Grove Colliery

Overview

A Cannock Chase coalfield pit, originally Wyrley Grove Colliery, whose own coal winding ended abruptly after a gas explosion killed fourteen men in 1930 — after which it continued for two more decades purely as a washing and screening plant for a neighbouring colliery.

History

Grove Colliery, originally named Wyrley Grove Colliery, opened in 1852 in the Cannock Chase coalfield between the villages of Pelsall and Norton Canes, initially served by barges on the Cannock Extension Canal before a mineral railway line from Norton Junction was built. On 1 October 1930, an underground gas explosion killed fourteen miners (see Disasters, below), and the colliery's own coal winding ended as a direct result. It did not close outright, however: for the following two decades coal mined at the sister colliery, Harrisons No. 3, was carried along a narrow-gauge, cable-hauled tramway to Grove's washing and screening plant, which continued in use until the site finally closed in 1952. All traces of the colliery had been swept away by the mid-1970s.

Workings

Worked as an ordinary colliery until the 1930 explosion; thereafter its surface plant continued only as a washing and screening facility for coal brought in from the neighbouring Harrisons No. 3 Colliery by tramway.

Closure

Coal winding at Grove itself ended after the 1930 explosion; the site continued for two more decades purely as a washery for a neighbouring colliery before closing entirely in 1952. All physical traces were gone by the mid-1970s.

What remains

An industrial estate now stands on the former colliery's trackbed, and the adjoining stretch of the Cannock Extension Canal is popular with residential barges.

Disasters & major incidents

• Grove Pit Disaster, 1930
  1 October 1930 · Explosion · 14 fatalities
  An underground gas explosion at Grove Colliery, beneath Brownhills Common, killed fourteen miners — most from carbon monoxide poisoning as they tried to escape rather than from the blast itself.

Recorded claims

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

• Grove Colliery, originally Wyrley Grove Colliery, opened in 1852 between Pelsall and Norton Canes, initially served by barges on the Cannock Extension Canal. ¹
• An underground gas explosion on 1 October 1930 killed fourteen miners, ending the colliery's own coal winding; the site continued for two more decades purely as a washery for the neighbouring Harrisons No. 3 Colliery before finally closing in 1952. ^1,2
• All physical traces of the colliery had been swept away by the mid-1970s; an industrial estate now occupies the former trackbed, and the adjoining canal is used by residential barges. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Grove Colliery — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) 90 years ago today: The Grove Pit Disaster — BrownhillsBob's Brownhills Blog

Record created: 2 September 2026 · Last researched: 2 September 2026