Killingbeck Colliery

Location	South of York Road, Killingbeck, east Leeds (now Primrose Valley Park, Halton), West Yorkshire — 53.8034, -1.4829 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	c. 1865–1885
Maximum depth	Unknown.

Overview

A short-lived colliery in east Leeds, south of the York Road at Killingbeck, sunk about 1871 and worked until 1885; its site is now Primrose Valley Park, Halton.

A path passing under a green arched Primrose Valley sign beside a tall steel palisade fence. — Northern entrance to Primrose Valley Park, Halton, over a bridge that once gave access to a colliery, 2025 Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

History

Killingbeck Colliery lay in east Leeds, south of the York Road and the railway, on ground that is now Primrose Valley Park in Halton; the Killingbeck estate itself lay north of the road. The colliery is recorded from 1865, and it was probably sunk around 1871: in July that year a sinker of 25, John Stewart, was killed when part of a capstan chain fell on him in the shaft. It worked more than one seam, for in December 1870 a hanger-on fell down the shaft while working at the higher seam.

Other recorded deaths were a hanger-on struck in 1874 when the door of a bucket blew off while he was in the cage, and colliers killed by falls of roof in 1873 and 1885. The colliery was worked until 1885, and the abandonment plans of its workings are dated 1886.

Geology

Unknown.

Workings

A shaft with landings at more than one seam, worked by cage, with a capstan used in sinking.

Closure

Worked until 1885; abandonment plans are dated 1886.

What remains

The site lies within Primrose Valley Park, Halton.

Nearby mines

Barnbow Pit — 2.8 miles (4.5 km) E
Rothwell Haigh Colliery — 2.8 miles (4.6 km) S
Water Haigh Colliery — 4.0 miles (6.4 km) SE
Sisters Pit, Garforth — 4.1 miles (6.6 km) E
Isabella Pit, Garforth — 4.5 miles (7.2 km) E

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.

Killingbeck colliery, Leeds, is listed from 1865 to 1885, probably sunk in 1871. ¹
Killingbeck Colliery was south of the York Road and the railway, in what is now Primrose Valley Park, Halton. ²
In July 1871 a sinker of 25 at Killingbeck was killed when part of a capstan chain fell on him in the shaft. ³
Abandonment plans of Killingbeck workings are dated 1886. ⁴

Sources

(secondary) Yorkshire coal mines list, K — Northern Mine Research Society
(secondary) Killingbeck — Wikipedia
(primary) Killingbeck Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21922873: Killingbeck, abandoned 1886 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026