Birchmoor Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Birchmoor, a mile south-west of Polesworth in north Warwickshire, also called Cockspur Colliery, sunk in 1860 and finished with Arthur Morris's capital after 1870. Abandoned in 1883, it was deepened and reopened in 1915-18, worked until 1927 and then kept for pumping.

History

Birchmoor, or Cockspur, Colliery was sunk in 1860 west of Polesworth, at the village of Birchmoor between Polesworth and Tamworth; the 'Cockspur' name, like the village's Gamecock Inn, recalls its cock-fighting past. It belonged to the coal venture at Hall End that Messrs Shaw and Caldicott had worked since the 1850s, and in 1870 Arthur Morris put capital into the venture, becoming a major shareholder, to finance the completion of the Birchmoor pit. A tramway carried its coal over the land to Polesworth Basin, a wharf on the Coventry Canal at Tamworth Road, for distribution by barge; the neighbouring Pooley Hall Colliery later used the same line.

The pit was abandoned on 12 November 1883 and its tramway lifted. Production began again after the colliery was deepened in 1915-18; its Bench seam plans are dated 31 March 1921, and coal-winding stopped in 1927, after which Birchmoor was used for pumping. Its miners had formed Birchmoor Working Men's Club in June 1910, playing football on the pitch the club still uses, and the names of Birchmoor men are on the miners' memorial unveiled at Birch Coppice Business Park in 2013.

Geology

Warwickshire coalfield: the Bench seam among others.

Workings

A pit sunk in 1860, deepened 1915-18; a tramway to Polesworth Basin on the Coventry Canal.

Closure

Abandoned 12 November 1883; deepened and reopened 1915-18; production ceased in 1927, after which the pit was used for pumping.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Birch Coppice Colliery — Pits of the Hall End venture of Shaw and Caldicott and Arthur Morris.

Culture

• Birch Coppice Miners Memorial (Art)
  Former workers of Birchmoor Colliery are among the names on the memorial wall at Birch Coppice.
• Birchmoor Working Men's Club (Labour)
  The club was formed in June 1910 by miners from Birchmoor Colliery, who played football on the ground it still uses.

Recorded claims

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

• Birchmoor Colliery, also known as Cockspur Colliery, was opened in 1860 and closed in 1927. ^1,2
• In 1870 Arthur Morris put capital into the venture to finance the completion of the Birchmoor pit. ³
• A tramway carried Birchmoor's coal to Polesworth Basin on the canal; Pooley Hall Colliery later used the line. ²
• Birchmoor was abandoned on 12 November 1883 and its tramway lifted; it was deepened in 1915-18 and production ceased in 1927, after which it was used for pumping. ⁴
• Birchmoor's Bench seam workings were abandoned on 31 March 1921. ⁵
• Miners from Birchmoor Colliery formed Birchmoor Working Men's Club in June 1910. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Birchmoor — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Birchmoor Working Mens Club - Our Warwickshire — Our Warwickshire (Warwickshire County Record Office)
3. (secondary) Birch Coppice Colliery - Our Warwickshire — Our Warwickshire (Warwickshire County Record Office)
4. (secondary) Brickyards, quarries and collieries of Nuneaton and north Warwickshire — The Nuneaton and North Warwickshire Local and Family History Web Site
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: Birchmoor, Bench, 31 March 1921 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans

Record created: 5 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026