Walsall Wood Colliery

Overview

A Cannock Chase coalfield colliery sunk from 1874 by a group of Walsall businessmen with no prior mining experience, reaching the deepest shaft in the coalfield at the time before closing in 1964; a fatal roof collapse in 1956 killed four men.

History

Walsall Wood Colliery was set up by a group of wealthy Walsall businessmen with no previous experience of mining, leasing the land from the Earl of Bradford; shaft sinking began in 1874. The Deep Coal seam was reached in 1877 at 1,677 feet, making the shaft the deepest in the Cannock Chase coalfield at the time, though production did not actually begin until 1879. The colliery expanded in 1894 by purchasing the neighbouring Pelsall Colliery from the Pelsall Coal & Iron Co. On 9 October 1956, a junction in the Charles Seam -- previously partially collapsed and only temporarily supported by a hollow wooden chock -- gave way without warning, trapping a work team under fallen beams and steel joists; four men died and a fifth, Lionel Walker, was freed alive after some seven hours by manager George Schofield and colleagues Henry Joiner and Ted Bevan, who were later awarded British Empire Medals for the rescue (see Disasters, below). The colliery finally closed on 30 October 1964, once its economically recoverable coal reserves were exhausted. A memorial pithead sculpture by the artist Luke Perry was erected on the site in 2010, next to what is now Oak Park Leisure Centre.

Workings

Sunk from 1874, reaching the Deep Coal seam at 1,677 feet in 1877; expanded in 1894 with the purchase of the neighbouring Pelsall Colliery.

Closure

Closed on 30 October 1964, once its economically recoverable coal reserves were exhausted.

What remains

A memorial pithead sculpture by the artist Luke Perry was erected on the site in 2010, standing today next to Oak Park Leisure Centre.

A 2010 memorial pithead sculpture; no original colliery structures are known to survive.

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.

Disasters & major incidents

• Walsall Wood Colliery Collapse (1956)
  9 October 1956 · Collapse / Roof Fall · 4 fatalities
  A collapsed roof junction in the Charles Seam at Walsall Wood Colliery killed four men on 9 October 1956; a fifth was rescued alive after some seven hours trapped in the debris.

Recorded claims

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

• Walsall Wood Colliery was sunk from 1874 by Walsall businessmen with no prior mining experience, leasing from the Earl of Bradford; the Deep Coal seam was reached at 1,677 feet in 1877, the deepest shaft in the Cannock Chase coalfield at the time. ¹
• The colliery closed on 30 October 1964 once its economically recoverable reserves were exhausted; a 2010 memorial pithead by Luke Perry now marks the site. ¹
• On 9 October 1956 a collapsed junction in the Charles Seam, previously supported only by a temporary wooden chock, killed four men; a fifth, Lionel Walker, was freed alive after some seven hours. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Walsall Wood — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Walsall Wood Colliery accident, 1956 — BrownhillsBob's Brownhills Blog

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 1 September 2026