Nibley Colliery

Overview

One of three collieries -- with Frog Lane and Mayshill -- run by the Coalpit Heath Coal Co. north of Bristol, producing coal from before 1832 until the district's coal ran out in 1949.

History

Nibley Colliery was one of three pits -- alongside Frog Lane and Mayshill -- collectively run as the Coalpit Heath Coal Co. (from 1900 Ltd), all three known to have been producing coal prior to 1832. By 1891-93, Nibley was the northernmost of a total of seven pits served by mineral railways in the vicinity, connected by its own dedicated mineral line running from the newly opened Coalpit Heath station. Coal in the district ran out in 1949, ending mining across the whole Coalpit Heath area; the National Coal Board's closure of the nearby Frog Lane pit and Mayshill Colliery by that year marks the end of the same district-wide exhaustion of reserves that also ended working at Nibley.

Workings

Worked as one of a group of pits sharing a mineral-railway network, connected to the wider Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway system via a dedicated line from Coalpit Heath station.

Closure

Coal in the wider Coalpit Heath district was exhausted by 1949, ending mining across the whole area.

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.

• Nibley, Frog Lane and Mayshill collieries were all run by the Coalpit Heath Coal Co. and are known to have been producing coal prior to 1832. ¹
• By 1891-93 Nibley was the northernmost of seven pits served by mineral railways in the vicinity, connected by its own dedicated line from the newly opened Coalpit Heath station. ²
• Coal in the Coalpit Heath district ran out in 1949, the same exhaustion of reserves that saw the National Coal Board close the neighbouring Frog Lane pit and Mayshill Colliery. ¹
• The northern group of Coalpit Heath pits -- Frog Lane, Mayshill and Nibley -- were small-scale workings before the Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway reached them; the line was extended to serve the group after 1852 once they had been enlarged. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) Coalpit Heath — Wikishire
2. (secondary) Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Mayshill — Wikipedia

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026