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Description and History of Site:-

Site cleared and landscapedLeeds & Yorkshire Co-operative Coal Mining Co Ltd started sinking the colliery in 1873 and began production at the beginning of 1877. In 1880 the company became Lofthouse Colliery Co which steadily improved it as it became more profitable. By 1908 there were 892 miners employed underground with 389 surface workers after which the number employed slowly declined. In 1947 the colliery was nationalised, passing to National Coal Board who initially had 733 miners underground and 258 on the surface. The early hours of 21 March 1973 brought the colliery's infamous disaster when miners broke into unknown old coal workings of Old Low Laithes Colliery's Bye and Engine pits, which caused a dramatic inrush of water in the Flockton Thin seam at the South 5B face that trapped and killed seven miners. The colliery closed in 1981.

Further Reading and References:-

Eddie Downes, Yorkshire Collieries 1947-1994, Think Pit, Wakefield, 2016
Margaret Lindsay Faull. 'Commemorating Coal Mining Worldwide: international museums, heritage centres and sites related to coal mining]'. BAR International Series, 2022

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Key Words :- colliery, coal mine

Address :- Potovens Lane, Lofthouse, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF3 3HR
Grid Ref :- SE 3251 2474
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.718065 , Long -1.508852
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 :- 1873 - 1981
Contributor :- Chris Bateman - 7 August 2018

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Chris Bateman