MineArchiveWrenthorpe Colliery
| Location | Wrenthorpe, north-north-west of Wakefield, West Yorkshire — 53.6930, -1.5070 (exact) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1838–1927 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | D. Micklethwaite and Co. (?–1885), W. T. Marriott (?–1900), Low Laithes Colliery Company (1905–1927) |
Overview
A colliery a mile north-west of Wakefield, sunk in 1838 and closed in 1900, then resunk by the Low Laithes company and grown to 1,636 people before it closed in 1927.
History
Wrenthorpe Colliery lay about a mile north-north-west of Wakefield. It was sunk in 1838 and as late as 1885 belonged to D. Micklethwaite and Company; later it was W. T. Marriott's. In 1894 it employed 142 people raising household coal, and in 1896 the manager was T. W. Embleton. It closed in 1900 after Marriott's death.
In 1905 the Low Laithes Colliery Company, which worked its pit at Gawthorpe, bought Wrenthorpe and began a new sinking. Reopened in 1907, it was run as part of Low Laithes under the same manager, and it was far larger than before: 493 people in 1910, 1,228 in 1915 and 1,636 in 1923, working the Silkstone and Haigh Moor seams for coking, gas and household coal. A branch line took its coal to the main Leeds to London railway. Wrenthorpe closed in 1927, at the same time as New Low Laithes, after the strike, and its Silkstone and Beeston workings were abandoned on 26 June 1928.
Geology
West Yorkshire coal measures: the Haigh Moor, Silkstone and Beeston seams.
Workings
The 1838 sinking, closed in 1900, and a new sinking of 1905 reopened in 1907; a branch line to the Leeds to London main line.
Closure
Closed in 1900 after the owner's death; reopened in 1907 and closed again in 1927; the Silkstone and Beeston were abandoned on 26 June 1928.
What remains
Unknown.
Related mines
- Low Laithes Colliery — From 1907 Wrenthorpe was worked by the Low Laithes Colliery Company as part of Low Laithes, under the same manager.
Nearby mines
- Lofthouse Colliery — 1.7 miles (2.8 km) N
- East Ardsley Colliery — 2.7 miles (4.4 km) NW
- Low Laithes Colliery — 2.9 miles (4.6 km) W
- Robin Hood Colliery — 3.2 miles (5.1 km) N
- Walton Colliery — 3.5 miles (5.6 km) SE
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Wrenthorpe Colliery was sunk in 1838 and closed in 1900. 1,2
- The Low Laithes Colliery Company bought it in 1905 and reopened it in 1907 as part of Low Laithes. 1,2,3
- Employment rose from 493 in 1910 to 1,228 in 1915 and 1,636 in 1923. 3
- It closed in 1927 with New Low Laithes, and its Silkstone and Beeston workings were abandoned on 26 June 1928. 1,2,4,5
Sources
- (secondary) Yorkshire coal mines since 1854: W — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Ossett coal mining (Ossett - the history of a Yorkshire town) — ossett.net
- (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Wrenthorpe Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) BGS mine plan: WRENTHORPE, Silkstone, abandoned 1928 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
- (primary) BGS mine plan: WRENTHORPE (LOW LAITHES), Beeston, abandoned 1928 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
Record created: 24 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026