Records of the Manvers Main Collieries Limited of Barnborough and Wath-Upon-Dearne, Yorkshire, 1937-1955

This material is held atUniversity of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections

Scope and Content

The collection comprises: agenda and minutes of meetings; reports (such as those of the managing director, sales manager, and annual general meetings); financial papers (financial statements, profit and loss accounts); records of results and analysis; accident reports; details of the firm's specific coal pits and coke ovens; files on nationalisation, advertising, mergers, power company, brickworks, farms and estates, staff and wages, sales, transportation and staff clubs; and files relating to other firms and employers organisations including Harton Coal Company, South Yorkshire Coal Owners Association, South Yorkshire Allied Collieries (Sales) Ltd, Richardson Westgarth and Co. Ltd, George Clark Ltd, Speight Tile Co. Ltd, Stephenson Clarke Ltd, Kilnhurst Colliery and Yorkshire Coke Oven Joint Tar Board.

The collection covers the period 1937 to 1955, a period when the colliery was undergoing modernisation. The records reflect this and reveal the large extent to which the colliery was involved in the local community as a whole. They also refer to coal and coke organisations with which the company was involved. Nationalisation features heavily in later files and the hostile reaction of the company directors to it is revealed. The files cover some years of the Second World War and provide an insight into the pressures under which an independent colliery operated during wartime.

Administrative / Biographical History

Manvers Main Collieries Limited was registered in 1899. It owned collieries in Barnborough and Wath-Upon-Dearne in Yorkshire. In 1939, the company operated 45 coke ovens and brickworks and supplied coke oven gas directly through the Sheffield Gas Grid Company Limited. The firm also sold graded coke to individual homes under the trademark, 'Manbrite'. The company purchased the Kilnhurst Colliery in the 1940s but the company's coal mining activities ceased in 1946 with the nationalisation of the coal industry. The company, which had retained its brickmaking operation, was liquidated in 1955.

Arrangement

Items in the collection have been divided into ten groups reflecting the original filing arrangement of the papers. Weeding to remove duplicates and internal memoranda of limited informational value was undertaken.

Access Information

Accessible to all registered readers subject to restrictions concerning personal information.

Other Finding Aids

This description is the only finding aid currently publicly available for the collection. A draft catalogue has been prepared and can be used by departmental staff to assist readers to locate items of use to their research. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements

Good

Conditions Governing Use

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

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).

Custodial History

The provenance of the collection is unknown. The records were acquired by the University of Nottingham library sometime before 1988.

Related Material

Sheffield Archives: ledger, motor test records, valuations, compensation records and leases of Manvers Main Collieries Limited, 1910-1957. Reference: NCB

Manvers Collection (Ma)