Conyers Colliery

Overview

G. and T. Haigh's colliery at Staincliffe, Dewsbury Moor, worked from 1878 to 1908 in the Better Bed and Black Bed seams, with over 200 men in the 1890s.

History

Conyers Colliery lay at Staincliffe on Dewsbury Moor and was worked by G. and T. Haigh for household coal. It opened in 1878, and in its first months a hurrier of 16 was killed by a fall of roof. Falls of roof killed colliers in 1881 and 1884 and again in 1897, and in February 1899 a deputy, T. Lodge, was killed by an explosion while firing a shot of compressed powder by electric battery.

Conyers employed 234 men in 1894, 228 in 1896 and 184 in 1900. By 1905 it was much reduced, with 37 men, working the Better Bed and Black Bed seams for gas and household coal. It closed in 1908, the year of the last abandonment plans of its workings at Staincliffe.

Geology

The Better Bed and Black Bed seams.

Workings

Unknown.

Closure

Closed in 1908.

What remains

Unknown.

Related mines

• Shaw Cross Colliery — Neighbouring Dewsbury collieries.
• Strawberry Bank Colliery — Both worked the Better Bed and Black Bed seams near Dewsbury.

Recorded claims

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

• Conyers Colliery, Dewsbury, worked from 1878 to 1908. ^1,2
• Conyers Colliery belonged to G. and T. Haigh. ²
• Conyers employed 234 men in 1894 and 37 in 1905, then working the Better Bed and Black Bed seams. ²
• In February 1899 a deputy at Conyers was killed by an explosion while firing a shot of compressed powder by electric battery. ²
• An abandonment plan of Conyers (Staincliffe) is dated 1908. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) Yorkshire coal mines list, C — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Conyers Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21888730: Conyers (Staincliffe), abandoned 1908 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026