Artefacts from Langwith Colliery, Derbyshire, c.1900

The collection comprises:

Wooden sign measuring 1 yard (92 cm) x 1 yard (92 cm) and showing shaft riding times, c.1900 (MS 697/1);

Metal ballot box used by miners at the colliery belonging to the National Union of Mineworkers, c.1900 (MS 697/2).

The Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company Limited bought land and mining rights for land near Nether Langwith on the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire border from Earl Bathurst in 1873. The sinking of deep shafts for the extraction of coal began at Langwith Colliery in 1876. Coal was first struck in 1878 and by 1896 1,200 men were working at the pit producing 2,500 tons of coal per day. A new village, Whaley Thorns, was developed close to the colliery to accommodate the miners. Production grew to over 500,000 tons a year in 1929 and by the time of nationalisation in 1947, the colliery was employing 1,388 men. Production and staffing numbers remained steady until the 1960s when greater mechanisation resulted in rising production and falling levels of staff. By 1970, the last of the economic reserves were nearing exhaustion and production ceased in August 1978.

No archival arrangement has been necessary.

Accessible to all readers.

This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

Good

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

Photographs of these items can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

The collection was given to The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in August 1999.

Derbyshire Record Office: records of the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company Limited and its Glapwell Colliery at Ault Hucknall, Derbyshire, 1898-1958. References: D5500/12 and N/38/16