Brodsworth Colliery

Overview

A major South Yorkshire colliery north-west of Doncaster, sunk in 1905-07 as a joint venture between the Hickleton Main Colliery Company and the Staveley Coal and Iron Company. A third shaft added in 1922-23 made it the largest colliery in Yorkshire and, at times, the highest-output three-shaft colliery in Britain. Its associated model village, Woodlands, designed by architect Percy Houfton, is considered one of the finest examples of the early twentieth-century garden-village movement applied to a mining community. The colliery closed in 1990 after 85 years of continuous working.

History

Sinking began on 23 October 1905, with two shafts of 6.25 m diameter sunk as a joint venture between the Hickleton Main Colliery Company and the Staveley Coal and Iron Company, trading as the Brodsworth Main Colliery Company. The Barnsley seam was reached in 1907 at a depth of around 541-595 m (accounts differ slightly) and was up to 9 feet thick; coal-getting from it began in 1908 and continued without a break until 1984. Further seams were worked at greater depths over the colliery's life, including the Dunsil, Parkgate and Thorncliffe seams. A third shaft, sunk in 1922-23, substantially increased capacity, taking the workforce from around 2,500 to 3,500 by 1925 and making Brodsworth the largest colliery in Yorkshire, with the highest recorded output of any three-shaft colliery in Britain. Alongside the colliery, the company built Woodlands, a model village for its workforce, designed by the architect Percy Houfton between 1907 and 1913 on garden-city principles associated with Ebenezer Howard — wide tree-lined avenues, generous open green space and a centrepiece, 'The Park', a 24-acre green ringed by around 120 cottages facing parkland rather than the street. All Saints Church, built for the village by the Thellusson family in 1913, remains its focal point; Woodlands is now a conservation area. Ownership passed to Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd in 1937 as part of wider industry rationalisation, then to the National Coal Board on nationalisation in 1947. An underground roadway connecting Brodsworth to the neighbouring Bullcroft Colliery was completed in June 1970, and rapid-loading bunkers were installed in 1971 to serve Merry-Go-Round block-train services. Brodsworth remained one of Britain's largest employers of miners into the 1980s, with around 2,800 workers on the books through that decade, before losses in the late 1980s led British Coal to close the colliery on 7 September 1990. Surface plant was demolished the following year.

Workings

Three shafts ultimately served the colliery. The Barnsley seam was worked from 1908, with the Dunsil, Parkgate (reached at around 742 m) and Thorncliffe seams worked at various periods; BGS abandonment plans record workings in the Surface, Thorncliffe and Parkgate seams, most abandoned on 2 May 1986. An underground connection to Bullcroft Colliery, completed in 1970, allowed the two collieries' workings to be linked.

Closure

Closed by British Coal on 7 September 1990 after sustaining losses in the late 1980s; surface plant was demolished in 1991.

What remains

The colliery site itself has been cleared and its former spoil tip restored as community woodland, with parts of the wider site remediated for housing. The adjoining Woodlands model village survives largely intact as a conservation area.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

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

• Sinking began 23 October 1905 as a joint venture between the Hickleton Main Colliery Company and the Staveley Coal and Iron Company; ownership passed to Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd in 1937 and to the National Coal Board on nationalisation in 1947. ^1,2
• The Barnsley seam, up to 9 feet thick, was reached in 1907. Wikipedia gives the depth as 595 yards; the Northern Mine Research Society gives 541 metres — the two figures are close but not identical and are recorded here as separate accounts rather than reconciled. (disputed) ^1,2
• A third shaft, sunk 1922-23, increased the workforce from around 2,500 to 3,500 by 1925 and made Brodsworth the largest colliery in Yorkshire, with the highest recorded output of any three-shaft colliery in Britain. ¹
• An underground connection to the neighbouring Bullcroft Colliery was completed in June 1970, and rapid-loading bunkers for Merry-Go-Round block-train services were installed in 1971. ²
• Brodsworth employed around 2,800 workers through the 1980s before British Coal closed the colliery on 7 September 1990 after it began making losses in the late 1980s; surface plant was demolished in 1991. ^1,2
• The BGS/Mining Remediation Authority mine plans catalogue holds abandonment plans for Brodsworth covering the Surface, Thorncliffe and Parkgate seams, most dated 2 May 1986. ³
• The Brodsworth Main Colliery Company built Woodlands, a model village designed by architect Percy Houfton between 1907 and 1913 on garden-city principles, centred on 'The Park' — a 24-acre green surrounded by around 120 workers' cottages. All Saints Church, built by the Thellusson family in 1913, remains its focal point, and the village is now a conservation area. ⁴

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Brodsworth Colliery — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Brodsworth Main Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Mine plan: BRODSWORTH, South Yorkshire (feature 21847489) — Mining Remediation Authority / BGS mine plans catalogue
4. (secondary) Woodlands, South Yorkshire — Wikipedia

Record created: 26 August 2026 · Last researched: 26 August 2026