SOMERSET COALFIELD

The 'Somerset coalfield' included pits in the north Somerset, England, area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973.
It is part of a wider field which covered northern Somerset and southern Gloucestershire counties in England. It stretched from Cromhall in the north to the Mendip Hills in the south, and from Bath in the east to Nailsea in the west, a total area of about 240 square miles (620 km²).^[1] Most of the pits in the Somerset coalfield were concentrated along the Cam Brook, Wellow Brook and Nettlebridge Valleys and in the areas around Radstock and Farrington Gurney. The pits were often grouped geographically with clusters of pits which were close together working the same coal seams and often under the same ownership. Many also shared the same trackways and tramways which took the coal to the Somerset Coal Canal or railways for distribution.
Many of the early pits were bell pits, however these were replaced as deeper seams were mined, with the deepest shaft being the Strap mine at Nettlebridge reaching 1838 ft (560.2m). Many of the mines flooded and there were also coal dust explosions, both of which required improved ventilation and equipment. Many of the pits closed in the 19th century as the available coal was worked out. Those that survived until 1947 became part of the National Coal Board, however the expense of improving equipment and working conditions meant that even these became uneconomic and the last pit closed in 1973. There is still some evidence of some of the mine workings with the remains of buildings, spoil heaps and tramways around the area.

Contents

History

Geology

Pensford coal basin

The pits

Earl of Warwick's Clutton Collieries

The pits

Paulton basin

The pits

Timsbury and Camerton

The pits

East of Camerton

The pits

Farrington Gurney

The pits

The Duchy Mines

The pits

Earl Waldegrave's Radstock Collieries

The pits

Writhlington Collieries

The pits

Norton Hill Collieries

The pits

Nettlebridge Valley

The pits

Transportation

Output

Decline and closure

Area today

References

Bibliography

Notes

History

It is believed that coal was mined in the area during Roman times and there is documentary evidence of coal being dug on the Mendips in 1305^[2] and at Kilmersdon in 1437. By the time of Henry VIII there were coal pits at Clutton, High Littleton and Stratton-on-the-Fosse.
During the early part of the 17th century coal was largely obtained by excavating the outcrops or driving an incline, which involved following the seam into the ground. Only a small amount of coal could be obtained by these methods and so bell pits took their place. These were vertical pits, about 4 feet (1.2 m) in diameter at the top and as much as 60 feet (18.3 m) deep, which were widened out at the bottom. When all the coal that could safely be extracted from a bell pit had been recovered, another pit would be sunk close by to intersect the seam and the waste from the second pit thrown into the first pit.^[3]
The industrial uses of coal were varied. Coal was used in limekilns to produce lime, which was much in demand for mortar production for building purposes and by farmers to improve soil. From 1820 it was used to produce gas for town lighting and to drive the woollen mills in the area. Coke uses included drying malt in the brewing industry!^[4]

Geology

Much of the exploratory survey work was carried out by William Smith, who became known as the "Father of English Geology". Smith worked at one of the estate's older mines, the Mearns Pit at High Littleton. As he observed the rock layers, or strata, at the pit he realised that they were arranged in a predictable pattern, and that the various strata could always be found in the same relative positions. Additionally, each particular stratum could be identified by the fossils it contained, and the same succession of fossil groups from older to younger rocks could be found in many parts of England. Furthermore, he noticed an easterly dip of the beds of rock- small near the surface (about three degrees) then bigger after the Triassic rocks. This gave Smith a testable hypothesis, which he termed The Principle of Faunal Succession, and he began his search to determine if the relationships between the strata and their characteristics were consistent throughout the country. During subsequent travels, first as a surveyor (appointed by noted engineer John Rennie) for the canal company until 1799 when he was dismissed, and later, he was continually taking samples and mapping the locations of the various strata, and displaying the vertical extent of the strata, and drawing cross-sections and tables of what he saw. This would earn him the name "Strata Smith".
Lower and Middle Coal Measures are found at depths between 500 and 5,000 feet (152-1,525 m). Together the Lower and Middle Coal Measures are 2,000 to 2,500 feet (610-762 m) thick with the Middle Coal Measures averaging about 1,600 feet (488 m) and the Lower Coal Measures about 600 feet (183 m). The Somerset coalfield consists of the northern Pensford and the southern Radstock synclines separated by the east-west trending Farmborough Fault Belt. Only in the southern part of the Radstock Syncline have coals of the Lower and Middle Coal Measures been worked, mainly at the Newbury and Vobster collieries in the southeast and in the New Rock and Moorewood pits to the southwest. Only in the eastern part of Pensford Syncline have coals of the Lower and Middle Coal Measures been worked, at the Globe Pit in the Newton St Loe area in the 19th century.^[5] The complex geology gained the field notoriety and three underground explosions, in 1893, 1895 and 1908 were amongst the first attributable solely to airborne coal dust.^[6]

