Newdigate Colliery

Overview

A Warwickshire colliery at Bedworth, named for its first owner Sir Francis Alexander Newdigate of Arbury Hall, whose family had been connected with coal in the county for centuries. Two shafts, Frank and Lilah, were begun in 1898 and winding coal by 1901; by 1904 the pit was in serious trouble from fires in the underground workings, and by 1914 the Newdigates regarded it as a liability and sold it. New pit bottoms 115 ft above the old ones and a decision to work only the top of the Warwickshire Thick Coal turned it round in the 1920s. It ceased production in February 1982, its reserves exhausted and its boundaries hemmed in by four other collieries — the last working coal mine in Warwickshire.

History

Newdigate Colliery took its name from its first owner, Sir Francis Alexander Newdigate of Arbury Hall near Nuneaton, whose family had been linked with Warwickshire coal mining for centuries. Work began on two shafts — named Frank and Lilah — in 1898, and coal winding started in 1901. It went wrong quickly. By 1904 the colliery was in serious trouble from poor performance caused by fires in the underground workings. New pit bottoms were built 115 feet above the original levels and drifts driven to connect them to the existing roadways, the old fire-damaged bottoms being sealed off. Even so, the Newdigate family regarded the enterprise as a liability by 1914 and sold it; a new company, Newdigate Colliery (1914) Limited, was formed. Productivity stayed low until the 1920s, when it was decided to work only the top section of the Warwickshire Thick Coal. On that footing the colliery became profitable, and it stayed with the 1914 company until nationalisation in 1947. Pithead baths and a canteen were built in 1951. A change of management in 1957 brought modernisation. Electric handlamps were replaced with Oldham electric cap lamps, which reduced miner’s nystagmus, the eye disease of working by poor light; a mechanised coalface was introduced and new electric winding engines replaced the steam ones. In June 1966 Newdigate became the first colliery in the coalfield to produce 7,000 tons from a single face. Productivity stayed high, but there was nowhere left to go: the take was bounded by Arley Colliery to the north, Griff to the east, the old workings of Charity and Exhall to the south-east and Coventry Colliery to the south-west. Newdigate ceased production in February 1982 with its workable reserves exhausted, and its men were transferred to other collieries in the Warwickshire coalfield.

Geology

The Warwickshire coalfield, and above all the Warwickshire Thick Coal — the exceptionally thick composite seam that made the county’s mining possible and its fires so hard to put out. From the 1920s Newdigate worked only the top section of it, which is what turned the colliery from a liability into a profitable one. The take was hemmed in on four sides by the workings of neighbouring collieries, which set the limit on its life.

Workings

Two shafts, Frank and Lilah, sunk from 1898. After the underground fires of the early 1900s new pit bottoms were constructed 115 ft above the original levels, with drifts driven to connect them to the existing roadways and the old bottoms sealed off. Pithead baths and a canteen followed in 1951; from 1957 the colliery was modernised with Oldham electric cap lamps, a mechanised coalface and electric winding engines in place of steam.

Closure

Newdigate ceased production in February 1982 because its workable coal reserves were exhausted — the take being bounded by Arley, Griff, the old Charity and Exhall workings and Coventry Colliery — and its miners were transferred to other pits in the Warwickshire coalfield. It was the last working coal mine in Warwickshire.

What remains

The colliery site off Astley Lane at Bedworth has been cleared. The course of the Newdigate Colliery mineral railway survives across the ground.

None of the colliery buildings; the mineral railway’s course survives.

Nearby mines

• Griff Colliery — 1.5 km NE
• Haunchwood Colliery — 4.1 km N
• Coventry Colliery — 5.5 km SW
• Daw Mill Colliery — 5.7 km SW
• Ansley Hall Colliery — 6.9 km NW

Straight-line distance, within 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.

• The colliery took its name from its first owner, Sir Francis Alexander Newdigate of Arbury Hall, Nuneaton, whose family had been linked with Warwickshire coal mining for centuries; work started on two shafts, Frank and Lilah, in 1898 and coal winding commenced in 1901. ¹
• As early as 1904 the colliery was in serious trouble from poor performance caused by fires in the underground workings; new pit bottoms were built 115 ft above the original levels with drifts driven to connect them to the existing roadways, and the old fire-damaged bottoms were sealed off. ¹
• The Newdigate family regarded the enterprise as a liability by 1914 and sold it to a new company, Newdigate Colliery (1914) Limited; productivity stayed low until the 1920s, when the decision to work only the top section of the Warwickshire Thick Coal made the colliery profitable. ¹
• A change of management in 1957 brought modernisation: electric handlamps were replaced with Oldham electric cap lamps, which led to fewer cases of miner’s nystagmus, and a mechanised coalface and electric winding engines were introduced in place of steam. ¹
• In June 1966 Newdigate became the first colliery in the Warwickshire coalfield to produce 7,000 tons of coal from a single coalface. ¹
• The colliery was bounded by the workings of Arley to the north, Griff to the east, the old Charity and Exhall workings to the south-east and Coventry Colliery to the south-west; it ceased production in February 1982 with its workable reserves exhausted, the last working coal mine in Warwickshire, and its miners were transferred to other pits in the coalfield. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Newdigate Colliery — Our Warwickshire (Warwickshire County Record Office)
2. (observational) Site of Newdigate Colliery, Astley Lane, Bedworth — Geograph

Record created: 7 September 2026 · Last researched: 7 September 2026