to Mr.R.Smillie the well known miners leader who was accompanying one of his countrymen who had been awarded a similar honour. Upon our arrival at the palace we were shown into a large waiting room along with others for similar decorations including other miners, sailors, police and firemen. The investiture took place in another large hall where some 48 gentlemen were knighted immediately preceding our investiture. We were ushered into the presence of the King and his Majesty fixed on the medal and shook hands with us speaking a few words of congratulations.

An inquest was held at Hasland touching the death of William Gilbert an engineman at Lings Colliery who died as a result of injuries received as a result of a boiler explosion. He was in charge of the 40 hp Ling’s engine and he also had charge of the pumping engine at Williamthorpe colliery where the explosion took place.   

11th July 1868.   

An accident was held on Wednesday last on the body of John Winter coal miner aged 17 years before the Coroner to inquire into the circumstances of the death of the deceased. It appeared that on Saturday 27th June deceased was going down an incline in the pit with a train of wagons and was riding on the last one when the one following was let go by carelessness and rammed into the one the deceased was on. He was thrown off and received such injuries that he died on Friday last.   

Mr. J. Ward charged eleven colliers with leaving their work on the 4th inst. without giving due and proper notice. The complaint was that the defendants who worked at the Lings pit owned by the Wingerworth Coal Company ought to have gone down to their work on Thursday morning between 5.00 a.m. and 6.00 a.m. but they did not do so. The employers claimed 30/- per man. The only cause for their refusal to go down was that there was something alleged to be wrong with the weighing machine but the men had their own checkweighman at this machine and in the event of anything being wrong or suspect the proper course was to have called the attention of the proper authorities and have it treated.

12th December 1863.  

9th January 1864.

Hard Coal 6/8d per ton, Soft Coal 5/- per ton, leading 2/6d, J. Brockmer agent.

All orders for Owlcotes coal will receive prompt attention at R. Hunter, St. Helens Street Chesterfield.  

Further reduction in Owlcotes Colliery coal prices, Best Hard Coal 6/8d per ton, and Best Soft coal 5/- per ton at the pit. Best Hard Coal 9/6d and Best Soft Coal 8/- per ton delivered in Chesterfield. Orders received by John Hadfield, hairdresser and toy merchant Cavendish Street Chesterfield.   

1st March 1879.   

The company after many months of labour have reached their new bed of coal, samples of which show it to be even superior to the fine bed that is now finished. The

prices from this day are considerably reduced thereby enabling the poorest amongst to enjoy the comforts of a clean fireside – prices range upwards from 2/6d per ton.  

5th January 1884.  

16th September 1890.

A meeting of the men employed at Peewit Colliery was held at North Wingfield with respect to a dispute as to the wages paid to the men at the colliery, which is under the Wingerworth Coal Company. The men contended that the work there had been gradually getting worse and the coal took more getting and a considerable amount of powder had to be used. The men were getting least 1/- per day behind any colliery in the county that Mr. Harvey knew of and after deducting the money for powder the men were getting on average less than 4/10d per day.  

Although the ground yielded 2.5 tons of water per minute with a pressure of 600-700 psi. The iron plates were so tight that the shaft was watertight for the extent of the flooded strata. The shaft was completed in 1905 and became the deepest colliery in the Midlands. Williamthorpe colliery had triple deck cages with a capacity of twelve trams, or seven tons of coal with a winding time of forty five seconds. The steam winding engines were made by Markhams and company of Chesterfield with a forty two inch diameter cylinder and a seven foot stroke.

Colliery photographs from the collection of Bill Skevington.

Medal.

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