MineArchiveDewsbury Lane Colliery
| Location | Ossett, west of Wakefield, West Yorkshire |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | By 1856–1877 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | W. Hallas (1856–1870), W. Gartside (1862–1876) |
Overview
A small Ossett colliery working the Haigh Moor seams from the 1850s to 1877, whose men ran their own sick and accident club.
History
Dewsbury Lane Colliery was a small pit at Ossett, west of Wakefield, at work by 1856 and closed in 1877. W. Hallas owned it from 1856 to 1870 and W. Gartside from 1862 to 1876. It worked the Top and Low Haigh Moor seams: its Top Haigh Moor workings were abandoned in 1867, and later plans, drawn together with those of the neighbouring Westfield Colliery, show the Haigh Moor beds abandoned in 1878.
In December 1871 a supper was held at the George Hotel, Ossett, for the members of the Sick and Accident Club at Mr Gartside's colliery, which was very probably Dewsbury Lane. The club was paid for by the miners themselves out of weekly subscriptions, to keep its members in times of sickness. Thirty-six members were present. There had been no accidents at the colliery that year and only £134 had been paid out in sickness benefit, and the men praised the managers, T. Westwood and J. Wilkinson.
Geology
West Yorkshire coal measures: the Top and Low Haigh Moor seams.
Workings
Unknown.
Closure
Closed in 1877; Haigh Moor workings recorded as abandoned in 1867 and 1878.
What remains
Unknown.
Related mines
- Westfield Colliery — Their Haigh Moor workings were abandoned under joint plans of 1878 and 1882, filed as Dewsbury Lane and Westfield.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Dewsbury Lane Colliery was at work by 1856 and closed in 1877. 1,2
- W. Hallas owned it from 1856 to 1870 and W. Gartside from 1862 to 1876. 2
- Its Top Haigh Moor workings were abandoned in 1867 and the Haigh Moor beds, planned with Westfield, in 1878. 3,4
- In 1871 the colliery's miners' Sick and Accident Club had 36 members, no accidents and £134 paid in sickness benefit. 2
Sources
- (secondary) Coal mines in Yorkshire: D — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Ossett coal mining (Ossett - the history of a Yorkshire town) — ossett.net
- (primary) BGS mine plan FGB153: DEWSBURY LANE, Top Haigh Moor, abandoned 1867 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
- (primary) BGS mine plan FGB492: DEWSBURY LANE & WESTFIELD, Low Haigh Moor, abandoned 1878 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
Record created: 24 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026