Wath Main Colliery

Overview

Wath Main, sunk in the Dearne Valley from 1873, worked three of South Yorkshire's most prized seams over more than a century — and killed seven of its own men in a 1930 double explosion before finally closing in 1988, its site now the short-lived Wath Country Park and, since 2007, a housing estate.

History

Sinking of the first of Wath Main's two shafts began in 1873, reaching the highly prized Barnsley seam three years later; the shafts were later deepened, first in 1912 to reach the Parkgate seam and then, in 1923, to the Silkstone seam. The colliery was operated by the Wath Main Colliery Company Limited. On 24 February 1930, two explosions in the Billingley Drift District killed seven men and injured three more (see Disasters, below). The colliery passed to the National Coal Board at nationalisation in 1947, and was amalgamated with its neighbour, Manvers Main Colliery, on 1 January 1986; final closure came on 25 March 1988. The site was subsequently reclaimed as Wath Country Park, but the park itself lasted barely a decade: in May 2007 the land was sold off to developers and given over to housing.

Geology

The mine worked the Barnsley, Parkgate and Silkstone seams of the South Yorkshire Coalfield's Coal Measures, successively deepened to reach each.

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

Workings

Two shafts served the colliery, sunk from 1873 and deepened in stages to reach the Barnsley (1876), Parkgate (1912) and Silkstone (1923) seams in turn.

Closure

Amalgamated with the neighbouring Manvers Main Colliery on 1 January 1986; final closure followed on 25 March 1988.

What remains

The site was reclaimed as Wath Country Park after closure, but the park itself lasted only around ten years before the land was sold to developers in May 2007 and given over to housing.

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

• Wath Main Colliery explosions, 1930
  24 February 1930 · Explosion · 7 fatalities
  Two explosions in the Billingley Drift District of Wath Main Colliery on 24 February 1930 killed seven men and injured three more, after a fall of roof broke a miner's flame lamp in an area an inspector's ventilation order had not, in fact, been carried out.

Recorded claims

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

• Sinking of the first shaft began in 1873, reaching the Barnsley seam three years later; the shafts were later deepened to reach the Parkgate seam in 1912 and the Silkstone seam in 1923. ¹
• The colliery was amalgamated with the neighbouring Manvers Main Colliery on 1 January 1986, with final closure on 25 March 1988. ¹
• The site was reclaimed as Wath Country Park after closure, but the park was sold to developers in May 2007 for housing after lasting only around ten years. ¹
• Two explosions in the Billingley Drift District on 24 February 1930 killed seven men and injured three more. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Wath Main Colliery — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Wath Main Colliery Explosions - Wath-on-Dearne - 1930 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 28 August 2026