Pensford coal basin

The Pensford coal basin lies in the northern area of the Somerset coal field around Bishop Sutton, Pensford, Stanton Drew, Farmborough and Hunstrete.
The date for the first pits around Bishop Sutton are uncertain but there was one before 1719.

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Bishop Sutton (old)	Bishop Sutton		c1811	1855	?	304 (92.7)	Bought by William Rees-Mogg in 1835[7]
Bishop Sutton (new)	Bishop Sutton		1855	1929[8]	9 0 (2.7)	877 (267.3)	1896 owned by F. Spencer, New Rock Colliery,[9] 1908 owned by J Lovell and Sons[10]
Bromley	Pensford		18606	19576	4 6 (1.4)	475 (144.8)	18969 & 1908 Owned by Bromley Coal Co Ltd. 10
Common Wood Level	Hunstrete		1829	1832	?	?	No coal mined. Attempts made again in 1969 but unsuccessful
Farmborough	Farmborough		c1841	1847	?	1413 (430.7)	No coal mined
Pensford	Pensford		19096	19556	14 0 (4.3)	1494 (445.4)
Rydon's (or Riding's)	Stanton Drew		1808	1833	?	312 (95)

Earl of Warwick's Clutton Collieries

Coal mines were established in the villages of High Littleton and Hallatrow by 1633 because here the coal seams ran obliquely to the surface. The first deep mine was Mearns Coalworks which began in 1783. The Greyfield Coal Company did not start until 1833.
The Earl of Warwick's estates included sawmills, quarries, brickworks and collieries in addition to their agricultural holdings. These pits are around Clutton and High Littleton.

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Burchells (sometimes spelt Burchills or Birchill's)[11]	Clutton		1911 (reopened)11	192111	?	148 (45.1)
Fry's Bottom	Clutton		1830s11	18858	9 0 (2.7)	588 (179.2)
Greyfield	Clutton		1833	1911811	10 0 (3)	900 (274.3)	190810 Owned by Greyfield Colliery Co. Ltd.,
Mooresland	Clutton		1840s	?	?	?	Output transferred to nearby Greyfield

Paulton basin

Paulton was the terminus of the northern branch of the Somerset Coal Canal and was a central point for at least 15 collieries around Paulton, Timsbury and High Littleton, which were connected to the canal by tramroads.
On the northern side of Paulton basin was the terminus for the tramroad which served Old Grove, Prior's, Tyning and Hayeswood pits, with a branch line to Amesbury and Mearns pits. Parts of this line were still in use in 1873, probably all carrying horse drawn wagons of coal.
The southern side of the basin served Brittens, Littleborrok, Paulton Ham, Paulton Hill, Simons Hill terminating at Salisbury Colliery. In addition the Paulton Foundary used this line. The entire line was disused by 1871 as were the collieries it served.
The area has been designated as an ‘area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it
is desirable to preserve or enhance’ under section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.^[12]

