Hem Heath Colliery

Overview

A twentieth-century deep mine at Trentham, begun when the Duke of Sutherland cut the first sod on 30 July 1924 for the Stafford Coal and Iron Company. Sinking was twice halted by a fast-flowing underground stream that had to be frozen before work could go on. Under the National Coal Board a second shaft was sunk to over 3,300 feet — for a time the third deepest in the country — and by the 1970s the colliery employed more than 1,700 people and raised over a million tonnes a year. It was joined underground to Florence Colliery as the Trentham project, produced the fastest 2.5 million tons in Europe in 1991-92, and closed the year after.

History

The Staffordshire Sentinel reported that on Wednesday 30 July 1924 the Duke of Sutherland cut the first sod of a new colliery at Hem Heath, Trentham, for the Stafford Coal and Iron Company. The company held mining rights over 4,345 acres, of which 2,000 were already being worked from its Stafford and Kemball collieries; the rest were allocated to Hem Heath. Two boreholes — at Newstead in 1896 and at Trentham, sunk by Simon-Carves of Manchester — had proved the measures down to and including the Great Row seam, and also the Black Band Ironstone series, welcome at a time when North Staffordshire’s iron ore was running out, though there is no evidence ironstone was ever worked here. Because there was concern about what a colliery would do to the charm of Trentham village, the coal was processed at the Stafford Colliery site 1,100 yards to the north, and the Hem Heath site itself carried only the No. 1 shaft, boilers, offices with an ambulance room and lamphouse, workshops and stores. Ventilation proved difficult and output stuck at 250,000 tons for years. Before nationalisation and for long after, the second means of egress was an underground road to Kemball Colliery. At nationalisation in 1947 the shaft capacity was hopelessly inadequate for what boring had shown to be beneath it. A major reconstruction followed: Sir Ben Smith, chairman of the West Midlands Division, cut the first sod of the No. 2 shaft on 25 January 1950, the underground stream had to be frozen a second time, and both shafts were eventually drawing from the 612 and 1,062 yard levels, with service levels at 462 and 912 yards connected by staple shafts. The No. 2 shaft, under its distinctive A-frame headgear, became the main coal-drawing shaft in August 1956. In the late 1950s two cages collided in it and three of the four fell to the bottom; no one was travelling at the time and nobody was hurt. In 1974 Hem Heath and Florence were merged into the Trentham project, with a 2,837-yard drift driven at one in four from the surface here and an underground connection to Florence, so that all the coal from both came up at Hem Heath where the railhead and the new coal preparation plant were. By the late 1980s the two were one mine, Trentham Colliery, Hem Heath as Trentham West and Florence as Trentham East.

Geology

The North Staffordshire coalfield, proved by borehole down to and including the Great Row seam, along with the Black Band Ironstone series which was never worked here. Reserves were reckoned very large — boring after nationalisation indicated substantial resources down to 4,000 feet and more below that. Sinking had to contend with a fast-flowing underground stream in the upper measures, and in its last years the workings were driven through the Apedale Fault into new ground south of the Silverdale take.

Workings

Two shafts. The No. 1, sunk from 1924 and later deepened, ended as the service shaft under a tower-mounted Koepe electric winder reaching all four levels; the original steam winding engine house was kept as a store and still stood in 1996. The No. 2, sunk from 1950 and over 3,300 feet deep, carried an A-frame headgear with a ground-mounted electric winder to the 462 and 612 yard levels on one side and a ground-mounted Koepe winder to the 912 and 1,062 yard levels on the other. Working levels were at 612 and 1,062 yards with service levels at 462 and 912, linked by staple shafts. From 1974 a 2,837-yard drift at one in four ran from the surface, and an underground roadway connected the mine to Florence.

Closure

Having produced the fastest 2.5 million tons in Europe in 1991-92, the colliery was declared "not required" by British Coal. It last produced in October 1992 and closed formally in October 1993 on a care-and-maintenance basis. Coal Investments then took it over and shut the Florence section to concentrate on Hem Heath, but the company went into administrative receivership. The winding gear came down in 1997.

What remains

The site is now part of Trentham Lakes, a business and leisure development south of Stoke-on-Trent; the Bet365 Stadium stands on ground that was colliery land. Surplus methane from the abandoned workings was, and continues to be, disposed of through the gas grid.

The headgear was demolished in 1997 and the site has been comprehensively redeveloped; no colliery structure is known to survive.

Redevelopment

Trentham Lakes business park and the Bet365 Stadium.

Related mines

• Florence 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.

Nearby mines

• Florence Colliery — 3.9 km NE
• Fenton Park Colliery — 4.3 km N
• Racecourse Colliery, Hanley — 7.3 km N
• Far Green Colliery — 7.7 km N
• Silverdale Colliery — 8.0 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 Duke of Sutherland cut the first sod of the new colliery at Hem Heath, Trentham, on Wednesday 30 July 1924, for the Stafford Coal and Iron Company Ltd. ¹
• Sinking of the No. 1 shaft was seriously delayed by a very fast flowing underground stream which had to be frozen before work could resume; the same problem was met again when the No. 2 shaft was sunk from 1950. ¹
• The No. 2 shaft was over 3,300 feet deep — for a time the third deepest in the United Kingdom — and became the main coal-drawing shaft in August 1956. Coal was drawn from the 612 and 1,062 yard levels, with service levels at 462 and 912 yards connected by staple shafts. ^1,2
• In the late 1950s two cages collided in the No. 2 shaft and three of the four fell to the bottom. Nobody was travelling the shaft at the time and no injuries were sustained. ¹
• Hem Heath and Florence were merged from 1974 into a single complex with a planned combined output of 2.5 million tons a year, the turf cut by Derek Ezra, chairman of the National Coal Board, on 24 May 1974. A 2,837-yard drift at one in four was driven from the surface at Hem Heath and an underground connection made to Florence. By the late 1980s they were one mine, Trentham Colliery, Hem Heath as Trentham West and Florence as Trentham East. ¹
• The colliery employed over 1,700 people in the 1970s and produced more than a million tonnes of coal a year. ²
• The colliery produced the fastest 2.5 million tons in Europe in 1991-92, was then declared "not required" by British Coal, last produced in October 1992 and closed in October 1993 on a care-and-maintenance basis. The winding gear was demolished in 1997. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) A History of Hem Heath Colliery, by Jim Worgan — North Staffordshire Miners’ Group / Apedale Heritage Centre
2. (secondary) Hem Heath Woods Timeline — Trentham Heritage

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