Aldwarke Main Colliery

Overview

John Brown and Co.'s colliery in the Don Valley at Parkgate, near Rotherham, sunk to the Barnsley seam in 1867 and later deepened to the Parkgate, Silkstone and Swallow Wood. It employed over 2,000 in the 1920s and closed on 30 June 1961.

History

Coal was got at Aldwarke, between Parkgate and Dalton, by the 17th century, when tenants held rights of way for anyone fetching coals from the pits. The deep colliery was sunk on a triangle of land between the Midland Railway, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway's Mexborough line and Aldwarke Lane, with connections to both railways and a staithe on the River Don Navigation. Its first shaft reached the Barnsley seam in 1867 and was deepened to the Parkgate about ten years later; a second shaft reached the Silkstone in 1884. Between 1944 and 1946 the shafts were deepened to the Swallow Wood seam to give better access to the Parkgate.

The Sheffield steelmakers John Brown and Co. bought Aldwarke Main and the adjoining Carr House Colliery in the early 1870s and worked them together. By 1890 Aldwarke was one of the principal coke makers of the Sheffield district. An explosion on 5 January 1875 killed seven men, and seven more died in a shaft accident on 23 February 1904. The colliery employed 2,132 in 1923 and 1,338 when the National Coal Board took it over in 1947, and closed on 30 June 1961.

Geology

South Yorkshire Coal Measures: the Barnsley, Parkgate, Silkstone and Swallow Wood seams, with Kent's Thick worked in 1910.

Workings

Shafts sunk in stages, the first to the Barnsley seam (1867) and the Parkgate (about 1877), a second to the Silkstone (1884), both deepened to the Swallow Wood in 1944-46; sidings to two main lines and a staithe on the Don Navigation; coke ovens.

Closure

Closed on 30 June 1961 under the National Coal Board.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Carr House Colliery — Bought together by John Brown and Co. in the early 1870s and worked as one; the Carr House upcast partly served Aldwarke Main.

Disasters & major incidents

• Aldwarke Main Colliery explosion, 1875
  5 January 1875 · Explosion · 7 fatalities
  At about 6.20 a.m. on 5 January 1875 gas exploded in the Carr House workings of John Brown & Co.'s Aldwarke Main Colliery, near Rotherham, killing seven men. The jury returned accidental death and called for safety lamps in place of naked lights.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The first shaft reached the Barnsley seam in 1867 and the Parkgate about ten years later; a second shaft reached the Silkstone in 1884. ¹
• The colliery belonged to the Sheffield steelmakers John Brown and Co. until nationalisation in 1947. ^2,1,3
• In 1890 it was one of the principal coke makers of the Sheffield district. ³
• An explosion on 5 January 1875 and a shaft accident on 23 February 1904 each killed seven. ^4,2
• It employed 2,132 in 1923 and 1,338 in 1947. ²
• The colliery closed on 30 June 1961. ^2,1

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Aldwarke Main Colliery — Wikipedia
2. (primary) Aldwarke Main Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Aldwarke Main Colliery — Grace's Guide
4. (secondary) Aldwarke Main Colliery Explosion - Rotherham - 1875 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026