Wath Main Colliery
Encyclopedia
Wath Main Colliery was a coal mine situated in the Dearne Valley
, close by the township of Wath-upon-Dearne
, South Yorkshire
, England
. The colliery was operated by the Wath Main Coal Company Limited.
Sinking of the first of its two shafts began in 1873, the workings reaching the highly-prized Barnsley seam three years later. To gain access to lower reserves the shafts were deepened, first in 1912 to reach the Parkgate seam and then, in 1923, to the Silkstone seam.
The colliery became part of the National Coal Board
on nationalization in 1947 and it was amalgamated, along with other local collieries, with the adjacent Manvers Main Colliery
on 1 January 1986. Closure came on 25 March 1988.
The site has been reclaimed and now contains Wath Country Park, which in May 2007 was sold off to developers to form a new housing development. The park lasted just 10 years.
Dearne Valley
The Dearne Valley is an area of South Yorkshire along the River Dearne. It encompasses the towns of Wombwell, Wath-upon-Dearne, Swinton, Conisbrough and Mexborough, the large villages of Ardsley, Bolton on Dearne, Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe, Darfield, Stairfoot and Brampton Bierlow, and many other...
, close by the township of Wath-upon-Dearne
Wath-upon-Dearne
Wath-upon-Dearne is a small town on the south side of the Dearne Valley in the historic county of the West Riding of Yorkshire and the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, lying 5 miles north of Rotherham, almost midway between Barnsley and Doncaster. It has a population...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The colliery was operated by the Wath Main Coal Company Limited.
Sinking of the first of its two shafts began in 1873, the workings reaching the highly-prized Barnsley seam three years later. To gain access to lower reserves the shafts were deepened, first in 1912 to reach the Parkgate seam and then, in 1923, to the Silkstone seam.
The colliery became part of the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
on nationalization in 1947 and it was amalgamated, along with other local collieries, with the adjacent Manvers Main Colliery
Manvers Main Colliery
Manvers Main Colliery was a coal mine, sunk on land belonging to the Earl Manvers and was situated on the northern edge of the township of Wath-upon-Dearne, between that town and Mexborough, in the Dearne Valley, South Yorkshire, England...
on 1 January 1986. Closure came on 25 March 1988.
The site has been reclaimed and now contains Wath Country Park, which in May 2007 was sold off to developers to form a new housing development. The park lasted just 10 years.