New Cottam Colliery

Overview

Appleby and Co.'s colliery at Barlborough, near Chesterfield, sunk about 1853, where a newly fitted link snapped in January 1853 and seven men fell to their deaths. Later Cottam No. 2 pit, it was reopened as Hazel Colliery from 1909 to 1914.

History

Cottam Colliery at Barlborough, north-east Derbyshire, was sunk about 1853 by Appleby and Co., whose works at Eckington drew coal from the Barlborough district, and was later owned by the Eckington Coal and Iron Company. Its second pit, Cottam No. 2, was known as the New Colliery, with a brickworks beside it on the 1875 Ordnance Survey map; both had gone by the 1899 map. The old New Colliery was reopened in 1909 as Hazel Colliery by a group of local businessmen and worked coal until 1914, carrying on as a brickworks until 1917.

On 21 January 1853, as men were lowered in the morning, a link in the short chain at the end of the rope snapped; it had been put in the evening before, was of poor iron and badly welded, and had not been tested. Seven died. No more than forty men worked underground, yet eight or nine often rode a cage meant for six. The inspector, Charles Morton, found the shaft badly walled, without guides, the ropes seldom examined, the signals irregular and no written rules at the pit, and urged side chains on the cage and wooden conductors in every drawing shaft.

Geology

The exposed Derbyshire coalfield at Barlborough, where coal, fireclay and limestone were worked together.

Workings

A drawing shaft with a cage hung from a short chain at the rope's end, unguided in 1853; a brickworks beside the No. 2 pit.

Closure

The colliery and its brickworks had gone by the 1899 Ordnance Survey map; the pit was reopened as Hazel Colliery in 1909 and closed for coal in 1914, the brickworks continuing until 1917.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• New Cottam Colliery shaft accident, 1853
  21 January 1853 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 7 fatalities
  At about seven in the morning of 21 January 1853, as men were lowered down Appleby and Co.'s New Cottam Colliery near Chesterfield, a newly fitted iron link in the chain at the rope's end snapped and they fell to the bottom. Seven died. The link had been put in the evening before and never properly tested.

Recorded claims

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

• Cottam Colliery, Barlborough, was sunk in 1853 by Appleby and Co. and later owned by the Eckington Coal and Iron Co. ¹
• Cottam No. 2 pit was also known as the Cottam New Colliery; it was reopened as Hazel Colliery in 1909 and closed for coal in 1914. ^1,2
• On 21 January 1853 a newly fitted, untested link snapped and seven men fell to their deaths. ^3,4
• The inspector found the shaft badly walled and unguided, the ropes seldom examined and no written rules at the pit. ^3,4
• The colliery and brickworks had disappeared by the 1899 map. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Old Bricks: England 5b-3 (Cottam and Barlboro) — Brocross Old Bricks
2. (secondary) Barlborough — oldminer.co.uk
3. (secondary) New Cottam Colliery Shaft Accident - Chesterfield - 1853 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) Colliery Disaster: New Cottam, 21 January 1853 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026