Image ID: 24417

Brinsley Colliery, Brinsley

Brinsley Colliery
Brinsley
England

Looking towards the twin headstocks of Brinsley Colliery. Coal has been mined in the Eastwood area for nearly 700 years. Originally, the monks of Beauvale Priory held the coal mining rights and there may have been shallow workings dating further back to Roman times. By the 1870s the good quality 'top hard' coal at Brinsley had been almost exhausted and a second shaft was sunk in 1872 to a depth of 780 feet (238m). The 'tandem' headstocks, seen in this picture, were erected at this time. Each cage was suspended from a steel cable and held six men. At its peak of production the colliery produced around 500 tons of coal a day and employed 361 men, 282 of whom worked at the coal faces. By 1930, coal reserves had been exhausted but the shafts were kept open until 1970 to access neighbouring pits. The Brinsley Colliery site has now been landscaped and turned into a picnic area. The headstocks were restored, and returned to their original site. D H Lawrence's father worked at Brinsley Colliery.

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Keywordscoalminingheadstocksmachinerytwincollieryindustrialindustryruralfield

Eastwood Library