The Mining History of Chatterley Whitfield

By Jacob Manchester

Contents

• Title Page• Contents • Introduction - Why I chose Chatterley Whitfield• A brief history of Chatterley Whitfield• Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum• Interview with my Grandad – Jim Worgan• My Involvement in Chatterley Whitfield• Pictures take by me on site• Conclusion• Evidence • Project evaluation

Introduction – Why I chose Chatterley Whitfield

• The reason why I chose Chatterley Whitfield for my project is because it is a amazing place where you can learn so much. The one main thing you can learn from the site is about the history of mining. Another reason why I chose Chatterley Whitfield is because I am part of a group which takes tours around the site on special days. This group is called the friends of Chatterley Whitfield.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield

• The date at which coal was 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 a 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 know as foottrails and were driven down from the surface.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• 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(3p) and Leigh received one shilling(5p) for his services.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• 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 were an engine house, Carl Warf, carpenter’s shop and brickworks on site the buildings machinery and coal stocks were collectively valued £154 7s.6d.(£154.37 ½p).

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• Hugh Henshall Williamson, a local man who lived nearby at Greenway Bank Hall, was mining in the Whitfield area. 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 Branbury at the Ridgeway footrails. It is also possible that he used the bellringer shaft, which was 79yards deep, to work the bellringer seam, and the ragman and the engine shafts. each 50 yards deep, to work the ragman seam.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• In 1854 the local coalmasters forced the north staff railway company to construct the Biddulph valley branch line after proposing to build the railway themselves, a situation the N.S.R. did not want. work on the construction of the railway did not start until 1858, the line being partly opened for mineral traffic in 1859, and being completed in 1860.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• Anticipating the completion of the railway, Hugh Henshall Williams sank the price Albert shaft to work the holly lane and hardline seams and another shaft to work both the bowling alley and the 10ft 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 along side the N.S.R. Biddulph valley line. Wagons loaded with coal were lowered down by brake down to the sidings and horses were used to haul empty wagons back up to the colliery.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• As the coal workings became deeper, ventilation was a major problem, especially in seams giving off large quantities of highly explosive gas methane. In 1868 the Whitfield colliers were still using candles, an obviously dangerous practice. Hugh Henshall William died in December 1867 in November that year just before his death the company changed hands and a group known as the gentlemen of Tunstall took it over, forming the first limited liability company to operate a mine. The Whitfield colliery company 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.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• 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 (148 yards) 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 Whitfield colliery company limited was of limited duration, coming to an end in 1872 at about this time 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 and adequate supply of coal for its furnaces. In early 1873 Mr C.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 coal, and in 1874 they began to widen and deepen the old bellringer shaft to a depth of 440 yards.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• The north staffs institute of mining engineers made a visit to the colliery and to commemorate the occasion they re-named the bellringer shaft the institute. The company also widened and deepened a old shaft that Hugh henshall William sank in the 1850s this acted as the upcast shaft for the institute pit and was named Laura after Mr C.J.homer’s daughter.

• As there was more cola output there was need to improve the coal transportation. The company decide to build a private railway from Whitfield to pinnox this was built in 1873.

• In 1876 the company ran into serious financial difficulties. Many small pits closed because of a policy of rigorous economy. Mr C.J.Homer resigned over it.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• The oil distillery at Chatterley was destroyed by a fire and the latter fire was caused by misuse of an underground blacksmiths. The fire killed 24 men. The force of the explosion caused the collapse of the Laura shaft to this day there are still 15 to 16 men and boys bodies underground. Mr Thompson, defended himself against manslaughter and was acquitted. The latter shaft was completed in 1883 and named the Platt shaft. A company agreed to buy the old Chatterley iron and agreed to create the Chatterley Whitfield collieries limited. It came into being on the 1st of January 1891. A minor explosion emphasized that there was a need for improve ventilation in the middle pit shaft. Thus the winstanley shaft was created and it was created to a German design. In 1917 the hesketh pit was created with a massive steam winding engine in it. after 1915 more electrical equipment used.

A Brief History Of Chatterley Whitfield Continued

• In 1920 an ex-army hut was used to house the first colliery canteen, And work started to create a new lamp house. It was getting increasingly harder to get coal because of the general strikes in 1926 and in that year only 193 days were worked and 300 workers were made redundant. By 1932 mechanical vehicles had all but taken over from the pit ponies. A new office block was completed in 1934. In 1938 a new boiler house with ten Lancashire boilers which were all brought in to operation. In the same year the pit head bath and canteen were completed. Coal drawing stopped at the institute shaft in 1955 and the middle pit shaft in 1968. in 1976 the coal drawing stopped and a trusted was formed as the mining museum.

Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum

• When someone suggested that turning a colliery into a mining museum you would have been called eccentric. But that was no longer the case. Museums such as ironbridge gorge museum and Gladstone pottery museum have blazed the trail by preserving and promoting aspects of are industrial heritage. It is intended that Chatterley Whitfield mining museum will continue this tradition. The unique opportunity for the visitors is that they will be able to descend down 700ft in the winstanley shaft. The visitors went down with two ex-miners and went round a 1 hour trip underground.

Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum

• There is a audio visual cinema and toilets and a car park. See enclosed booklet for more information.

A Interview With My Grandad – Jim Worgan

• What was your involvement in Chatterley Whitfield?

• When he worked for the National Coal board he was responsible for the phones, purchase of furniture, storage of records and colliery visits which directly involved all collierys. He used to visit Chatterley Whitfield at least twice a month and held discussions with various officials . When the colliery closed in 1977 he was responsible for transfer of furniture to other collierys and colliery records to area records store and the withdrawal of telephones.

A Interview With My Grandad – Jim Worgan

• After the closure of Chatterley Whitfield proposals were drawn up for a underground mining museum at Chatterley Whitfield. The museum which was setup in 1979 was the first underground mining museum in Great Britain. The visitors descended the Winstanley shaft (700)ft deep accompanied by guides who were all ex miners and were shown how coal was mined in north staffordshire.

A Interview With My Grandad – Jim Worgan

• The underground mining museum closed in 1986 and was replaced by the underground experience which was constructed on the surface in the old railway cutting. Visitors descended the Platt shaft in a simulated ride of 700ft. The experience was deigned to show mining in the north Staffs over various centuries and included a battery loco train of 50yds. My grandad became curator at Chatterley Whitfield in august 1989. the experience closed on the 9th of august 1993. before closure English heritage scheduled the sight as a ancient monument being the most complete coal mine in western Europe being as important to the nation as stone henge.

A Interview With My Grandad – Jim Worgan

• Today the sight is in a state of semi dereliction with an estimated cost of repair (2002) 57 million pounds. The friends of Chatterley Whitfield of which I am one and working with the site owners and English heritage to see how the site might be brought back into useful occupation. Some years ago colliery offices on site were refurbished and is now the Chatterley Whitfield enterprise centre where 60 people are employed. In addition a major landscaping of the colliery dirt tip which included bringing the ford green Brooke from a culvet under the tip into the open air. This was completed in 2010.this is now the Chatterley Whitfield country side park which provides a superb amenity for residents of the area.

My Involvement In The Friends Of Chatterley Whitfield

• My involvement in the friends of Chatterley Whitfield is I go to a lot of the meetings when I can because they have the meetings on a Thursday morning and I have school. When they take private tours round the site I help out and also on the open day when chatterley whitfield is open to the public and the friends of chatterley whitfield take groups of tours round the site and in to other buildings.

This is a picture of one of the last pit ponies leaving the site

Conclusion• It is often forgotten that without the right type of coal being present

in the north staffs there would be no pottery industry. this is because the coal was used to heat the furnaces. This is evidenced by the fact that china clay has been imported into the area for close on 300 years. Both these industrys could not survive without each other. They were also major employers in the area.

• It was also a mining museum and a mining experience. It attracted many people to the local area.

• the old mining offices are now being used by many local businesses as offices which means employment continues on the site.

• the country park was once the old dirt tip where all the dirt from the shafts went. But in 2010 they decided to turn it into a country park for the benefit of the local area.

Evidence

• My Grandad-Jim Worgan

• My knowledge of the site

• A brief history of Chatterley Whitfield

• Chatterley Whitfield mining museum.

• Photographs taken by me of the site

• Friends of Chatterley Whitfield

Project evaluation

• The project went well because i got to learn more about the site.

• I also got to talk to the friends of chatterley Whitfield which I am involved in so I spoke to my grandad.

• I also got to learn about what happened back when the site was still a working mine.

• Also I got to help out with the friends of Chatterley Whitfield by taking people round the site and talking to them.