Cadley Hill Colliery

Overview

A South Derbyshire colliery established in 1861 at Swadlincote, shown on the 1888 Ordnance Survey with a short railway link to the Burton and Swadlincote branch. It grew through the nineteenth century and remained a significant employer even after production declined in the 1960s. Its closure in March 1988 ended deep coal mining in the district — though the ground was then worked opencast until 1997, and is now the Tetron Point business park.

History

Cadley Hill Colliery was established in 1861 and continued to grow over the course of the nineteenth century. The Ordnance Survey of 1888 shows it adjacent to, and with a short railway or tramway link to, the Burton and Swadlincote branch railway. Even after the decline in production in the 1960s it remained a significant employer. The Derbyshire Historic Environment Record gives figures of 3,500 men at work and an average production of two million tons of coal in the early 1980s — figures that read as district or group totals rather than one colliery’s, and are recorded here as the source gives them. It closed in March 1988, marking the end of deep coal mining in the District of South Derbyshire. The site was then worked opencast under licence from British Coal Opencast; by 1995 virtually all the buildings had been demolished, and surface coal extraction finally ceased in 1997. The ground was afterwards developed as Tetron Point.

Geology

The South Derbyshire half of the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire coalfield, west of the fault that divides the two basins. That the site could be worked opencast for nine years after the deep mine shut is the clearest statement of the ground here: shallow coal remained above and around the deep workings in quantity.

Workings

A shaft colliery with its own short railway link to the Burton and Swadlincote branch. A small steam winding engine of about 1900 was recorded still working a shaft in 1971, though it may originally have been a haulage engine; by then such engines were becoming rare, and this one was considered suitable for preservation — another engine on the site had recently been cut up. It was subsequently removed for preservation at Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum, but the Derbyshire record notes that its survival is not known.

Closure

The colliery closed in March 1988, the end of deep coal mining in the District of South Derbyshire. Working did not stop with it: the site was opencast under licence from British Coal Opencast, with virtually all the buildings demolished by 1995 and surface extraction ceasing only in 1997.

What remains

The colliery buildings are gone — virtually all had been demolished by 1995 — and the ground, having been opencast until 1997, was developed as the Tetron Point business park.

None on site. The colliery’s steam winding engine was removed for preservation at Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum, though the Derbyshire Historic Environment Record states that its survival is not known.

Nearby mines

• Granville Colliery — 1.5 km NE
• Moira Collieries — 4.5 km SE, Leicestershire
• Donisthorpe Colliery — 5.5 km SE, Leicestershire
• Measham Colliery — 7.5 km SE, Leicestershire
• Califat Coal Mine — 12.3 km E, Leicestershire

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

• Cadley Hill Colliery was established in 1861 and continued to grow over the course of the nineteenth century. Cadleyhill Colliery is shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1888, adjacent to and with a short railway or tramway link to the Burton and Swadlincote Branch Railway. ¹
• A small steam winding engine was recorded in 1971 working a shaft, though it may originally have been a haulage engine; its construction date was thought to be about 1900. The number of such engines was in decline and this one was considered suitable for preservation, another engine on the site having recently been cut up. ¹
• The Derbyshire Historic Environment Record states that even after the decline in production in the 1960s, Cadley Hill continued to be a significant employer, with 3,500 men at work and an average production of two million tons of coal in the early 1980s. (uncertain) ¹
• The colliery closed down in March 1988, marking the end of deep coal mining in the District of South Derbyshire. ¹
• The site was then opencast, with surface coal extraction finally ceasing in 1997, after which it was developed as Tetron Point. By 1995 the colliery was being operated under licence from British Coal Opencast and virtually all the buildings had been demolished. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) MDR6978 — Cadley Hill Colliery (site of), Swadlincote — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record
2. (primary) BGS mine plans catalogue: Cadley Hill — British Geological Survey

Record created: 7 September 2026 · Last researched: 7 September 2026