Cannock Chase Coalfield

Cannock Chase Coalfield is a coalfield in Staffordshire, England, lying directly under Cannock Chase. It forms a rough triangle between Brereton, Essington and Pelsall.[1]

A Cannock & Huntington Colliery Co. Ltd. £20 share certificate, dated 1873

The Cannock Chase Coalfield lies just to the north of the South Staffordshire Coalfield, from which it is separated by the Bentley Fault. The seams under Cannock Chase are much deeper than those in South Staffordshire, being around 1,600 feet (490 m) near Rugeley, compared to around 800 feet (240 m) in South Staffordshire.[2]

By 1890, the coalfield was producing 3 million tons of coal per year,[2] and by 1933 this had risen to over 5 million tons.[3]

The last working coal mine beneath Cannock Chase, Littleton Colliery, was situated in the village of Huntington, Staffordshire on the A34 and closed on 3 December 1993.[1] Some of the coal from the mine was taken to power the nearby Rugeley Power Station.[4]

Archives

Historical records of Cannock Chase Colliery Company Limited, established in 1859, are held at the Cadbury Research Library (University of Birmingham).[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Chris Upton (5 Dec 2010). "The birth of the mining industry among Staffordshire's coal fields". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b "The Staffordshire Coalfields". www.CannockChaseHistory.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Cannock Chase Coalfield & Its Coal". BBC Stoke & Staffordshire. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Rugeley B Power Station in 360°". BBC Stoke & Staffordshire. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  5. ^ "UoB Calmview5: Search results". calmview.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-09.


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