Hawkins Colliery

Overview

The Hawkins family's colliery at Cheslyn Hay, near Cannock, known as the Old Coppice or Cannock Old Coppice Colliery. Worked from about 1840 and by Joseph Hawkins by 1872, it stayed with the family firm until nationalisation, employed over a thousand in the 1930s and closed in April 1960.

History

In 1851 Edward Sayers, coalmaster, was working the Oldfalls and the Coppice collieries at Cheslyn Hay, and by 1872 the Old Coppice Colliery was worked by Joseph Hawkins. A new shaft was sunk in 1877, and by 1880 it was apparently the only one of the parish's three collieries still at work. A deputy manager, W. Hawkins, aged 22, was killed by an explosion of firedamp in 1876. As Joseph Hawkins and Sons the family raised household, manufacturing and steam coal, with ironstone, and employment rose from 261 in 1894 to 646 in 1910; Thomas A. Hawkins gave Cheslyn Hay its fire station in 1908.

On 3 September 1900 a cage carrying eight men ran out of control to the bottom of the shaft, killing three and fatally injuring a fourth (see Disasters, below). Under T. A. Hawkins and Sons Ltd a further shaft was sunk about 1920, and the colliery employed 933 in 1923 and 1,045 in 1933, working the Bass, Deep, Robins and Shallow seams.

At nationalisation in 1947 it employed 800 and raised 200,000 tons, but its complex geological structure held output to 180,000 tons a year in 1954. The colliery closed in April 1960; its last plans, covering the Bottom Robins, Brooch, Benches, Eight Feet, Park, New Mine, Shallow, Deep and Mealy Greys, are dated 8 September 1960.

Geology

Cannock Chase coalfield: the Bass, Deep, Robins, Shallow, Brooch, Benches, Eight Feet, Park, New Mine and Mealy Greys seams, with ironstone, in a complex geological structure.

Workings

A new shaft of 1877 and a further shaft about 1920; coupled horizontal winding engines with 24-inch cylinders (1900).

Closure

Closed in April 1960; the abandonment plans are dated 8 September 1960.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• Cannock Old Coppice Colliery cage accident, 1900
  3 September 1900 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 4 fatalities
  On 3 September 1900, as the day shift went down at the Old Coppice Colliery, Cheslyn Hay, the cage carrying eight men ran to the bottom of the shaft out of the winder's control. Three men were killed outright and a fourth, William Buck, died of his injuries later; the winder was charged with manslaughter and acquitted.

Recorded claims

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

• By 1872 Joseph Hawkins, coalmaster, was working the Old Coppice Colliery at Cheslyn Hay; a new shaft was sunk in 1877 and another about 1920. ¹
• The colliery belonged to Joseph Hawkins and Sons, then T. A. Hawkins and Sons Ltd, until 1947. ²
• It employed 261 in 1894, 1,045 in 1933 and 800 in 1947, when it raised 200,000 tons. ²
• Output in 1954 was only 180,000 tons a year owing to the complex geological structure. ¹
• Cannock Old Coppice, or Hawkins, at Cheslyn Hay is listed from 1840 to April 1960. ^3,4
• The Hawkins colliery plans are dated 8 September 1960. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Cheslyn Hay (VCH Staffordshire vol. 5, pp. 100-103) — British History Online
2. (primary) Cannock Old Coppice Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) Rough Time Line — Cannock Chase Mining History Society
4. (secondary) NCB Collieries - England (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: Hawkins, abandoned 8 September 1960 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans
6. (secondary) Coppice: Cheslyn Hay Disaster P1 — Healey Hero

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026