MineArchiveHolmes Colliery, Rotherham
| Location | Holmes, south-west of Rotherham town centre, South Yorkshire — 53.4263, -1.3732 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | by 1854 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
Overview
A colliery at Holmes, half a mile south-west of Rotherham, whose No. 2 shaft was sunk in 1857-61, with deaths recorded from 1854 to 1881; the site later served as a pumping station.
History
Holmes Colliery lay at Holmes, about half a mile south-west of the centre of Rotherham. Deaths are recorded there from 1854, when a man was killed by a fall of coal; its No. 2 shaft was sunk between 1857 and 1861, and the colliery is listed as working from 1858 to 1867. Its record of deaths runs on to 1881, and is typical of a pit of its time: falls of roof and coal underground, boys of 14 and 15 run over by corves and tubs or crushed by them on the haulage, and men killed on the surface by waggons and a locomotive. In 1871 a collier was killed by a fall of pipes in the pumping shaft, and in 1870 a byeworker taking down brick arching was crushed when part of it fell.
Long after coal working ended, Holmes was used as a pumping station from 1928 to 1932.
Geology
Unknown.
Workings
A No. 2 shaft (sunk 1857-61) and a pumping shaft; engine planes and inclines underground worked with corves and tubs; a surface railway with a locomotive.
Closure
The last recorded death is of 1881; the site was used as a pumping station from 1928 to 1932.
What remains
Unknown.
Related mines
- Rotherham Main Colliery — Neighbouring Rotherham collieries.
Nearby mines
- Rotherham Main Colliery — 1.1 miles (1.8 km) S
- Grange Colliery — 1.2 miles (1.9 km) NW
- Tinsley Park Colliery — 1.6 miles (2.6 km) SW
- Aldwarke Main Colliery — 2.3 miles (3.8 km) NE
- Brightside Colliery — 2.6 miles (4.2 km) SW
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (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.
- Holmes colliery, Rotherham, is listed as working from 1858 to 1867; its No. 2 shaft was sunk from 1857 to 1861. 1
- Holmes, Rotherham, was used as a pumping station from 1928 to 1932. 1
- Deaths are recorded at Holmes Colliery from 1854 to 1881, including a collier killed by a fall of pipes in the pumping shaft in 1871. 2
Sources
- (secondary) Coal Mines in Yorkshire 1854 onwards (H) - Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society
- (primary) Holmes Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026