Jump to content

Holbrook colliery shaft


miamivice

Recommended Posts

11 hours ago, miamivice said:

Is the old metal bridge still there? I remember as a kid it having no steel plates left, there was just a big drop between the girders!

Do you mean this bridge which carries the Great Central Railway formation over the North Midland Old Road?

I gather that it still exists, though much deteriorated as you point out and now, substantially fenced off. I wonder as to how much longer it will escape demolition?

Built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns, to works number 3759, in 1919, Class 01, No.63725, (Shed No.41H, Staveley G.C.), on a down mineral freight, passes over the North Midland Old Road, in the direction of Killamarsh Junction Signal Box, on 18/04/1964. Copyright Retained.

CAI520-RSH.E109.3759-1919, Class 01, No.63725 crossing over L.M.S.R. at Meadowgate Lane, Beighton, direction of Killamarsh Junction, view looking North-18-04-1964.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally took some pictures of what looks like the Pond for the adit that was infilled in 1997. Presuming this was the overflow for the pit water, it’s pretty stagnant now, the adit looks to have been where to gabions are, so the water could flood out? 

960045BE-6F84-4AEA-AAE7-5D00DF9F15EC.jpeg

8692EA58-2635-4DD8-AAEF-04FBC0930203.jpeg

604E8783-B845-46FD-BD26-2E515880794F.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, miamivice said:

Finally took some pictures of what looks like the Pond for the adit that was infilled in 1997. Presuming this was the overflow for the pit water, it’s pretty stagnant now, the adit looks to have been where to gabions are, so the water could flood out? 

960045BE-6F84-4AEA-AAE7-5D00DF9F15EC.jpeg

8692EA58-2635-4DD8-AAEF-04FBC0930203.jpeg

604E8783-B845-46FD-BD26-2E515880794F.jpeg

Is this round the back of Lavers? If so, it looks spot on to where the entrance to the drift mine (adit) was.

Never been that side of the site, but will have to take a look next time we’re over there…

38A727D3-FDBD-487C-AA91-152B5EE4E9F4.jpeg

7AA043A5-F520-4AA3-B302-AD70DF8D7E2C.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s sort of at the apex of the corner between EMR and some other big unit. If as you approach the site from the back of the garage and bear right, it follows round to the enclosure. A lot of this is supposition but the stone gabions are where the outlet is for draining the adit, which according to the Coal Authority was stopped and a small pipe placed inbye to allow it to drain in 1997.

So I’m guessing the original entrance to the Adit may have been where the gabions are or around that area and the drains altered slightly. Either way the chain link fence was full of warnings about ‘Deep Water’ so it’s possible the actual entrance is underwater and the various pipes act as an overflow. The water was deadly stagnant almost like that public information film deterring kids from messing about near water. I don’t know what it is but the whole area where the pit was gives me the creeps! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 27/03/2016 at 15:28, ken wain said:

Hi everybody, you may well have been wondering why I have not contributed to this topic earlier, but as with everything, time is of the essence.

I have been spending a lot of time looking at all the evidence at my disposal, plus some additional research which enabled me to come up with what I think may well answer a lot of the questions raised. With regard to the newspaper article regarding Worrall's pit, just off Rotherham Road at Killamarsh, I can say that I am sure that this is the colliery operated by Mr John Joseph Worrall which he took over from his grandfather. It was situated on "Norwood Bank", midway between the Midland railway and The Chesterfield canal close to the Norwood Colliery on Rotherham Road. Known locally as "Norwood Lane".The colliery closed for three years in 1910 due to a slump in the coal trade and on resumption of work continued to work for a further 40 years until its closure in 1943. All the eight men working at the colliery were members of the Worrall family.  Coal was drawn from the 60 foot shaft by a horse operated "Jenny Wheel". See below the photograph which was taken of Mr Worrall on Norwood Bank in 1939, standing beside the Jenny wheel with the horse harnessed to the operating arm of the wheel. If you look very closely to the right of the photo you can see the horse driver holding its harness! The diameter of the jenny wheel was such that enough rope was wrapped around it to allow for the depth of the shaft so the horse would only have to walk for one revolution of the wheel to raise or lower the coal tub up or down the shaft.

