| Administrative History | The pit was opened in 1864 by Beavan of Bristol and financed by coal merchant Bailey. It then passed through the ownership of a number of companies, comprising Shirland Colliery Company (1866-1877), The South Yorkshire Miner’s Association (1877-1888) and Blackwell Colliery Company (1888-1947). By the time the Blackwell Company took over, it was employing around 500 men. It worked the Blackshale, Tupton, Furnace, Threequarter, Deep Hard, Deep Soft and Yard coal seams. The highest recorded output was 295,770 tons in 1957, with the highest recorded manpower of 545 men in 1961. There was an underground rope pumping system. A new Armstrong airbreaker method of shotfiring was introduced in Aug 1958, which lasted until the pit's closure in 1964. |