Florence Colliery

Overview

A colliery on the Trentham estate just south of Longton, sunk from 1874 by the 3rd Duke of Sutherland and named after his eldest daughter, with the district that grew round it taking the name too. It was worked privately by the Duke until 1891, then by a succession of companies, and from 1911 under a profit-sharing agreement that sent much of its coal to Shelton steelworks. After nationalisation it was one of the most profitable pits in the North Staffordshire coalfield. From 1974 it was joined underground to Hem Heath as the Trentham project, becoming Trentham East, and it was shut when Coal Investments took the complex over in the 1990s.

History

Shaft sinking began in 1874 — two shafts, with a third added around 1916 — on land forming part of the Trentham estate, with the intention of mining both coal and ironstone. The colliery takes its name from the 3rd Duke of Sutherland’s eldest daughter. The undertaking was small at first and entirely separate from the Stafford Coal and Iron Company; to develop it a private railway was built to meet the North Staffordshire Railway at Trentham, completed in 1876 and worked by the NSR until the Duke bought his own locomotives in 1882. The Duke worked it privately until Florence Colliery Ltd was incorporated in October 1891. He died in September 1892, and in May 1896 that company was dissolved and replaced by the Florence Coal and Iron Co. Ltd, which gave the then Duke additional powers over the management. In March 1911, after a commissioned report, an agreement was made with the Coking Co. Ltd — a subsidiary of the Shelton Iron, Steel and Coal Co. — under which Shelton’s subsidiary worked the mining lease until its expiry in 1950, profits split evenly and the Florence company’s assets loaned free of charge. Much of the output went to Shelton steelworks. Reconstruction followed above and below ground: output rose from 275,000 tons in 1924 to 567,000 by 1940, falling back to 394,000 by 1945, and when New Haden Colliery at Cheadle closed in 1943 its output was transferred here to make better use of the workforce. After nationalisation in 1947 the National Coal Board sank further shaft capacity, introduced horizon mining, installed electric winding engines — two of them tower-mounted — and built a new coal preparation plant. The colliery prospered. An underground connection was made to the neighbouring Parkhall Colliery shortly before its closure in 1962, for ventilation and pumping, and sealed off by the mid-1960s. In the 1970s Florence became part of the Trentham project with Hem Heath.

Geology

The North Staffordshire coalfield on the south-eastern side of the Trentham estate. The undertaking was begun intending to work ironstone as well as coal, the Black Band Ironstone series being present in the measures here, though coal was what the colliery lived on.

Workings

Two shafts sunk from 1874 with a third about 1916, later added to under the National Coal Board, which also introduced horizon mining and installed electric winders, two of them tower-mounted, with a new coal preparation plant. A private mineral railway ran from the colliery to the North Staffordshire Railway at Trentham, with branches to Blurton Tilery and Blurton Waste Farm and a small wharf near Trentham station until the late 1940s. Underground the colliery was connected at various times to Parkhall Colliery, for ventilation and pumping, and from 1974 to Hem Heath, after which all its coal was raised at Hem Heath and the mineral railway fell out of use.

Closure

Florence was absorbed into the Trentham project from 1974 and became Trentham East when the two collieries were combined into one mine in the late 1980s. When Coal Investments took the complex over after British Coal declared it not required, it closed the Florence section to concentrate on Hem Heath: the underground connections were sealed, the shafts filled and all the surface structures demolished. Published accounts differ over whether Florence itself should be dated to 1990, when it ceased as an independent operation, or to the mid-1990s when the Coal Investments takeover shut the section.

What remains

The shafts are filled and every surface structure has been demolished. The spoil tips were seeded with grass after trials in the 1970s and let to a local farmer for sheep grazing; the later plan for the site was housing.

None. The shafts were filled and all surface structures demolished after the Coal Investments takeover.

Related mines

• Hem Heath Colliery — Merged into one mine. From 1974 the two were joined underground as the Trentham project, with a 2,837-yard drift driven from the surface at Hem Heath and all coal from both raised there; by the late 1980s they were a single colliery, Hem Heath as Trentham West and Florence as Trentham East.
• Racecourse Colliery, Hanley — Both fed the same steelworks under the same company: the Shelton Iron, Steel and Coal Co. owned the Racecourse pits outright by 1896, and from March 1911 its subsidiary the Coking Co. Ltd worked Florence under a profit-sharing agreement that sent much of Florence’s output to Shelton.

Nearby mines

• Fenton Park Colliery — 3.0 km NW
• Hem Heath Colliery — 3.9 km SW
• Foxfield Colliery — 5.8 km SE
• Far Green Colliery — 6.6 km NW
• Racecourse Colliery, Hanley — 7.1 km NW

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.

• The colliery takes its name from the 3rd Duke of Sutherland’s eldest daughter; the district of Florence, just south of Longton, took the name from the colliery. ¹
• Shaft sinking began in 1874, two shafts with a third sunk around 1916, on land forming part of the Trentham estate, intending to work both coal and ironstone. ^1,2
• A private railway was built to connect the colliery with the North Staffordshire Railway at Trentham. Completed in 1876, it was worked by the NSR until the Duke obtained his own locomotives in 1882. ¹
• The colliery was worked privately by the Duke until Florence Colliery Ltd was incorporated in October 1891. The 3rd Duke died in September 1892, and in May 1896 that company was dissolved and replaced by the Florence Coal and Iron Co. Ltd. ¹
• In March 1911 an agreement was made with the Coking Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Shelton Iron, Steel and Coal Co., to work the mining lease until its expiry in 1950, profits shared equally and the Florence company’s assets loaned free of charge. Much of the output went to Shelton steelworks. ¹
• Output rose from 275,000 tons in 1924 to 567,000 tons by 1940 and fell back to 394,000 tons by 1945. When New Haden Colliery at Cheadle closed in 1943 its output was transferred to Florence to make better use of the workforce. ¹
• An underground connection was made with the adjacent Parkhall Colliery shortly before its closure in 1962, for ventilation and pumping, and was sealed off by the mid-1960s. ¹
• Accounts differ. Staffordshire Past Track dates the colliery 1874 to 1990; Jim Worgan describes the Florence section being closed, its shafts filled and its surface structures demolished after Coal Investments took over the Trentham complex, which followed the closure of the combined mine in 1993. (disputed) ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) A History of Florence Colliery, by Jim Worgan — North Staffordshire Miners’ Group / Apedale Heritage Centre
2. (secondary) Florence Colliery — Staffordshire Past Track

Record created: 8 September 2026 · Last researched: 8 September 2026