.56f466cbeac03_jennywheel.thumb.jpg.dab96

LUKE WORRALL, of Mosborough who was a farmer and local shopkeeper,went into partnership with a man named Hodgson and sunk two pits in 1830, one in "Beighton Hollows" on Hollow Lane which is just off the main Rotherham Road at Halfway and another smaller one further down the village, but I don't know its location. Hodgson's daughter was killed in the second pit just before Christmas in 1837. The Beighton Hollows pit is the one which I believe was the one which James Walton was referring to in his publication. I knew his son very well; as was mentioned earlier James was not a Councillor but his wife Dorothy was; She was the Lord Mayor of Sheffield for a While, James becoming the Lord Mayor's Consort.  Worrall was a shrewd business man and very little money changed hands between him and his employees as they were forced to buy their food and clothing from his  shop. Vegetables,milk and eggs e.t.c. were all produced on his farm, giving him the monopoly in the local community.

Re Holbrook and Norwood collieries :- Between 1870 and 1872, J&G Wells sunk 3 shafts at Holbrook each being 13 feet in diameter. The shafts were sunk in close proximity to each other. No 1 shaft into the Silkstone seam, and a pumping shaft also into the Silkstone seam. The No3 shaft was sunk into the Parkgate seam.

The photo below shows all three shafts close together along with the three winding houses, but it is of poor quality.

56f7e8330d14d_Holbrookcolliery..thumb.jp

The No 4 shaft which was a pumping shaft was sunk between 1884 and 1885 near to the roundabout in front of Morrisons car park on Rotherham Road. Although this was primarily a pumping shaft a few men worked underground and brought out a small amount of coal. Holbrook colliery had a bank of coke ovens and a wooden framed cooling tower. The coke ovens were modernised in 1908 but were eventually closed in 1935. I have been underground at Holbrook several times, but I will tell you about that later in a new topic. The photo below shows all three shafts close together, but it is of poor quality.

Between 1865 and 1867 the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company sunk a shaft at Norwood, off Rotherham Road Killamarsh, into the Top Hard seam at 510 feet; I am very proud to say that my great,great grandfather Elijah Wain was the master sinker; He and his team completed the sinking without a single accident of any kind. Why the shaft was known as the No2 Shaft remains a mystery because the Holbrook and Norwood collieries were not connected and were at least three miles apart. Common belief is that J&G Wells gave it this name when they took over the Norwood colliery?  I lived in Rotherham Road until I was 25 years of age and as a child I played around the colliery yard watching and riding on the shunting engine under the watchful eye of Mr Smith the engine driver who sometimes let me operate the regulator and drive the engine and operate the whistle.  SHHHH! Those were the days. The company deepened the shaft to 1,000 feet into the Sitwell seam when they took over the colliery in 1916. The third seam, the Thorncliffe  was reached via a Surface drift which was driven some 360 yards away from the colliery shaft. My grandfather worked underground at the colliery and non of my family could remember a second shaft. The colliery had a bank of coke ovens and a wooden framed cooling tower. A gasometer was near to the colliery just across the midland railway line.

Look below for old photo of Norwood colliery and postcard from 1935 which shows Rotherham Road with Norwood colliery at the bottom of the road. You can clearly see the headgear, winding house,chimney and the coke ovens cooling tower. There was never a hint of the colliery having any connection with Holbrook only through ownership and it was always called Norwood Colliery. I hope this has helped answer some of the questions on these topics and look forward to your comments.

nor1.thumb.jpg.54f9c9e055f52857678f704a5

KILLAM.jpg.294d3eb18fd1924e75a619d7efe26

 

Regards,

Ken.

 

With reference to the 'Hodgson' in your very interesting information  "LUKE WORRALL, of Mosborough who was a farmer and local shopkeeper,went into partnership with a man named Hodgson and sunk two pits in 1830, one in "Beighton Hollows" on Hollow Lane which is just off the main Rotherham Road at Halfway and another smaller one further down the village, but I don't know its location. Hodgson's daughter was killed in the second pit just before Christmas in 1837."  There are three houses with bay windows, at the bottom of Station Road, Killamarsh (the Station Road where the railway station was and which leads up to to the canal) which have a stone set in the wall between the 2nd and third house on the left which has the words 'Hodgson's Villas' carved on it, the 2nd house used to be a shop at one time so this might have been Hodgson's 'company store'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...