Description and History of Site:-
Opened in 1872 by Naylor and Co. By 1896 there were 232 underground and 25 surface workers. Closed in 1910 after a catastrophic and unexpected inrush of water estimated at 30-50,000 gallons per hour. While this was unfortunate for the colliery, it proved to be a distinct benefit for the town of Ossett which was increasingly finding that its demand for water was rapidly outstripping the available supplies. In 1922 an Act of Parliament was passed allowing the Ossett Corporation to purchase the then disused Pildacre colliery and install two pumping engines to extract the water from it. The necessary equipment was in place by 1928, together with a water tower at Gawthorpe (WYK00588) to receive the supply and distribute it to the town. Eventually this supply of water also became inadequate as the pit dried out, and alternative arrangements had to be made. The waterworks closed in 1974. Site public parkland in 2018.

Further Reading and References:-
http://www.ossett.net/ossett_coal.html
http://www.ossett.net/ossett_water.html

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Key Words :- coal colliery waterworks

Viewing the Site :- Site (no buildings remain) is now a park open to the public

Address :- Pildacre Lane , Ossett , West Yorkshire, WF5 8HN
Grid Ref :- SE 26928 20725
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.682296 , Long -1.593782
Local Authority :- Wakefield Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site cleared - no above ground remains visible
Site Dates :- 1872 - 1974
Record Date :- 19 February 2018

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Nick Nelson