Chatterley Whitfield
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell, Staffordshire in Stoke on Trent.
It was the largest mine working The North Staffordshire Coalfield and was the first colliery in The UK to produce 1,000,000 tons of saleable coal in a year.
History
Pre-1863
The date at which coal was first mined systematically in the Whitfield area is not known, but there are references to mining in the manor of Tunstall from the late 13th century onwards. A local tradition claims that the monks of the Hulton Abbey came to nearby Ridgeway during the 14th and 15th centuries, to work coal from some of the eight seams outcropping half a mile east of Whitfield. These early workings were known as 'footrails' and were driven down from the surface.Shaw's History of The Potteries tells us that in 1750, Ralph Leigh of Burslem collected coal from Whitfield twice a day. His six horses each carried between two and three hundredweights of coal along lanes which were impassable to wagons. These draughts of coal were each worth about seven pence and Leigh received one shilling a day for his services.
In 1838, Thomas Hargreaves conducted a survey and valuation of the colliery at Whitfield on behalf of its proprietors, representatives of the late William Harrison. At this time there was an engine house, coal wharf, carpenters shop and brickworks on the site. The buildings, machinery and coal stocks were collectively valued at £154 7s. 6d..
Hugh Henshall Williamson, a local man who lived nearby at Greenway Bank Hall, was mining in the Whitfield area by 1853. His mining activities at this period are somewhat uncertain, but it is most probable that Williamson first made use of existing mining sites and shallow shafts. In 1853 it is fairly certain that he was working the Cockshead and Seven Feet Banbury seams at the Ridgeway footrails. It is also probable that he was using the Bellringer shaft, which was 79 yards deep, to work the Bellringer seam and the Ragman and Engine shafts. Each of these shafts was 50 yards deep and these were used to work the Ragman seam.
In 1854 the local coalmasters forced the North Staffordshire Railway to construct the Biddulph Valley branch line after proposing to build the railway themselves, a situation which the NSR did not favour. Work on the construction of the railway did not start until 1858, the line being partly opened for mineral traffic in 1859, and completed in 1860, passing within half a mile of Whitfield.
Anticipating the completion of the railway, Hugh Henshall Williamson sank the Prince Albert shaft to work the Holly Lane and Hardmine seams and another shaft to work both the Bowling Alley and Ten Feet seams. On the opening of the railway he immediately constructed his own rail link from the shafts at Whitfield and footrails at Ridgeway, to Chell Sidings alongside the NSR Biddulph Valley Line. Wagons loaded with coal were lowered by brake down to the sidings and horses were used to haul empty wagons back up to the colliery.
1863 to 1876
In 1863 the Ragman shaft was deepened to the Ten Feet seam at a depth of 150 yards. At this time one winding engine served the Ragman, Engine and Bellringer shafts. Coal was wound up the shafts in 8cwt. tubs hooked onto the winding rope by chains. The men were also raised and lowered in these tubs; a dangerous, but common practice used before the introduction of cages.As the coal workings became deeper, ventilation was a major problem, especially in seams giving off large quantities of the highly explosive gas methane. In 1868 the Whitfield colliers were still using candles, an obviously dangerous practice.
Hugh Henshall Williamson died in December 1867. In November of that year, just before his death, the colliery changed hands and a group known as the 'Gentlemen of Tunstall' took it over, forming the first limited liability company to operate the mine. The Whitfield Colliery Company Limited bought both the colliery and a 214-acre estate for £40,000 and a prospectus issued in 1868 indicates that the capital for the proposed company was to be £25,000.
The new owners of Whitfield immediately set about the task of improving the shafts by deepening the Engine Pit to the same level as the Ragman Pit and widening both shafts to accommodate two cages. each shaft was provided with its own steam winding engine and the use of the Bellringer shaft was discontinued.
The life of the Whitfield Colliery Company Limited was of limited duration, coming to an end in 1872. At about this time the Chatterley Iron Company Limited, who owned blast furnaces, an oil distilling plant and a colliery working ironstone in the Chatterley Valley, west of Tunstall, were looking for an adequate supply of coal for its furnaces. In early 1873 Mr Charles J. Homer, its Managing Director, purchased the Whitfield Colliery on behalf of his company. On taking over, the new owners lost no time in starting a project to develop workings in the rich Cockshead seam of coal, and in 1874 they began to widen and deepen the old Bellringer shaft to a depth of 440 yards.
Shortly after the sinking work began, the North Staffordshire Institute of Mining Engineers made a visit to the colliery, and to commemorate the occasion the Bellringer shaft was renamed the Institute. In 1874 the colliery company also started to widen and deepen an old shaft, originally sunk by Hugh Henshall Williamson in the 1850s and sited to the north-east of the Institute. This shaft was to act as the upcast for the Institute Pit and was named the Laura, after Mr Charles J. Homer's daughter. Both shafts were completed in 1876.
