| History | The colliery was first sunk by J.&G. Wells Limited in 1860 on land leased from the Sitwell family of Renishaw Park. The site was chosen as smaller mines had existed on the site previously. An explosion in January 1871 killed 25 men and 2 boys. A further 12 men were also injured in the accident. In 1914, J&G Wells abandoned the pit due to flooding. The flooding problem wasn't sorted until a new water pumping system was installed in 1926. It was taken over by the Furnace Hill and Renishaw Park Collieries Limited in 1922. At this time the colliery changed its name to Furnace Hill, to incorporate a nearby drift mine the company worked of the same name. The profits from these were used to fund further water pumping at the shaft mine. These were finally abandoned in 1929 and the site lay dormant until the National Coal Board decided to take it over in 1947. British Coal were the colliery's final owners from 1985 until its closure in 1989.
The coal seams worked here included the Deep Soft, Blackshale, Silkstone, Piper and Chavery seams. The highest recorded output was in 1980-81 with 454,403 tonnes, with the highest recorded manpower of 762 men in 1958. The colliery was connected underground to Hornthorpe and Plumbley collieries.
Known managers: W. Pickup, Fred Hardwick, George William Dickinson, Henry Burgin, Fred Hardwick, T. Seaman, Henry Curry, H. M. Holliday, A. Riley, R. Braidford, H. N. Earl, F. D. Boydell, D. J. Naismith, Alf W. Gray, A. Bishop, F. H. Baker, R. J. Detchon, G. C. J. Rotter, A. H. Jackson, Arthur R. Randle, John G. Town, John Clarke, Keith J. Otter, Arnold Vardy, Terry McAllister, Jim Ferreday, Eric Blackwell, Roger A. Lewis, Ian Clayton, William Weston |
| Source | ‘Renishaw Park Closed After 129 Years’, http://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/individual/Bob_Bradley/Bk-6/B6-1989-P7.html
1922 http://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/individual/Bob_Bradley/Bk-3/B3-1922.html
Bridgewater, A. N., North Derbyshire Collieries (2009) https://www.aditnow.co.uk/documents/Doe-Lea-Coal-Mine/North20Derbyshire20Collieries20Small20Update.pdf
British Coal North Derbyshire Area, History of Renishaw Park Colliery
Durham Mining Museum, Furnace Hill and Renishaw Park Collieries Ltd., http://www.dmm.org.uk/company/f1017.htm
National Coal Board, Outline of the North Derbyshire Area Coalfield Including Neighbouring Places of Interest (1980)
Sutcliffe, A. F., Surveyor’s Report for J & G Wells LTD, 18th Aug 1908
Wain, K., The Coal Mining Industry of Sheffield and North Derbyshire (Amberley, 2014) |