Arthur and Edward Colliery

Overview

The Waterloo pit at Upper Lydbrook in the Forest of Dean, begun by free miners in the 1830s and revived from 1908 by the Lydney and Crump Meadow company; electrified in 1928, it raised up to 192,000 tons a year, survived a flood in 1949 and closed in December 1959.

History

Arthur and Edward Colliery, known as Waterloo, lay at Upper Lydbrook in the Forest of Dean. Benjamin Gwilliam of Joyford, a free miner, applied for the Arthur and Edward gale some time between 1832 and 1838, and with Thomas Butler of Edinwall began work without waiting for the grant. In 1841 the concern was 'extensive and in the course of opening', with two pits and two steam engines, sinking to the Coleford High Delf seam of the Pennant group. The name Waterloo probably comes from the nearby Waterloo Mill rather than a sinking in 1815, as local belief has it. Output in 1846 was 3,259 tons, credited to J. P. Osborne. The pits and the neighbouring Miery Stock gale were advertised for sale in 1853, with two shafts 85 yards to the coal, a 90-horsepower pumping engine and a 14-horsepower winder; a company formed that December produced 12,857 tons in 1856 but was wound up in 1859 after water overcame the workings.

There was little more until the Lydney and Crump Meadow Collieries Company acquired the new North-Western United deep gale in 1908. No. 1 shaft reached the Coleford High Delf at 273 feet, and dipples followed the seam down to about 1,050 feet; two winding engines and a pumping engine served the pit. Coal went by an endless-rope tramway, the Creeper, 800 yards on trestles over the roads to screens at Mierystock and a siding on the Lydbrook branch. The colliery employed 502 in 1915 and 720 in 1933 and 1940. It was completely electrified in 1928, with coal cutters and conveyor belts, and at its peak produced over 4,000 tons of steam coal a week: 192,172 tons in 1938 and 147,254 in 1946.

On 30 June 1949 the workings broke into the water-filled workings of East Slad Colliery. 177 men escaped up the shaft, and five who were missing were reached and rescued through the old Pluds' Colliery shaft, recently reopened for ventilation. The colliery closed on 23 December 1959. Little remains: a stone wall by the Lydbrook to Mierystock road probably marks the Creeper's bridge, and the tip, now forested, survives.

Geology

The Coleford High Delf seam in the Pennant group of the Upper Coal Measures.

Workings

Two shafts sunk in the 1830s-40s (85 yards to the coal), No. 1 shaft at 273 feet, dipples to about 1,050 feet, and an 800-yard endless-rope tramway, the Creeper, to the screens at Mierystock.

Closure

The first company was wound up in 1859 after flooding; the revived colliery was flooded from East Slad in 1949 and closed on 23 December 1959.

What remains

Little remains; the tip survives under forestry.

A stone wall by the Lydbrook-Mierystock road, probably the site of the Creeper bridge, and the forested tip.

Related mines

• Lydbrook Colliery — Physical link and shared plan: men trapped at Arthur and Edward in 1949 were rescued through the old Pluds' shaft of Lydbrook Colliery, and one BGS abandonment plan covers both.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The name Waterloo probably comes from the nearby Waterloo Mill, not from a sinking in 1815. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Benjamin Gwilliam applied for the Arthur and Edward gale between 1832 and 1838 and, with Thomas Butler, began work before it was granted. ^1,2
• The name Waterloo probably comes from the nearby Waterloo Mill, not from a sinking in 1815. (uncertain) ²
• The Lydney and Crump Meadow Collieries Company acquired the North-Western United deep gale in 1908, and No. 1 shaft reached the Coleford High Delf at 273 feet. ^3,1
• Arthur and Edward Colliery produced 192,172 tons in 1938. ¹
• Coal and waste tubs from the Waterloo pit went about half a mile through the woods on a small railway, the Creeper, to screens and tips above the Mierystock tunnel. ^2,4
• On 30 June 1949 the pit broke into the flooded workings of East Slad; 177 men escaped up the shaft and five were rescued through the Pluds' shaft. ¹
• Arthur and Edward Colliery closed on 23 December 1959. ^3,1

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Arthur and Edward (Waterloo) Colliery (Forest of Dean Local History Society) — Forest of Dean Local History Society
2. (secondary) Arthur & Edward (Waterloo) (Lightmoor Press, Forest coal) — Lightmoor Press
3. (primary) Arthur and Edward Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
4. (observational) Mierystock Tunnel Jan 09 (Derelict Places) — Derelict Places

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026