Northern United Colliery

Overview

The last large colliery sunk in the Forest of Dean, merging four smaller mineral gales under the 1904 Dean Forest (Mines) Act, whose closure on Christmas Day 1965 ended deep coal mining in the Forest for good.

History

Northern United Colliery, also known as the No. 2 Area, was formed by merging four smaller mineral gales — New Bowson, East Dean Deep, Holly Hill United and Richard Whites — the last such consolidation carried out under the Dean Forest (Mines) Act of 1904. Henry Crawshay & Co. Ltd bought the combined gale from the Lydney & Crump Meadow Collieries Co. Ltd for around £27,000 plus a further £60,000-70,000 for development, largely through the efforts of Crawshay's managing director, Arthur Morgan. Preparatory work began in July 1932 under manager Joseph Morrison; the shaft-sinking ceremony was performed by Miss Lisa F. Crawshay on 25 May 1933, and coal was struck at 230 yards on 8 February 1934. A breakthrough to the Hawkwell roadway followed that October, and screening operations began in late August 1935, with the colliery linked to the Great Western Railway's Churchway branch line that year.

The gale covered around 1,698 acres with estimated reserves of 10 million tons, and the colliery was equipped with a concrete winding engine house, a steel headframe relocated from the old Bowson workings, and a 91-inch ventilation fan; a coal washery was added in 1956. Ownership passed to the National Coal Board at nationalisation in 1947. The pit was rarely profitable — turning a profit in 1960 under NCB management was thought notable enough to record — and it closed on Christmas Day 1965, putting 700 men and boys out of work and ending deep coal mining in the Forest of Dean altogether. Rank Xerox acquired the surviving buildings soon afterward for warehousing.

Geology

Coal of the Forest of Dean, the first seam struck at 230 yards in February 1934 on ground formed from four merged mineral gales.

Workings

A single main shaft reaching 230 yards to the initial coal seam, struck in February 1934, formed from four merged mineral gales.

Closure

Closed 25 December 1965, putting 700 men and boys out of work and ending deep coal mining in the Forest of Dean.

What remains

No specific surviving colliery structures are recorded; some buildings were used for warehousing by Rank Xerox after closure.

Recorded claims

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

• Northern United was formed by merging four smaller mineral gales under the 1904 Dean Forest (Mines) Act; preparatory work began July 1932 and the shaft-sinking ceremony was held 25 May 1933. ¹
• Coal was struck at 230 yards depth on 8 February 1934, with the Hawkwell roadway breakthrough following that October. ¹
• The colliery was rarely profitable; turning a profit in 1960 under NCB management was considered notable enough to record. ¹
• Northern United closed on 25 December 1965, putting 700 men and boys out of work and ending deep coal mining in the Forest of Dean. ^1,2
• A miner, Bill Powell, was killed in what a visitor's family recollection describes as the last fatal pit accident at Northern United, in 1963. ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Northern United Colliery — Forest of Dean Local History Society
2. (observational) Cinderford - Miners at Northern United colliery — sungreen.co.uk

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