New Lodge Colliery, Gawthorpe

Overview

George and John Haigh's colliery at Gawthorpe, Ossett, worked from 1855 to 1889, whose managers were prosecuted after an avoidable explosion in 1874; its old shafts were widened for New Low Laithes.

History

New Lodge Colliery, listed also as Gawthorpe Colliery, lay at Gawthorpe, Ossett, and was owned from 1855 to 1889 by George and John Haigh. It was most probably the pits earlier known as Lodge Hill, two shallow shafts, Nos. 42 and 43, sunk 30 and 18 yards to the Top Haigh Moor seam, which J. Roberts had owned from 1850. The Haighs also worked Park Lane Colliery at Flushdyke, and the plan of the Haigh Moor workings of Gawthorpe and Park Lane together was lodged as abandoned in 1888.

In 1874 an explosion in the pit killed Burman Lister. The inspector of mines, Mr Wardell, held that it could have been avoided, and prosecuted the manager, William Haigh, and the two under-managers, John and Isaac Oates, at Dewsbury Petty Sessions. The colliery closed in 1889. Its old shafts were very probably the ones the Low Laithes Colliery Company widened in 1890 for its New Low Laithes pit, opened in 1892.

Geology

West Yorkshire coal measures: the Haigh Moor seams.

Workings

Shallow shafts (as Lodge Hill, Nos. 42 and 43, 30 and 18 yards to the Top Haigh Moor).

Closure

Closed in 1889; the Gawthorpe and Park Lane Haigh Moor workings were abandoned under a plan of 1888.

What remains

Unknown.

Related mines

• Low Laithes Colliery — New Lodge's old shafts were very probably the ones widened in 1890 for Low Laithes Colliery Company's New Low Laithes pit.
• Park Lane Colliery, Ossett — Both belonged to George and John Haigh, and their Haigh Moor workings were abandoned under one plan of 1888.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Its old shafts were probably those widened in 1890 for New Low Laithes, opened in 1892. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• George and John Haigh owned New Lodge Colliery at Gawthorpe from 1855 to 1889. ^1,2
• After an explosion in 1874 that killed Burman Lister, the manager and two under-managers were prosecuted at Dewsbury Petty Sessions. ²
• The Haigh Moor workings of Gawthorpe and Park Lane were abandoned under a joint plan of 1888. ³
• Its old shafts were probably those widened in 1890 for New Low Laithes, opened in 1892. (uncertain) ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Mines of coal and stratified deposits in Yorkshire from 1854: G (NMRS) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Ossett coal mining (Ossett - the history of a Yorkshire town) — ossett.net
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: GAWTHORP & PARK LANE, Haigh Moor, abandoned 1888 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 24 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026