Racecourse Colliery, Hanley

Overview

A Hanley colliery of Earl Granville’s, its three shafts sunk on the ground of the old Potteries racecourse north of Etruria Hall — which is where its name comes from. It worked coal and ironstone together, employing over 600 below ground in the 1890s, and passed with the rest of Granville’s interests to the Shelton Iron, Steel and Coal Company. One pit given over wholly to ironstone closed in 1901 and another shaft in 1921; flooding and dwindling reserves ended the colliery in 1941.

History

The ground was a racecourse first. From 1824 races were run during the wakes over a mile-long course on a fifty-acre field east of Etruria Hall, and by the early 1830s the Potteries races were drawing over 30,000 spectators. The last meeting was held in 1841, and from 1850 racing moved to Boothen near Stoke. Earl Granville, who leased the mineral rights from the Duchy of Lancaster, opened pits on the former course around 1870, sinking three shafts and giving the colliery the name of the ground it stood on. It was one of the family’s several Hanley and Shelton undertakings, alongside the Deep Pit at Far Green and the pits near Hanley goods station. In 1894 the Racecourse pits employed 623 people below ground and 193 above. The 1896 report of W. N. Atkinson, HM Inspector of Mines for North Staffordshire, lists the workings as two separate entries under the Shelton Iron, Steel and Coal Co. Ltd of Etruria Hall, both managed by J. J. Prest. Racecourse Nos. 3 and 4, under-manager William Hadley, employed 386 below ground and 131 above, working manufacturing coal and ironstone from the Pennystone, Cannel Row, Great Row and Bassey Mine seams. Racecourse No. 5, under-manager A. T. Weaver, employed 151 below and 54 above and worked ironstone alone, from the Red Mine and Red Shagg. The pit given over solely to ironstone closed in 1901. Two of the shafts were modernised over the years and given steel headgears; one was closed in 1921.

Geology

The North Staffordshire coalfield at Hanley, worked here for both coal and ironstone — the Pennystone, Cannel Row, Great Row and Bassey Mine seams for manufacturing coal and ironstone together, and the Red Mine and Red Shagg for ironstone alone. Water was a constant problem: flooding is given as one of the two reasons the colliery finally closed.

Workings

Three shafts sunk on the site of the old race-course. The workings were returned to the Inspector as two distinct mines — Nos. 3 and 4 together, and No. 5 separately — under one manager but different under-managers, the first pair raising coal and ironstone and the second ironstone alone. Two of the shafts were later modernised and given steel headgears.

Closure

The ironstone-only pit closed in 1901 and one of the three shafts in 1921. Staffordshire Past Track gives the colliery’s working life as 1840 to 1941 and attributes the end to the ever-present hazard of flooding and, later, dwindling reserves, with closure in May 1941. The Victoria County History instead puts the end of production at the Racecourse Pits at about 1937, after which Granville’s Deep Pit was the only colliery left working in Hanley. Both readings are recorded; the 1941 date is the more specific and is used here.

What remains

Nothing of the colliery survives. The Etruria valley was cleared and redeveloped in the later twentieth century; the racecourse it was named for had already vanished a century earlier.

No colliery structure is known to survive.

Related mines

• Florence Colliery — Both fed the same steelworks under the same company: the Shelton Iron, Steel and Coal Co. owned the Racecourse pits outright by 1896, and from March 1911 its subsidiary the Coking Co. Ltd worked Florence under a profit-sharing agreement that sent much of Florence’s output to Shelton.

Nearby mines

• Wolstanton Colliery — 1.3 km NW
• Far Green Colliery — 1.5 km NE
• Holditch Colliery — 3.8 km W
• Fenton Park Colliery — 4.0 km SE
• Silverdale Colliery — 4.8 km SW

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.

• Three shafts were sunk on the site of the old Hanley race-course, from which the colliery takes its name. Races had been run there during the wakes from 1824 on a mile-long course east of Etruria Hall, drawing over 30,000 spectators by the early 1830s; the last meeting was held in 1841. ^1,2
• The Racecourse Pits were opened on the former Etruria course about 1870 by Earl Granville, who leased the mineral rights from the Duchy of Lancaster. ³
• In 1894 the Racecourse Pits employed 623 people below ground and 193 above. ³
• The 1896 report of W. N. Atkinson, HM Inspector of Mines for North Staffordshire, returns the workings as two mines under the Shelton Iron, Steel and Coal Co. Ltd, both managed by J. J. Prest. Racecourse Nos. 3 and 4, under-manager William Hadley, employed 386 below and 131 above, working manufacturing coal and ironstone from the Pennystone, Cannel Row, Great Row and Bassey Mine seams. Racecourse No. 5, under-manager A. T. Weaver, employed 151 below and 54 above and worked ironstone alone from the Red Mine and Red Shagg. ⁴
• One of the pits, devoted solely to ironstone mining, was closed in 1901. ³
• Two shafts were modernised over the years and received steel headgears; one was closed in 1921. ¹
• Accounts differ. Staffordshire Past Track dates the colliery 1840 to 1941 and attributes the closure in May 1941 to the ever-present hazard of flooding and later to dwindling reserves. The Victoria County History states that production ceased at the Racecourse Pits about 1937, after which the Deep Pit was the only colliery still working in Hanley. (disputed) ^1,3

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Racecourse Colliery — Staffordshire Past Track
2. (secondary) Etruria Racecourse — thepotteries.org
3. (secondary) Hanley: Local government, economic history and social life — Victoria County History of Staffordshire, vol. 8 — Victoria County History, via British History Online
4. (primary) Racecourse, Hanley — List of Mines worked under the Coal Mines Regulation Act in North Staffordshire during the Year 1896 — thepotteries.org, transcribing the report of W. N. Atkinson, HM Inspector for North Staffordshire, 1896

Record created: 8 September 2026 · Last researched: 8 September 2026