The history of Chatterley Whitfield mine by Jacob Manchester. Part of his school project

1. The Mining History of
Chatterley Whitfield
By Jacob Manchester

2. Contents
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction - Why I chose Chatterley Whitfield
• A brief history of Chatterley Whitfield
• Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum
• Interview with my Grandad – Jim Worgan
• My Involvement in Chatterley Whitfield
• Pictures take by me on site
• Conclusion
• Evidence
• Project evaluation

3. Introduction – Why I chose
Chatterley Whitfield
• The reason why I chose Chatterley
Whitfield for my project is because it is a
amazing place where you can learn so
much. The one main thing you can learn
from the site is about the history of mining.
Another reason why I chose Chatterley
Whitfield is because I am part of a group
which takes tours around the site on
special days. This group is called the
friends of Chatterley Whitfield.

4. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield
• The date at which coal was mined systematically
in the Whitfield area is not known but there are
references to mining in the manor of Tunstall
from the late 13th
century onwards. A local
tradition claims that the monks of the Hulton
Abbey came to a nearby Ridgeway during the
14th
and 15th
centuries to work coal from some of
the eight seams outcropping half a mile east of
Whitfield. These early workings were know as
foottrails and were driven down from the surface.

5. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• Shaw’s history of the potteries tells us that
in 1750 Ralph Leigh of Burslem collected
coal from Whitfield twice a day. His six
horses each carried between two and
three hundredweights of coal along lanes
which were impassable to wagons. these
draughts of coal were each worth about
seven pence(3p) and Leigh received one
shilling(5p) for his services.

6. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• In 1838 Thomas Hargreaves conducted a
survey and valuation of the colliery at
Whitfield on behalf of its proprietors,
representatives of the late William
Harrison. At this time there were an
engine house, Carl Warf, carpenter’s shop
and brickworks on site the buildings
machinery and coal stocks were
collectively valued £154 7s.6d.(£154.37
½p).

7. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• Hugh Henshall Williamson, a local man who lived nearby
at Greenway Bank Hall, was mining in the Whitfield area.
His mining activities at this period are somewhat
uncertain but it is most probable that Williamson first
made use of existing mining sites and shallow shafts. In
1853 it is fairly certain that he was working the
Cockshead and seven feet Branbury at the Ridgeway
footrails. It is also possible that he used the bellringer
shaft, which was 79yards deep, to work the bellringer
seam, and the ragman and the engine shafts. each 50
yards deep, to work the ragman seam.

8. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• In 1854 the local coalmasters forced the
north staff railway company to construct
the Biddulph valley branch line after
proposing to build the railway themselves,
a situation the N.S.R. did not want. work
on the construction of the railway did not
start until 1858, the line being partly
opened for mineral traffic in 1859, and
being completed in 1860.

9. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• Anticipating the completion of the railway, Hugh
Henshall Williams sank the price Albert shaft to
work the holly lane and hardline seams and
another shaft to work both the bowling alley and
the 10ft seams. On the opening of the railway he
immediately constructed his own rail link from
the shafts at Whitfield and footrails at Ridgeway,
to chell sidings along side the N.S.R. Biddulph
valley line. Wagons loaded with coal were
lowered down by brake down to the sidings and
horses were used to haul empty wagons back
up to the colliery.

10. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• As the coal workings became deeper, ventilation was a
major problem, especially in seams giving off large
quantities of highly explosive gas methane. In 1868 the
Whitfield colliers were still using candles, an obviously
dangerous practice. Hugh Henshall William died in
December 1867 in November that year just before his
death the company changed hands and a group known
as the gentlemen of Tunstall took it over, forming the first
limited liability company to operate a mine. The Whitfield
colliery company bought both the colliery and a 214 acre
estate for £40.000 and a prospectus issued in 1868
indicates that the capital for the proposed company was
to be £25,000.

11. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• The new owners of Whitfield immediately set about the task of
improving the shafts by deepening the engine pit to the same level
as the ragman pit (148 yards) and widening both shafts to
accommodate two cages. Each shaft was provided with its own
steam winding engine. And the use of the bellringer shaft was
discontinued.
• The life of Whitfield colliery company limited was of limited duration,
coming to an end in 1872 at about this time Chatterley iron company
limited, who owned blast furnaces, an oil distilling plant and a
colliery working ironstone, in the Chatterley valley, west of tunstall
were looking for and adequate supply of coal for its furnaces. In
early 1873 Mr C.J.Homer, its managing director, purchased the
Whitfield colliery on behalf of his company on taking over, the new
owners lost no time in starting a project to develop workings in the
rich cockshead seam coal, and in 1874 they began to widen and
deepen the old bellringer shaft to a depth of 440 yards.

12. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• The north staffs institute of mining engineers made a
visit to the colliery and to commemorate the occasion
they re-named the bellringer shaft the institute. The
company also widened and deepened a old shaft that
Hugh henshall William sank in the 1850s this acted as
the upcast shaft for the institute pit and was named
Laura after Mr C.J.homer’s daughter.
• As there was more cola output there was need to
improve the coal transportation. The company decide to
build a private railway from Whitfield to pinnox this was
built in 1873.
• In 1876 the company ran into serious financial
difficulties. Many small pits closed because of a policy of
rigorous economy. Mr C.J.Homer resigned over it.

13. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• The oil distillery at Chatterley was destroyed by a fire and the latter
fire was caused by misuse of an underground blacksmiths. The fire
killed 24 men. The force of the explosion caused the collapse of the
Laura shaft to this day there are still 15 to 16 men and boys bodies
underground. Mr Thompson, defended himself against
manslaughter and was acquitted. The latter shaft was completed in
1883 and named the Platt shaft. A company agreed to buy the old
Chatterley iron and agreed to create the Chatterley Whitfield
collieries limited. It came into being on the 1st
of January 1891. A
minor explosion emphasized that there was a need for improve
ventilation in the middle pit shaft. Thus the winstanley shaft was
created and it was created to a German design. In 1917 the
hesketh pit was created with a massive steam winding engine in it.
after 1915 more electrical equipment used.

14. A Brief History Of Chatterley
Whitfield Continued
• In 1920 an ex-army hut was used to house the first
colliery canteen, And work started to create a new lamp
house. It was getting increasingly harder to get coal
because of the general strikes in 1926 and in that year
only 193 days were worked and 300 workers were made
redundant. By 1932 mechanical vehicles had all but
taken over from the pit ponies. A new office block was
completed in 1934. In 1938 a new boiler house with ten
Lancashire boilers which were all brought in to operation.
In the same year the pit head bath and canteen were
completed. Coal drawing stopped at the institute shaft in
1955 and the middle pit shaft in 1968. in 1976 the coal
drawing stopped and a trusted was formed as the mining
museum.

15. Chatterley Whitfield Mining
Museum
• When someone suggested that turning a colliery into a
mining museum you would have been called eccentric.
But that was no longer the case. Museums such as
ironbridge gorge museum and Gladstone pottery
museum have blazed the trail by preserving and
promoting aspects of are industrial heritage. It is
intended that Chatterley Whitfield mining museum will
continue this tradition. The unique opportunity for the
visitors is that they will be able to descend down 700ft in
the winstanley shaft. The visitors went down with two ex-
miners and went round a 1 hour trip underground.

16. Chatterley Whitfield Mining
Museum
• There is a audio visual cinema and toilets
and a car park. See enclosed booklet for
more information.

17. A Interview With My Grandad – Jim
Worgan
• What was your involvement in Chatterley
Whitfield?
• When he worked for the National Coal board he
was responsible for the phones, purchase of
furniture, storage of records and colliery visits
which directly involved all collierys. He used to
visit Chatterley Whitfield at least twice a month
and held discussions with various officials .
When the colliery closed in 1977 he was
responsible for transfer of furniture to other
collierys and colliery records to area records
store and the withdrawal of telephones.

18. A Interview With My Grandad – Jim
Worgan
• After the closure of Chatterley Whitfield
proposals were drawn up for a underground
mining museum at Chatterley Whitfield. The
museum which was setup in 1979 was the first
underground mining museum in Great Britain.
The visitors descended the Winstanley shaft
(700)ft deep accompanied by guides who were
all ex miners and were shown how coal was
mined in north staffordshire.

19. A Interview With My Grandad – Jim
Worgan
• The underground mining museum closed in 1986 and
was replaced by the underground experience which was
constructed on the surface in the old railway cutting.
Visitors descended the Platt shaft in a simulated ride of
700ft. The experience was deigned to show mining in the
north Staffs over various centuries and included a battery
loco train of 50yds. My grandad became curator at
Chatterley Whitfield in august 1989. the experience
closed on the 9th
of august 1993. before closure English
heritage scheduled the sight as a ancient monument
being the most complete coal mine in western Europe
being as important to the nation as stone henge.

20. A Interview With My Grandad – Jim
Worgan
• Today the sight is in a state of semi dereliction with an
estimated cost of repair (2002) 57 million pounds. The
friends of Chatterley Whitfield of which I am one and
working with the site owners and English heritage to see
how the site might be brought back into useful
occupation. Some years ago colliery offices on site were
refurbished and is now the Chatterley Whitfield
enterprise centre where 60 people are employed. In
addition a major landscaping of the colliery dirt tip which
included bringing the ford green Brooke from a culvet
under the tip into the open air. This was completed in
2010.this is now the Chatterley Whitfield country side
park which provides a superb amenity for residents of
the area.

21. My Involvement In The Friends Of
Chatterley Whitfield
• My involvement in the friends of Chatterley
Whitfield is I go to a lot of the meetings
when I can because they have the
meetings on a Thursday morning and I
have school. When they take private tours
round the site I help out and also on the
open day when chatterley whitfield is open
to the public and the friends of chatterley
whitfield take groups of tours round the
site and in to other buildings.

22. This is a picture of one of the last pit ponies leaving the
site

23. Conclusion
• It is often forgotten that without the right type of coal being present
in the north staffs there would be no pottery industry. this is because
the coal was used to heat the furnaces. This is evidenced by the fact
that china clay has been imported into the area for close on 300
years. Both these industrys could not survive without each other.
They were also major employers in the area.
• It was also a mining museum and a mining experience. It attracted
many people to the local area.
• the old mining offices are now being used by many local businesses
as offices which means employment continues on the site.
• the country park was once the old dirt tip where all the dirt from the
shafts went. But in 2010 they decided to turn it into a country park
for the benefit of the local area.

24. Evidence
• My Grandad-Jim Worgan
• My knowledge of the site
• A brief history of Chatterley Whitfield
• Chatterley Whitfield mining museum.
• Photographs taken by me of the site
• Friends of Chatterley Whitfield

25. Project evaluation
• The project went well because i got to learn
more about the site.
• I also got to talk to the friends of chatterley
Whitfield which I am involved in so I spoke to my
grandad.
• I also got to learn about what happened back
when the site was still a working mine.
• Also I got to help out with the friends of
Chatterley Whitfield by taking people round the
site and talking to them.