Sutton Colliery
Sutton Colliery was a colliery situated in the village of Stanton Hill about 2 km north west of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
It was first sunk in 1874 and was closed in 1989.
Sutton Colliery was known locally as "Brierley Colliery" (possibly renamed by the Staffordshire colliers who moved here from the Brierley Hill area), or the "Bread and Herring Pit" because of the poor condition of the colliery.
History
Two small diameter shafts were originally sunk in 1874 to a depth of 183 metres by the Stanton Iron and coal company. In the period 1896-1902 the shafts were widened to 4.27 metres diameter and sunk to below the low main seam horizon at a depth of 425 metres. Both shafts were brick lined throughout except for 18metre of tubing at the top hard horizon in no1 shaft.
The no1 shaft(upcast) then commenced winding from the deep hard seam at 359m,with an intermediate inset at the top hard level. At the same time no2 shaft(downcast) commenced winding from the low main seam horizon. The first coals were produced from the top hard and Dunsil seams which were worked until 1922 and 1916 respectively. The available resources of the deep hard and low main seams to the south west of the shafts were exhausted by 1943.
The piper and deep hard seams becoming exhausted in 1989 when the colliery closed.
The Sutton Colliery Accident
(See also Sutton Colliery Accident)
On 21 February 1957 an explosion occurred in the Low Main Seam. Twenty-five men suffered multiple burns, five men subsequently died as a result of their injuries.