Manton Colliery

Overview

A Worksop-area colliery sunk from 1897 by the Wigan Coal & Iron Co., its purpose-built model village and near-century working life ending as one of 29 pits to close within a single year in the winter of 1993-94.

History

Manton Colliery was sunk from 1897 by the Wigan Coal & Iron Co., south-east of Worksop, aiming for the Top Hard seam (an extension of the Barnsley seam), found at 718 yards depth. The engine house was built in 1905, and coal-getting began that June; the pit was fully operational by around 1907, with the model village of Manton built specifically to house its workforce. Four main shafts, each 20 feet in diameter, were sunk over the colliery's life: No. 1 for pumping only, at 193 yards; Nos. 2 and 3, an upcast/downcast pairing, to 733 yards; and No. 4, sunk in the late 1940s, reaching the Deep Soft seam at 911 yards and the Parkgate seam at 957 yards. The Top Hard seam was worked from 1905 to 1964, the Parkgate from 1962 to 1994, and the Flockton seam from 1991. Ownership passed from the Wigan Coal & Iron Co. (to 1925) to the Wigan Coal Corporation Ltd (1930-1946), then the National Coal Board from 1947 and British Coal Corporation from 1987. Around 1,500 people worked at the pit when it closed on 11 February 1994, the 29th of many collieries to close across Britain within that single year. The spoil heaps were later restored, becoming Manton Pit Wood by 1997, while the colliery site itself is now occupied by a large B&Q distribution centre.

Workings

Four shafts, each 20 feet in diameter: No. 1 (pumping only, 193 yards), Nos. 2 and 3 (733 yards, upcast/downcast), and No. 4, sunk in the late 1940s to 957 yards at the Parkgate seam.

Closure

Closed 11 February 1994, the 29th colliery to close across Britain within that single year, with around 1,500 employed at the time.

What remains

The colliery site is now occupied by a large B&Q distribution centre; the former spoil heaps were restored as Manton Pit Wood by 1997.

No specific surviving colliery structures were established from the sources checked for this pass.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

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

• Manton Colliery was sunk from 1897 by the Wigan Coal & Iron Co., reaching the Top Hard seam at 718 yards; coal getting began in June 1905. ^1,2
• Four main shafts, each 20 feet in diameter, were sunk over the colliery's life, the last (No. 4, late 1940s) reaching the Parkgate seam at 957 yards. ¹
• The colliery closed on 11 February 1994 with around 1,500 employed, the 29th colliery to close across Britain within that single year. ²
• The former spoil heaps were restored as Manton Pit Wood by 1997; the colliery site is now occupied by a large B&Q distribution centre. ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Manton Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Manton Colliery — Wikipedia

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 27 August 2026