A brief history of Leeds mining

Kippax Colliery - at the height of mining Leeds had over 100 pits

when Leeds's Rothwell Colliery, closed in 1983 it was reported to be the oldest working colliery in the UK.

However, Leeds's mining history goes back even further than the 1700s.

It is thought that the Romans extracted coal from the Garforth area and there is an early record of local mining from a lease in 1262.

There was a plentiful supply of raw materials close at hand with large coal measures under Leeds.

Rothwell colliery had a history that could be traced back to the the bell pits of the 18th Century and a deep mining shaft begun in 1867.

Medieval bell pits were used to mine the coal by hand and some of these dot the Leeds area indeed excavations in the city centre, under Briggate, exposed some of these very early workings.

The presence of coal also gave Leeds a place in railway history because the Middleton Railway line (the oldest in the world) was first constructed in 1758, following an Act of Parliament, as a waggon way to transport horse-hauled coal mined from Middleton to the coal staithes in the city.

Mining was mainly, but not exclusively, carried out in the eastern, western and southern areas of Leeds. For instance in 1760, Garforth Colliery was started after a series of successful test borings and within 15 years it had six operating pits.

The late 18th century saw a rapid increase in many forms of transport across the country. The Aire and Calder Navigation canal made it easier to transport heavy loads helping the development of a number of Leeds collieries.

Coal was so important

A list (from the Coal Mining History Resource Centre) for 1880 shows a massive 111 collieries in Leeds, including one at Moortown, perhaps the city's northernmost pit.

A country park now stands on the site of Rothwell Colliery

During World War Two 1939-45 (and for a few years beyond) production of coal was so important young men were conscripted to work in the coal mines rather than the armed forces. Bevin Boys as they were called were a vital if largely unrecognised part of the war effort. Waterloo Main Colliery's most famous Bevin Boy was a local lad called Jimmy Savile.

The coal industry was nationalised in January 1947 and the National Coal Board took over 11 collieries in the Leeds area.

By 1967 in the Colliery Guardian's Guide the following seven local pits were listed as employing almost 4000 men in total. Ledston Luck (Kippax), Middleton Broom, Peckfield (Micklefield), Primrose Hill (Woodlesford), Rothwell, Savile (Methley), Waterloo Main (Temple Newsam).

Coal's role in the UK's energy supply was demonstrated during the national coal strikes of 1972 and 1974 including the 'three day week' of 1974 when electricity supply was rationed.

The year-long miners' strike began in early March 1984 and ended, when the National Union of Mineworkers narrowly voted to return to work, on 3 March 1985... mining had almost reached the end in Leeds.

The last two Leeds pits to close were Savile in 1985 and Ledston Luck in 1986.