Upton Colliery was a coal mine near to the village of Upton in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, England. The site was north west of

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

and north east of

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. Coal was transhipped from the colliery by the former

Hull and Barnsley Railway The Hull Barnsley & West Riding Junction Railway and Dock Company (HB&WRJR&DCo.) was opened on 20 July 1885. It had a total projected length of but never reached Barnsley, stopping a few miles short at Stairfoot. The name was changed to The ...

line. The colliery had a short life of only 40 years. Geological faulting and a serious explosion in 1964 led to its closure.

History

Work on the site started in 1924, but preliminary works at the site meant that coal was not raised until 1927. Two shafts were dug throughout 1925 and 1926 to a depth of between and . By 1927, the seams were located at a depth of , with the coal seam itself extending for . Upton mined mainly from the

Barnsley Seam The coal seams worked in the South Yorkshire Coalfield lie mainly in the middle coal measures within what is now formally referred to as the Pennine Coal Measures Group. These are a series of mudstones, shales, sandstones, and coal seams laid do ...

, but also had workings in the Beamshaw and

Winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

seams. Coal was taken out of the site via the former Hull and Barnsley railway line (which was being run by the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

by the time of the colliery's operation). In 1952, the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

opened the new £115,000 pit-head baths at the site. The NCB also spent a further £500,000 at Upton in an effort to get the saleable coal output to rise from per shift to . The colliery was run by the Upton Colliery Company ( Bolckow Vaughan & Co. Ltd and the Cortonwood Co. Ltd) between 1924 and 1939, by

Dorman Long Dorman Long & Co was a UK steel producer, later diversifying into bridge building. The company was once listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Arthur Dorman and Albert de Lande Long when they acquired '' ...

between 1939 and 1947, and under the National Coal Board from 1947 to 1964. The colliery coal tips were cleared in the early 1970s, and the surface area of the coal mine site is now the Upton Country Park. The site now has a pond, a memorial garden and a pit winding wheel sunk into the ground.

Incidents

* 4 June 1940 - an explosion in the Barnsley Seam at the mine killed two men outright, and injured eight others, with one dying in hospital the same night. The other seven casualties all died from extreme burns. * 20 May 1964 - an explosion in the Barnsley Seam led to an evacuation of the colliery. The area was sealed off which rendered the mine unworkable. Coupled with the bad geology in the seams, the site was closed in November of the same year.

Notable colliers

Charlie Williams worked in the mine during his youth and played for their own team, Upton Colliery F.C. He was scouted by

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

, and post football, was recognised as one of the first black comedians in the United Kingdom. George Ashall played for Upton F.C. and was a coal-miner before his footballing career. Joe Shaw worked briefly as a coalminer at Upton and played for Upton Colliery F.C., before moving on to playing football full time with

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

References

External links

Aerial image of the site from 1928
{{Coal mining in Yorkshire 1868 establishments in England 1987 disestablishments in England Coal mines in West Yorkshire Mining in West Yorkshire Underground mines in England

Colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...