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Amesbury	High Littleton		before 1701	early 1800s	?	200 (61)
Brewers	Paulton		before 1700	?	?	102 (31)
Brittens Lower	Paulton		?	by 1864	?	?
Brittens New	Paulton		?	by 1864	?	?
Brombel (or Brombells, possibly Allens Paddock)	Paulton		before 1793	?	4 6 (1.4)	?
Crossways	Paulton		?	?	5 (1.5)	144 (43.9)
Goosard (or Gooseward or Goosewardsham or Paulton Lower Engine)	Paulton		1708	?	?	?
Hayeswood	Timsbury		1750	1862	6 0 (1.8)	642 (195.7)
Heighgrove (or Woody Heighgrove)	Paulton		1753	1819	?	?
Littlebrook	Paulton		?	c1850s	5 0 (1.5)	215 (65.5)
Mearns	High Littleton		1783	1824	4 6 (1.4)	279 (85)
New Grove (possibly also Priors)	Paulton		1792	?	?	?
Tyning	Timsbury		1766	?	?	?	Old & New Pits
Old Grove	Paulton		?	?	4 6 (1.4)	4185 (1373)
Paulton Bottom	Paulton		?	?	4 6 (1.4)	60 (18.3)
Paulton Engine	Paulton		before 1750	?	9 0 (2.75)	609 (185.6)	Next to Paulton Brass and Iron foundry
Paulton Ham	Paulton		c1830s	1964	6 0 (1.83)	552 (168.2)
Paulton Hill	Paulton		1840	1864	?	798 (243.2)
Radford	Paulton		c1800	1847	6 (1.8)	1152 (351.1)
Salisbury	Paulton		1792	1873	6 (1.8)	150 (45.7)
Simons Hill (also known as Simmons Hill)	Paulton		1811	1844	4 6 (1.4)	672 (204.8)
Withy Mills	Paulton		?1804	1877	4 6 (1.4)	804 (245)

Timsbury and Camerton

The first of the collieries around Timsbury village was sunk in 1791 and known as Conygre (Conigre in some old spellings) and those at Camerton in 1781.
There is very little landscape evidence remaining of the previous mining activities around Clutton, Temple Cloud, High Littleton and Timsbury. There are a few small batches at Clutton, east of Radford Hill and at Greyfields, High Littleton.^[13]

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Camerton New	Camerton		1800	1950[14]	8 0 (2.4)	1818 (554.1)(a lesser depth) before 1800	Site of a massive coal dust explosion at Camerton New in 1893 which killed two miners.[15]
Camerton Old	Camerton		1781	1898	7 0 (2.1)	921 (280.7)	18969 & 190810 owned by Miss E.E. Jarrett.
Lower Conygre	Timsbury		1847	1916	8 0 (2.4)	1128 (343.8)	Merger of Upper and Lower pits. 18969 owned by Samborne Smith and Company. 190810 Owned by Beaumont, Kennedy and Co
Radford	Timsbury		?	?	6 0 (1.8)	1152 (351.1)	190610 Owned by Earl of Waldegrave
Upper Conygre	Timsbury		1791	1916	8 0 (2.4)	1038 (316.4)	Merger of Upper and Lower pits. 18969 owned by Samborne Smith and Company. 190810 Owned by Beaumont, Kennedy and Co

East of Camerton

In this area the coal is buried beneath newer strata, which meant that mining in the area was difficult.
The dominant features of the Cam and Wellow Brooks are the remnants of the coal mining industry from the 18th-20th centuries. In both valleys there are frequent shafts and batches together with the remains of the railway and tram lines that connected the mines to the Avon Valley. Remains of the Somersetshire Coal Canal are also significant reminders of this coal mining history in this area.^[16]

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Bengrove (also called Priston Old and Dunkerton)	between Camerton and Tunley		1764	c1774	?	506 (154.2)
Dunkerton	Dunkerton		1904	1925 619338	10 (3)	1651 (503.2)	Poor working conditions led to riots in 1908-9
Hills (also known as Priston or Dunkerton New)	Tunley		1792	1824	?	?
Priston (also known as Tunley)	Tunley		1914	19308	8 (2.4)	750 (228.6)	last deep mine to be opened in Somerset.

