Serridge Pit

Overview

A coal pit in the Coalpit Heath basin of South Gloucestershire, recorded on an official abandonment plan together with the neighbouring Ram Hill and Orchard workings, part of a coalfield worked since at least the 14th century.

History

Serridge Pit worked coal in the Coalpit Heath basin of South Gloucestershire, a district where coal had been worked since at least the 14th century and probably earlier. The official Coal Authority abandonment plan covering this ground, catalogued by the British Geological Survey as R333B, groups Serridge together with the Orchard workings and numbered Coalpit Heath pits 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 19 -- including the already-published Ram Hill -- on a single combined sheet, itself evidence of how closely the district's underground workings were interlinked rather than run as isolated, self-contained pits. Beyond this, no reliable individual account of Serridge's own opening date, operators, output or closure has yet been located.

Workings

Serridge Engine was a drainage pit rather than a winding shaft -- coal itself was wound at the neighbouring Orchard (Middle Whimsey) Colliery a few hundred yards away -- sunk to about 300 feet and draining a wide area of the basin into the 'Clamp' pond via a dedicated reservoir shaft and heading.

What remains

The site was recorded by local researchers as recently as August 2019, when the engine's ash pit was still identifiable on the surface alongside the pumping shaft and reservoir shaft.

The pumping shaft, a reservoir shaft with its heading to the Clamp pond, and the engine's ash pit.

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.

• The official Coal Authority abandonment plan for this ground (BGS catalogue R333B) groups Serridge together with the Orchard workings and numbered Coalpit Heath pits 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 19, including the already-published Ram Hill, on a single combined sheet. ¹
• Coalpit Heath lies within a South Gloucestershire coal basin worked since at least the 14th century. ²
• Serridge Engine (grid reference ST 6747 7963) was sunk around 1785 to about 300 feet as a dedicated drainage pit, likely ceasing work some time after 1845; coal winding for this part of the basin was carried out at the separate Orchard (Middle Whimsey) Colliery nearby. ³

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (primary) Mine abandonment plan: COAL PIT HEATH NOS 1 5 6 7 8 10 11 19 / ORCHARD / RAM HILL / SERRIDGE (BGS/Mining Remediation Authority mine-plans catalogue, R333B) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority mine-plans catalogue
2. (secondary) Coalpit Heath — Wikishire
3. (secondary) The South Gloucestershire Coalfield: Coalpit Heath — Industrial Gwent

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