Wombwell Main Colliery

Overview

Wombwell's first big colliery, begun in the early 1850s beside the new South Yorkshire Railway, which employed over 1,400 men between the wars and by the 1960s sent coal from one seam up a surface drift and from another underground to Barrow colliery. It closed in May 1969, ending more than a century of mining in the town.

History

Industrial development at Wombwell followed the opening of the South Yorkshire Railway in 1851, and Discover Dearne dates Wombwell Main to 1855; the Durham Mining Museum gives the start of sinking as 1852, and the NCB's 1967 description says the earliest of its three shafts, 277 yards deep, was sunk before 1853. Two later shafts were sunk in 1885 and 1892, the deeper to 579 yards. The colliery belonged to the Wombwell Main Coal Co., later Wombwell Main Co., Ltd., which in 1896 also held Lundhill, with W. Gray as manager of both. It employed 984 in 1894 and 1,321 in 1910, working the Parkgate from No. 1 pit while No. 2, on the New Seam and Swallow Wood, had been abandoned; a No. 3 pit worked the Fenton by 1915, and the two pits employed 1,491 in 1923. Under the National Coal Board it produced 315,000 tons in 1947. By 1967 all output was won by power loaders: 800 men produced 260,000 tons a year, with coal from the Kent's Thin conveyed up a surface drift to the screens and coal from the Lidgett taken underground to Barrow colliery. It closed in May 1969.

Geology

Seams of the concealed Yorkshire coalfield: the Barnsley, then the Parkgate, New Seam, Swallow Wood and Fenton, and by 1954 the Fenton, Meltonfield, Thorncliffe and Winter; late working reached the Kent's Thin and Lidgett.

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

Workings

Three shafts: the first, 277 yards, sunk before 1853, and two sunk in 1885 and 1892, the deeper 579 yards. In its last years Kent's Thin coal came up a surface drift direct to the screens and Lidgett coal went through underground roadways to Barrow colliery; all coal was won by power loaders.

Closure

Closed in May 1969.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Lundhill Colliery — Both owned by the Wombwell Main company in the 1890s under the same manager, W. Gray.

Nearby mines

• Mitchell Main Colliery — 1.5 km NE
• Lundhill Colliery — 1.7 km SE
• Darfield Main Colliery — 2.0 km NE
• Hemingfield Colliery — 2.2 km S
• Elsecar Colliery — 3.1 km S

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.

• Sinking started in 1852. (disputed) ¹
• Industrial development at Wombwell commenced with the opening of Wombwell Main Colliery in 1855. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Sinking started in 1852. (disputed) ¹
• The earliest of three shafts, 277 yards deep, was sunk prior to 1853; the deepest of two later shafts sunk 1885 and 1892 is 579 yards (NCB, 1967). ¹
• Industrial development at Wombwell commenced with the opening of Wombwell Main Colliery in 1855. (disputed) ²
• Owners: Wombwell Main Coal Co.; Wombwell Main Co., Ltd.; from 1947 the National Coal Board. In 1896 the company also held Lundhill, both managed by W. Gray. ^1,3
• Employment: 984 (1894); 1,321 at No. 1 pit (1910); 1,491 at Nos. 1 and 3 (1923); 1,194 (1947, output 315,000 tons); 1,082 (1954). ¹
• By 1967 Kent's Thin output went by surface drift to the screens and Lidgett output via underground roadways to Barrow colliery; 800 men produced 260,000 tons annually. ¹
• The colliery closed in May 1969. ^2,1
• The BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine-plans catalogue holds plans filed under 'WOMBWELL MAIN'. ⁴

Sources

1. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum - Wombwell Main Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Wombwell - Discover Dearne — Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership
3. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum - Wombwell Main Co., Ltd. — Durham Mining Museum
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans: WOMBWELL MAIN — British Geological Survey

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