Farrington Gurney

Mining in the area around Farrington Gurney has been undertaken since approximately 1780, with several pits at that time all being called Farrington Colliery.
The main geological feature in this area south of Hallatrow consists of Supra-Pennant Measures which includes the upper coal measures and outcrops of sandstone. The relics of the industrial past are very evident within the area, including the widely visible and distinct conical shape of the Old Mills batch with its generally unvegetated surface. The three disused collieries in the area have subsequently been developed for light industry, a depot and a superstore.^[17]

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Church Field (also known as Farrington of Ruett Slant)	Farrington Gurney		1921	1923	?	?	Drift Mine transferred to Marsh Lane
Farrington	Farrington Gurney		1782	19238	9 (2.7)	588 (179.2)
Marsh Lane	Farrington Gurney		1924	1955	?	?	visited by the Prince of Wales on 7th July 1934
Old Mills	Midsomer Norton		1860	1966	11 (3.4)	1098 (334.7)	Merged with Springfield
Springfield	Midsomer Norton		1872	1966	9 6 (2.9)	965 (294.1)	Merged with Old Mills. Owned by W Evans and Co. 10

The Duchy Mines

The Duchy of Cornwall owned most of the mineral rights around Midsomer Norton and various small pits opened around 1750 to exploit these.

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Clandown	Clandown		1811	1929	6 (1.8)	1437 (438)	1896 owned by Trustees of the late C. Hollwey9 1908 Owned by Clansdown Colliery Co 14
Old Welton	Midsomer Norton		1783	1896	4 6 (1.4)	1646 (501.7)	Merged with Clandown. 18969 owned by Old Welton Colliery Co. 1908 14 Owned by Clansdown Colliery Co
Welton Hill	Midsomer Norton		1813	1896	6 (1.8)	605 (184.4)

Earl Waldegrave's Radstock Collieries

In 1763 coal was discovered in Radstock and mining began in the area.^[18]
The Waldegrave family had been Lords of the Manor of Radstock since the English Civil War. In 1896 the pits were owned by the Trustee of Frances, late Countess of Waldegrave.⁹
Radstock was the terminus for the southern branch of the Somerset Coal Canal, which was turned into a tramway. It then became a central point for railway development with large coal depots, wah houses, workshops and a gas works. As part of the development of the Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway an 8 mile line from Radstock to Frome was built to carry the coal. In the 1870s the broad-gauge line was converted to standard gauge and connected to the Bristol and North Somerset Line connecting it to the Great Western Railway. The Radstock Railway Land comprises an area of approximately 8.8 hectares of land which has been subject to planning and development applications.^[19]

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Ludlows	Radstock		before 1850	1954	8	1686
Middle Pit	Radstock		before 1801	1933	10 (3)	1791 (545.9)
Old Pit	Radstock		before 1800	1858	6 (1.8)	942 (287.1)
Smallcombe	Radstock		1797	1854	7 (2.1)	1074 (327.4)
Tyning	Radstock		1837	1909	8 (2.4)	1007 (306.9)
Wellsway	Radstock		1829	1920	4 6 (1.4)	754 (229.8)

Writhlington Collieries

Although these collieries were close to the Waldergrave collieies they were further east of Radstock and under different ownership.
In 1896 ⁹ they were owned by Writhlington, Huish and Foxcote Colliery Co., and by 1908¹⁰ this had been changed to Writhlington Collieries Co. Ltd. The Upper and Lower Writhlington, Huish & Foxcote were all merged into one colliery.
The spoil heap is a now a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of the rich collection of fossils in the spoil heap^[20] - see Writhlington SSSI.
The base of the Kilmersdon Valley, is of alluvium deposits. Above this on both sides of all of the valleys is a band of shales and clays from the Penarth Group. These rocks are from the Triassic period. The majority of the remaining upland in this area is Lias Limestone (white and blue) while the very highest part above 130m, south of Haydon, is a small outcrop of Inferior Oolitic Limestone. All these limestones are from the Jurassic period. The steepest slopes of both the Kilmersdon and Snail’s Bottom Valleys have frequently slipped. Below all of the area is the coal bearing Carboniferous strata. Haydon is an outlier of Radstock and was built to house the miners for the local pit. The disused railway line and inclined railway at Haydon form important elements within the Kilmersdon valley east of Haydon. The modern landscape has a less maintained and ‘rougher’ character and texture than neighbouring agricultural areas. This is caused in the main by the remnants of the coal industry and its infrastructure and changes in agricultural management. The disturbance caused by coal mining and the railways and the subsequent ending of mining and disuse of the railways has created valuable habitats of nature conservation interest.^[21]

