| Administrative History | The colliery was first sunk in 1875-1876 by Staveley Coal & Iron Company Limited. It was named after Charles Bond, a company director at Staveley. It was closed down following the 1921 strike, and a buyer wasn’t found until the Clay Cross Company brought it in 1924. It worked the Threequarter, Deep Hard, Blackshale, Silkstone, Bottom Waterloo, Bottom Ell, Deep Soft and Tupton coal seams. The coal produced from these seams was sold to the domestic and gas markets. It was known to be a difficult mine to run due to the faults it had. The record output of 110,586 tons was reached in 1947 with 450 men working.
The colliery was served by a branch line from Chesterfield, which was first built in 1899, which also served Calow Main Colliery. A roadway was also built in 1908 between the Bonds Main and Calow Main collieries. The town of Arkwright was built to house the workforces of the two collieries. There was also an onsite brickworks.
The colliery was transferred to the control of the National Coal Board following the nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947. The colliery finally closed in 1949, although 40 men were still employed afterwards to help with the salvage operation. At the time of closure of Bonds Main Colliery, the workforce was transferred to Arkwright Colliery to work on newly extended workings there. |