Cannock Wood Colliery

Overview

The Cannock and Rugeley Colliery Company's pit at Rawnsley, near Hednesford, opened in 1864, which employed up to 1,890 and raised some fifty million tonnes before it closed in 1973.

History

Cannock Wood Colliery stood at Rawnsley, near Hednesford, on the Cannock Chase coalfield. It was opened in 1864 and belonged to the Cannock and Rugeley Colliery Company until nationalisation. Besides household, manufacturing and steam coal it raised ironstone in its early decades, and from the Deep, Shallow and Six Feet seams it was one of the larger pits on the Chase.

It employed 1,203 people in 1896 and 1,563 in 1910, and 1,890 through the 1930s. Under the National Coal Board in 1947 it employed 1,593 and raised 600,000 tons.

Cannock Wood closed in 1973, after 109 years. On the last shift its manager, George Ward, told ATV Today that some fifty million tonnes of coal had been brought to the surface since 1864. The site was later cleared, and by 1995 the Cannock Wood industrial estate was being developed on it.

Geology

Cannock Chase Coal Measures: the Deep, Shallow and Six Feet seams; ironstone was also raised.

Workings

Shafts with steel headgear and winding houses; served by the Cannock and Rugeley company's railway.

Closure

Closed in 1973 as exhausted, after 109 years; the spoil tip plan is dated June 1973.

What remains

The site is occupied by the Cannock Wood industrial estate.

Recorded claims

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

• Cannock Wood Colliery opened in 1864 and closed in 1973, after 109 years. ^1,2
• Its manager said at closure that some fifty million tonnes of coal had been raised there since 1864. ¹
• It employed 1,203 people in 1896 and 1,890 in the 1930s. ³
• Under the National Coal Board in 1947 it employed 1,593 and raised 600,000 tons. ³
• By 1995 an industrial estate was being developed on the site at Rawnsley. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Cannock Wood Colliery Closes Down (ATV Today, 1973; BFI Player) — British Film Institute
2. (primary) BGS mine plan: CANNOCK WOOD, spoil tip, 15 June 1973 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
3. (primary) Cannock Wood Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) Aerial view of the site of Cannock Wood Colliery, Rawnsley (Museum of Cannock Chase, P2010.0001.00004) — Museum Data Service / Museum of Cannock Chase

Record created: 25 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026