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Braysdown	Peasedown St John		1845[22]	1959	10 (3)	1834 (559)	1896 owned by Danbeny and Scobel 9 1908 Owned by Braysdown Colliery Co.10
Foxcote	Foxcote		1853	1931	9 (2.7)	1416 (431.6)	18969 owned by Writhlington, Huish and Foxcote Colliery Co.,
Huish	Kilmersdon		1822	1912	8 (2.4)	570 (173.7)	18969 owned by Writhlington, Huish and Foxcote Colliery Co.,
Kilmersdon	Kilmersdon		1875	1972[23]	10 6 (3.2)	1582 (482.2)	18969 & 190810 owned by Kilmersdon Colliery Co.
Lower Writhlington	Writhlington		1829		10 (3)	1461 (445.3)
Shoscombe	Shoscombe		c1828	by 1860	10 7 (3.2)	360 (109.7)
Woodborough (also known as Wodborough Old Pit)	east of Radstock		?	1840s	5 3 (1.6)	426 (129.8)
Upper Writhligton	Radstock		1805	197223	11 3 (3.4)	942 (287.1)

Norton Hill Collieries

The Norton Hill collieries at Midsomer Norton were owned by the Beauchamp family who owned many of the other colieries and related works on the Somerset coalfield at various times. They were also known as the Beauchamp goldmine as it was the most productive mine in the whole coalfield.

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Norton Hill New	Midsomer Norton		about 1900	1966	13 6	1503
Norton Hill Old	Midsomer Norton		before 1839		4 6	1247	In 1908 10 men were killed in a major coal dust explosion.

Nettlebridge Valley

There were many hundreds of small coal workings in the area from Gurney Slade east to Mells including the villages of Holcombe, Coleford and Stratton on the Fosse. These operated from about the 13th century, making them the earliest coal mines known in Somerset, until the early 19th.^[24]

The pits

Colliery	Location	Grid Ref	Opened	Closed	Shaft diameter ft in (m)6	Max shaft depth ft (m)6	Notes
Barlake	Nettlebridge		before 1819	1870	5 6 (1.7)	435 (132.6)
Bilboa	Mells		?	?	?	240 (73.2)
Breach	Vobster		1860	c1880	?	867 (264.2)
Charmborough	Holcombe		1932	1947	?	?
Coal Barton	Coleford		?	?	?	?	Scene of a firedamp explosion which killed nine miners in 186915
Edford	Holcombe		1850s	1915	6 (1.8)	798 (243.2)
Holcombe	Holcombe		1914	1923	?	?
Luckington	Coleford		?	?	6 (1.8)	135 (41.4)
Mackintosh	Coleford		186715	191915	8 5 (2.6)	1620 (493.8)	Merged with Newbury. 18969 owned by Westbury Iron Co. Ltd.,
Mells	Mells		1860s15 till 1880s	reopened 1909 till 194315	9 (2.7)	540 (164.6)
Morewood Old	Nettlebridge		before 1824	1860s	4 6 (1.4)	1247 (380)
Morewood New	Nettlebridge		1860s	1932	9 (2.7)	888 (26.8)
Nettlebridge	Nettlebridge		before 1831	?	6 (1.8)	705 (214.9)
Newbury	Coleford		1790	1927815	9 (2.7)	720 (219.4)	Merged with Mackintosh. 18969 owned by Westbury Iron Co. Ltd., 190810 Owned by John Wainwright and Co. Ltd.
New Rock	Stratton-on-the-Fosse		1819	1968	4 6 (1.4)	1182 (360.3)
Old Newbury	Coleford		c1710	1790s	?	250 (76.2)
Old Rock	Nettlebridge		1786	1873	4 6 (1.4)	711 (216.7)
Pitcot	Nettlebridge		before 1750	c1820s	5 (1.5)	555 (169.2)
Strap (also known as Mendip or Downside Colliery)	Nettlebridge		1862	1879	10 6 (3.2)	1838 (560.2)	Deepest shaft on the Somerset coalfield.
Sweetleaze	Nettlebridge		before 1858	1879	?	?
Vobster	Vobster		before 1850s	1874 15	10 (3)	990 (301.8)