1881 Pit Disaster
During the early morning of Monday, 7 February 1881 there was a serious fire and explosion at Whitfield. The latter fire was caused by the misuse of an underground blacksmith's furnace which resulted in an explosion, killing twenty-four men and boys.The force of the explosion caused the collapse of the Laura Pit and the entire shaft and pit top were abandoned. At the same time the Institute shaft had to be partly filled, in an effort to extinguish the fire. Later, an enquiry into the explosion was held at the nearby Norton Arms Public House, while at Staffords Assizes the Manager, Edwin Thompson, defended himself against a charge of manslaughter and was acquitted.
In an effort to recover lost output, the Middle Pit shaft was deepened to the Hardmine seam in 1881, and a new upcast shaft to replace the Laura was sunk to the Cockshead seam.
1876 to 1884
As the output of coal at Whitfield increased, it became necessary to improve the coal transport system. Despite opposition from the North Staffordshire Railway, the company started to construct a private railway in 1873 to run from Whitfield to Pinnox where sidings were to join up with the lower Tunstall Branch of the NS Railway. The line was finally completed in 1878 and considerably reduced the cost of transporting coal from Whitfield to the blast furnaces at Chatterley.In 1876 the company ran into serious financial difficulties. The heavy capital expenditure of the earlier years and a recession in trade began to take their effect. To overcome this a policy of rigorous economy was introduced and numerous small pits were closed. This policy was strongly opposed by Mr Charles J. Homer and he resigned over the issue. However, as the economies began to take effect and the output of coal increased, the company was able to weather the storm.
Unfortunately, just as the company was recovering, it was beset by further misfortunes. In 1880, the oil distillery at Chatterley was destroyed by fire.
In an effort to recover lost output, the Middle Pit shaft was deepened to the Hardmine seam in 1881, and a new upcast shaft to replace the Laura was sunk to the Cockshead seam. The latter shaft was completed in 1883 and named the Platt Pit after one of the Directors of the Company. In 1884 the company was again beset by heavy financial difficulties and an application was made to the Court for permission for its closure. The application was eventually withdrawn, the company's affairs being placed under the control of three liquidators. One of these was the previous Company Secretary, John Renshaw Wain. It was his son, Edward Brownfield Wain, who was to lead the Company to its 'Golden Age'
1884 to 1920s
Much of the success of the recovery can be directly attributed to Edward Brownfield Wain, who had been appointed Undermanager in 1882. He soon introduced the more productive longwall working of the coalfaces in place of the more traditional 'pillar and stall' system. He was appointed Colliery Manager in 1886 and by 1890 the Company was once more paying its way. In the same year the liquidators came to an understanding with the North of England Trustee, Debenture and Assets Corporation Limited of Manchester, who agreed to purchase the old Chatterley Iron Company.The new Company became Chatterley Whitfield Collieries Limited and a great period of expansion began. So much so that by 1899 the colliery produced in excess of 950,000 tons of saleable coal. The fortunes of the Chatterley Iron Company began to decline as a result and operations at the Chatterley site had ceased by the early part of the 20th century. The dawn of the 20th century, however, promised a great future for Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. It is interesting to note, however, that in the 21st century, many local people still refer to it by its old name of Whitfield Colliery.
The colliery continued to prosper but, following a minor explosion in 1912 which fortunately resulted in no fatalities, it became obvious that additional ventilation was required. It was therefore decided to sink a new ventilation shaft and work commenced in April 1913. The shaft was 5 yards in diameter and 700 feet deep. It was completed in 1914. The heapstead and winding engine house were constructed entirely of brick to a German design and is unique in British coal mining. It is believed that the German construction workers were interned during the First World War.
The shaft was named after the Company's Mining Engineer, Robert Winstanley. As a direct result, the Prince Albert shaft, located behind the present Hesketh shaft and the Engine Pit, located between the newly sunk Winstanley shaft and the Middle Pit, were closed and filled.
The Winstanley shaft was barely finished when plans were drawn up for a new deep shaft to maintain and operate the north and south Cockshead dips which in the Institute shaft had reached a length of 2092 yards from the pit bottom.
After much consideration, the new shaft was sunk to the east of the Platt shaft and preparatory work started in 1914. Shaft sinking commenced in June 1915 and was completed by May 1917 to a depth of 640 yards. It was named after Colonel George Hesketh who was the Chairman of the Board of Directors. A massive horizontal steam winding engine, which still exists, was installed by the Worsley Mesnes company of Manchester in the Winding Engine House to become one of the principal coal winding shafts. A new power house was also constructed as part of the complex. In 1923 the original parallel drum was replaced by a bi-cylindro drum which made the winding of coal much easier.