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During its short existence Bathurst Main Silkstone Colliery was known locally as "Batties Main" pit, but was not owned by Earl Bathurst although it was on his land. Bathurst Main Silkstone Colliery was a landsale pit and was short lived.  It was located in the Darwood Lane area, immediately south of Spital Green, close to the western entrance to Scarcliffe Tunnel. The brickworks stood alongside the Midland Railway branch line, a short distance north of Palterton and Sutton station, near the bridge carrying Carr Lane over the railway. A web site dealing with the nearby village of Carr Vale inaccurately states "Carr Vale had its own small colliery during the late nineteenth century affectionately known by locals as 'Batties Main', which was situated to the south of the later Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway tunnel between Carr Vale and Scarcliffe, on Darwood Lane, Spittal Green, overlooking the village". The location of Bathurst Main Silkstone Colliery known locally as "Batties Main" pit is correct.  However, I believe it is a false and misleading statement to write that "Batties Main" was known as Carr Vale Pit. There is absolutely no evidence available to suggest this pit was ever known as Carr Vale Pit.  On the contrary the village of Carr Vale was in its infancy when "Batties Main" closed (1891).  The pit was always in the village of Palterton, close to the boundary with Bolsover.  The Earl Bathurst Estate Papers are absolute proof of these facts and others facts referred to on this page.  I believe it is wrong to write a false and misleading statement without first providing factual proven documentary evidence. 1881.  Two men, namely Josiah Court a Staveley surgeon and William Mannikin a mining engineer of Bolsover took out a lease from T.W.C. Master and Sir Henry Ponsonby, as trustees of the Bathurst Estate, to mine the Clowne coal and fireclay, under lands owned by Earl Bathurst to the north west of Palterton in the parish of Scarcliffe. The lessees opened the Bathurst Main Colliery to exploit the coal and also built Brick Kilns to use the clay found with the coal. 1883.  Court and Minnikin established the Bathurst Fire Stone & Fire Brick Co. Ltd to continue the business, which was to be managed by John Flecknoe Court of Netherthorpe Hall, Staveley.  These Brick Kilns were always known locally as Palterton Brick Yard.  These brick built kilns were constructed a short distance to the east the side of the Midland railway line.  Their purpose was to exploit the clay found in the coal.  The coal was transported to the railway sidings by means of a rope haulage system. The new company had an authorised capital of £20,000 and paid £1,660 to Court and £840 to Minnikin (in both cases entirely in shares) for the colliery and other works.  J.F. Court subscribed £2,460 in cash for his shares and four other subscribers took one share each, making a total issue of 500 shares.  The venture was not really successful. On my hand drawn sketch, 28 is part of Daw Wood Pingle and Daw Wood.  29 is part of Lady Leys Plantation.  50 and 51 are Lady Leys.  At the top of the sketch, running right to left and curving down part of the left hand side is Darwood Lane. 1885.  By this year the company had accumulated liabilities of £3,422, which Malcolm Wyndham Wadham of Weston-on-Trent agreed to meet and also to introduce additional working capital (in all £4,550) in return for control of the business. 1889.  The company had been taken over by Charles Baker, a farmer of Barlborough, who died in 1890. 1890.  In June, William Arkwright of Sutton Scarsdale bought the business from Baker & Sons, contractors of Dudley Hill, Bradford (Yorkshire) but had no further use for the limited company, which was dissolved four years later. On this larger image, the Elms Farm can be seen (bottom centre), as can Sallow Gap (Sally Gap) running directly off Carr Lane to the north.  This is conclusive proof that Sallow Gap has always been in Palterton.  Further west down Carr Lane can be seen Carr Farm(top left). 1891.  Bathurst Main Silkstone Colliery closed, but the Bathurst Fire Stone & Fire Brick Co. Ltd continued until the mid C.20th. 1893.  There is no mention of this colliery in the 1893 Edition of Pott's Mining Register and Directory for the Coal and Ironstone Trades of Great Britain and Ireland. 1893.  It was put up for auction as a going concern by Messrs Byron & Rangeley, when the plant was said to include a Newcastle kiln with a capacity of 100,000 bricks a week, two Galloway boilers, a winding engine and a drying shed.  It had a siding on the Doe Lea branch of the Midland Railway and good road access. 1896.  The works was offered for sale again, still as a going concern, this time by Pearson & Sons, the contractors. It remained in use in 1921, by which time they were known as the New Byron Brick Works, apparently named after A.W.Byron, the Sutton Scarsdale Estate agent. 1921.  It was now known as the New Byron Brick Works 1921.  There was a narrow gauge tramway connecting the claypit to the north with the works but no railway within the works itself. The works closed sometime before the Second World War, although it was apparently reopened temporarily during the war. Small-scale illegal working of coal is said to have taken place on the site of the colliery during the miners' strikes of the 20th century, including that of 1972. References: Bathurst Estate Papers in the County Record Office, Gloucester. also, apologies - Source mislaid for some of the other information.

Bathurst Main Silkstone Colliery

Bathurst Fire Stone & Fire Brick Co. Ltd

Email: ronstan@richardsbygonetimes.co.uk

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Created 2 December 2001
Last updated: 31 May 2008