Stockfield Colliery

Overview

A Chadderton colliery beside the Middleton Junction railway, sunk through old workings with iron tubbing in the 1860s to work the Royley Mine at 310 metres, and later one of the Chamber Colliery Company's pits until it closed in 1914.

History

Stockfield Colliery stood next to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's Middleton Junction and Oldham branch at Chadderton. It was sunk by William Jones and Company, probably in the early 1860s, although the official lists give 1869. The shafts met the old workings of the neighbouring Ferney Field and Denton Lane collieries, and 64 metres of iron tubbing were put in to keep their water out. The Royley Mine, 0.9 metres thick, was reached and worked at a depth of 310 metres. The winding engines, with 26-inch cylinders and a five-foot stroke, were bought as a pair in 1865; one was moved to Ferney Field in July 1874 to replace a damaged engine there. In 1870 a sinker was killed when a hook holding a scaffold in No. 2 sinking pit broke, and in February 1880 two miners died when roof stone fell from a break above the level where they were starting work, although four props were set under it. Later owned by the Chamber Colliery Company, Stockfield employed between 158 and 206 men from 1894 to 1910, all in the Royley seam, producing gas, house and manufacturing coal. It closed in 1914.

Geology

Coal Measures of the Oldham Coalfield: the Royley (Arley) Mine, 0.9 metres thick at 310 metres; also the Lower Bent and Black mines on plans shared with Ferney Field and Denton Lane.

Workings

Shafts lined with 64 metres of iron tubbing through water-bearing old workings; a No. 2 sinking pit; a pair of winding engines with 26-inch cylinders (1865).

Closure

Closed in 1914; the Royley seam plan is dated that year.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Chamber Colliery — Both pits of the Chamber Colliery Company in Chadderton (DMM).

What's uncertain

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

• Stockfield was sunk by William Jones and Company, probably in the early 1860s. (disputed) ¹
• Stockfield Colliery opened in 1869. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Stockfield was sunk by William Jones and Company, probably in the early 1860s. (disputed) ¹
• Stockfield Colliery opened in 1869. (disputed) ²
• The shafts met old workings from Ferney Field or Denton Lane, and 64 metres of iron tubbing was used to keep the water out. ¹
• The Royley Mine, 0.9 metres thick, was worked at a depth of 310 metres. ^1,2
• The colliery was owned by the Chamber Colliery Company Limited. ²
• Stockfield closed in 1914. ^1,2,3

Sources

1. (secondary) Stockfield Colliery (1865-1914) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Stockfield Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) BGS mine plans: Stockfield, Royley (Arley) seam, abandoned 1914 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026