Stillingfleet Mine

Overview

One of the five satellite pits of the Selby coalfield, sunk by Thyssen from 1978 and in production from January 1988. Like its neighbours it raised no coal of its own: its output went underground to Gascoigne Wood. It absorbed North Selby's take in 1997, produced over three and a half million tonnes a year at its peak, and was the last Selby pit but one to stop, on 30 July 2004.

History

Planning permission to sink two 7.315-metre (24 ft) shafts at Stillingfleet was granted in 1976 as part of the National Coal Board's Selby scheme, and preliminary work began in 1977. Thyssen (GB) Ltd sank the shafts, which the Northern Mine Research Society dates from June 1978 and the Railway to Greenway timeline from September 1978; they reached the Barnsley seam in 1982, the shafts and surface buildings were complete by June 1984, and in March 1987 the mine was connected to the south spine tunnel at Gascoigne Wood. Coal production began in January 1988. Stillingfleet never wound coal: under the Selby design every pit sent its coal by conveyor to the drift mine at Gascoigne Wood, where it was raised, prepared and sent out by rail, and the pithead handled only men, materials and, during sinking and development, spoil. After privatisation the complex passed from British Coal to RJB Mining, later UK Coal. When North Selby closed in July 1997 because of the geological problems its depth caused, its take was merged with Stillingfleet's, and output rose to 3,630,000 tonnes in 1997, the highest of the recorded years. Continuous losses led UK Coal to announce the phased closure of the whole complex in July 2002, and coal production at Stillingfleet ended on 30 July 2004, between Wistow in May and Riccall in October.

Geology

The Barnsley seam of the concealed Yorkshire coalfield, which extends north beneath the Vale of York under younger Permian and Triassic cover; the Selby scheme was licensed to work that seam alone. At Stillingfleet the shafts met it at about 708 metres.

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

Workings

Two 7.315-metre shafts, about 708 metres deep, for men, materials and ventilation only. Coal travelled underground by conveyor to Gascoigne Wood, reached through a connection to the south spine tunnel made in March 1987; from July 1997 the mine also worked the former North Selby take.

Closure

UK Coal announced the phased closure of the Selby complex in July 2002 after continuous losses; coal production at Stillingfleet ended on 30 July 2004. Loss of subsidy, geological problems and low coal prices had made the complex unprofitable.

What remains

Derelict and partly cleared. A 2023 visit found the administration block, pithead baths, winders and both pitheads demolished, workshops and stores standing stripped and vandalised, and both shafts capped and fenced, with gas drawn from one of them to generate electricity in the old substation buildings.

Workshops, a stores building with canteen, a small office, the electrical substations and switchrooms, a spoil transfer yard and the narrow-gauge tracks that served the two capped shafts.

Redevelopment

Part of the site generates electricity from mine gas drawn from a capped shaft; redevelopment of the rest as a waste sorting centre has been sought.

Related mines

• Gascoigne Wood Mine — All of Stillingfleet's coal went underground to Gascoigne Wood, to which it was connected through the south spine tunnel in March 1987.
• North Selby Mine — North Selby's take was merged with Stillingfleet's when it closed in July 1997.

Nearby mines

• Riccall Mine — 5.0 km SE
• Wistow Mine — 5.8 km SW
• North Selby Mine — 5.9 km NE
• Whitemoor Mine — 7.7 km SE
• Gascoigne Wood Mine — 11.4 km SW

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Shaft sinking began in June 1978. (disputed) ^1,2
• Shaft sinking began in September 1978. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• Planning permission for two 7.315 m (24 ft) shafts was granted in 1976 and preliminary work began in 1977; Thyssen (GB) Ltd sank the 708 m shafts, reaching the Barnsley seam in 1982. ¹
• Shaft sinking began in June 1978. (disputed) ^1,2
• Shaft sinking began in September 1978. (disputed) ³
• Coal mining began in January 1988. ^1,2
• Stillingfleet was connected to the south spine tunnel at Gascoigne Wood in March 1987; the shafts and surface were completed in June 1984. ³
• North Selby's take was merged with Stillingfleet's when North Selby closed in July 1997. ^4,1
• Known output: 2,250,000 t (1995), 2,752,000 (1996), 3,630,000 (1997), 3,530,000 (1998), 1,974,000 (1999), 1,902,000 (2000), 1,691,000 (2001). ¹
• Coal production at Stillingfleet ended on 30 July 2004, after UK Coal announced the phased closure of the Selby complex in July 2002. ^4,1,2
• In August 2023 the pitheads, winders, administration block and baths had been demolished; one capped shaft supplied gas for on-site electricity generation. ²
• The BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine-plans catalogue holds plans filed under 'STILLINGFLEET MINE'. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Stillingfleet Mine — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (observational) Report - Stillingfleet Colliery - August 2023 — 28DaysLater
3. (secondary) Selby Coalfield Timeline — Railway to Greenway (York Greenways)
4. (secondary) Selby Coalfield — Wikipedia
5. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans: STILLINGFLEET MINE — British Geological Survey

Record created: 21 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026