Administrative History | The land used for Williamthorpe Colliery was leased from a Mrs Hunloke. The first sinking by the Hardwick Colliery Company was in 1901 and carried on until coal was eventually found in 1905. The early coal production was hampered by the flooding of abandoned workings at nearby Avenue Colliery. It worked the Tupton, Blackshale, Deep Hard, Threequarters, Deep Soft and Waterloo coal seams.
The colliery was transferred to the control of the National Coal Board as a result of the nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947. Within the NCB it was part of the East Midlands Division Area No. 1. Williamthorpe was eventually merged with Holmewood in 1967, which closed in 1970. However, the pumping systems were still kept running after closure, to help pump water out of nearby Silverhill Colliery. |