Transportation

The coal was transported by the Somerset Coal Canal and later by the Bristol and North Somerset Railway and Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, which were reached from the pits by a series of tramways.

Output

Tonnage increased throughout the nineteenth century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 separate collieries and annual production was 1,250,000 tons per annum.^[25]

Decline and closure

The peak years were 1900 to 1920. However the decline soon took hold and the number of pits reduced from 30 at the beginning of the twentieth century to 14 by the mid-thirties, 12 at nationalisation to create British Coal on 1st January 1947, 5 by 1959 and none after 1973.^[4] Narrow seams made production expensive, limiting profit and investment, and a reduced national demand together with competition from more economical coalfields^[27] led to the closure of the last two pits in the coalfield, Kilmersdon and Writhlington, in September 1973.^[1]

Area today

Although there are still the remains of some of the mines, in the form of disused or redeveloped buildings and a few slag heaps, most of which have been removed or landscaped, the area has returned to a largely rural nature between the Mendip Hills and the river Avon in north east Somerset. Many of the towns and villages have some light industry but are often commuter towns for Bath and Bristol. There is still some quarrying for Limestone particularly in the Mendips.
The Colliers Way (NCN24) is a national cycle route which passes many of the landmarks associated with the coal field,^[29] and other local roads and footpaths follow the tramways developed during the coal mining years.

References

1. A Brief History of the Bristol and Somerset Coalfield
2. The Mendips, , A.W., Coysh, Robert Hale Ltd, 1977,
3. Mining
4. Coal Mining
5. Somerset Prospect
6. The history of the Somerset coalfield, , C.G., Down, Radstock Museum, 2005, ISBN 0-9551684-0-6
7. Chew Magna and the Chew Valley in old photographs, Durham, I. & M., , , Redcliffe Press, 1991, ISBN 1-872971-61-X
8. Colliery lists
9. Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd
10. List of Mines in Great Britain and the Isle of Man, 1908
11. Clutton’s Mines
12. Paulton conservation area character appraisal
13. Rural Landscapes - Area 6 Hinton Blewett and Newton St Loe Plateau Lands
14. Camerton
15. Coal Mining
16. Area 12 Cam and Wellow Brook Valleys
17. Rural Landscapes - Area 8 Farrington Gurney Farmlands
18. The Somersetshire Coal Canal and Railways, , Kenneth R., Clew, David and Charles, 1970, ISBN 0-7153-4792-6
19. Radstock Railway Land Redevelopment
20. Writhlington SSSI, Somerset
21. Rural Areas - Area 15 Norton Radstock Southern Farmlands
22. History
23. Mining and Ores
24. Medieval Somerset
25. Radstock's coal mining history
26. Coal Mining
27. North Somerset Heritage Trust
28. A Brief History of the Bristol and Somerset Coalfield
29. The Colliers Way (NCN24)
30. Guide to National Grid

Bibliography

★ Collieries of Somerset and Bristol, , John, Cornwell, Landmark Publishing Ltd, 2005, ISBN 1-84306-170-8

Notes

:Grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, also known as OSGB36, and is the system used by the Ordnance Survey.^[30]