Saint Vincent's Colliery

Overview

Saint Vincent's was a Forest of Dean gale at Darkhill near Coleford, licensed to James Grindell in April 1844 to work the Upper and Lower Trenchard veins. The coal turned out to be no good. What saved the venture was the clay beneath it, which was fit for brickmaking: a licence to dig it was granted in 1855, machinery was erected on land bought in 1853, and by 1857 the business was styling itself St Vincent Colliery and Clay Works and seeking a tramroad to the Success Level. It stayed tiny — eighteen people in 1894, three in 1900, five in 1905 working seven months of the year — and was still returning the Trenchard seam to the last.

History

A licence was granted on 16 April 1844 to James Grindell senior of Standfast for a pit at Standfast in Dark Hill, about a hundred yards south of his house, to get coal from the Upper and Lower Trenchard veins. Grindell opened the colliery and found the coal was no good, but wanted to work the clay underlying it, which was suitable for brickmaking. He bought the freehold of the land over the gale in 1853 so that brickmaking machinery could be erected, and on 18 July 1855 a licence to dig clay from under Saint Vincent Colliery was granted to him and P. E. Wanklyn. In 1856 he wanted to let a half share. By 1 December 1857 the business appears as St Vincent Colliery and Clay Works, seeking permission to lay a tramroad to connect with the branch to the Success Level and so reach the Severn and Wye. Two brickworks kilns stood on the west of the road. The colliery itself never amounted to much. The Lists of Mines give eighteen people in 1894, eleven in 1896, three in 1900 and five in 1905, that last year worked for only seven months, with the Trenchard seam returned throughout and steam coal by 1905. Its owners run from Jenkins and Jordan through Aston and Shore to St Vincent Colliery Ltd; a St Vincent Colliery (Forest of Dean) Ltd was incorporated on 11 December 1901 with capital of £3,000 in one-pound shares and no invitation to the public, formed to purchase the colliery from Dickin, Flint, Martin and Phelps, who had been carrying it on as joint owners.

Geology

Saint Vincent's worked the Upper and Lower Trenchard veins, the lowest coals of the Forest of Dean basin, which crop out along the western edge near Coleford. At this gale the Trenchard coal proved poor, but the seatearth beneath it was a clay good enough for brickmaking, and that is what the works came to depend on — the pattern that produced the district's firebrick trade.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

A small gale worked from a pit at Standfast in Dark Hill, about a hundred yards south of Grindell's house, with a brickworks alongside it: two kilns stood on the west of the road. The 1857 proposal was to lay a tramroad connecting the works to the branch serving the Success Level.

Closure

No closure date has been found. The colliery was returned as working only seven months of 1905, with five people, and a company was formed to purchase it as late as December 1901. Its ground at Darkhill lies among the scheduled remains of David Mushet's ironworks and the Titanic Steelworks.

What remains

The Darkhill ground is now best known for the scheduled remains of David Mushet's ironworks and the Titanic Steelworks nearby, in the woods between Coleford and Ellwood. Nothing identifiable of Saint Vincent's colliery or its brick kilns has been traced on the ground.

Nearby mines

• Dark Hill Colliery — 1.2 km NW, Gloucestershire
• Clearwell Caves — 1.6 km W, Gloucestershire
• Brookall Ditches Colliery — 2.4 km E, Gloucestershire
• Princess Royal Colliery — 2.5 km SE
• Gentlemen Colliers — 2.8 km N, Gloucestershire

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.

• A licence was granted on 16 April 1844 to James Grindell senior of Standfast for a pit at Standfast in Dark Hill, about a hundred yards south of his house, to get coal from the Upper and Lower Trenchard veins. ¹
• Grindell opened the colliery in 1844, found the coal was no good, and wanted instead to work the underlying clay, which was suitable for brickmaking. ¹
• A licence to dig clay from under Saint Vincent Colliery was granted to James Grindell and P. E. Wanklyn on 18 July 1855; the freehold of the land over the gale had been bought in 1853 to allow brickmaking machinery to be erected. ¹
• On 1 December 1857 St Vincent Colliery and Clay Works sought permission to lay a tramroad to connect with the branch to the Success Level. ¹
• The Lists of Mines record eighteen people in 1894, eleven in 1896, three in 1900 and five in 1905, when the colliery worked only seven months; the Trenchard seam is returned throughout. ²
• St Vincent Colliery (Forest of Dean) Ltd was incorporated on 11 December 1901 with capital of £3,000 in one-pound shares and no invitation to the public, to purchase the colliery from Dickin, Flint, Martin and Phelps. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Saint Vincent: Forest of Dean coal gales — Forest of Dean Local History Society, from the gale licences and company records
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Saint Vincents Colliery — Durham Mining Museum, from the Lists of Mines

Record created: 11 September 2026 · Last researched: 11 September 2026