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Background
This photograph, taken 14th October 1911, shows the ceremonial cutting of the first turf on the site of Hatfield's shafts |
1908 - 1917 Sometime around 1908, the first shaft sinkers arrived in the Doncaster area. The land to the north east of Doncaster, between Hatfield and Thorne, was rich in coal reserves, with several seams of good quality, low ash content coal. However, due to the geological conditions, getting at these resources proved to be difficult and costly. |
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Presented at the Danum Hotel in Doncaster, his report described the Francois system of cementation being used in the sinking of the Hatfield shafts. The shaft sinkers had to pass through
a layer of New Red Sandstone, a heavily porous material, which allowed
water from the layers above to pour into the newly sunken shafts
at an alarming rate. |
The Hatfield Colliery Shaft Sinkers |
As soon as the cement was applied to the sides of the
shafts, it was washed out again by the pressure of the water.
The Francois system used a chemical process, wherein two chemical solution
were employed. When mixed, the chemicals produced a gelatinous substance
which effectively sealed the pores of the surrounding sandstone layers,
allowing the application of the cement.
Pumps were used in the sumps at the bottoms of the shafts to remove any
water which seeped into the shafts, and indeed, such pumps are still in
use today.
Hatfield Main and The Pit Club |
By 1921 Hatfield Main was in full production.
The nearby railway, canal and river outlets to the Humber, and the
seemingly unlimited market for coal, offered a bright view of the
future for the colliery owners. From the day the pit opened and onward through the 1920's, a migrant workforce arrived in the Stainforth and Hatfield area. |
By far the largest number of recruits came from the coalfields of Northumberland and Durham and for many years the villages around Hatfield abounded with more Geordie speakers than those with a Yorkshire dialect.
A second wave of migrants arrived in 1922, following the
collapse of the 1921 strike and the subsequent victimisations in the coalfields
further north.
The same happened again, following the strike of 1926, and then again
during the great depression of the 1930's
1930 Shaft Incident
The luckiest miner ever to work at Hatfield Main was one
of the early shaft examiners. His name was Fred Dunham and his unlucky
workmate on that fateful day was Harry Sutcliff. Both men slipped when
working on the top of the cage and plummeted down the shaft. Harry was
killed but Fred somehow somersaulted three times, bouncing off the guide
ropes, before he luckily grabbed a rope.
The rope was covered in grease, but holding tight,
he managed to slow his descent. Finally with his feet and legs wrapped
round the guide ropes and pulling himself down hand over hand, he emerged
into the pit bottom, hands blistered but alive.
| In the fortnight preceding Christmas of 1939,
disaster struck at Hatfield Main. One man died and over fifty were injured when the cage carrying men to the surface crashed into the headgear. Doncaster Royal Infirmary treated 58 men and boys for their injuries, most suffering from fractured limbs, though ten men and boys were subjected to amputations of their legs. |
Hatfield Main Colliery in 1939 |
A verdict of accidental death was returned at the inquest into the death of Daniel Horrigan, described as a stone worker of Arundel Street, Stainforth.
The jury at the inquest, held in The Guild Hall, French Gate, Doncaster, on Friday March 15, 1940, told the Coroner W.H. Carlile they were of the opinion that the safety devices did not cover a sufficient margin of error.
Through the war years
During World War II, Prisoners of War found to have been coal miners in Germany, Poland or elsewhere, were drafted into the pits. A number of such prisoners were sent to Hatfield Main.
Italian P.O.W.s were also set to work on the coal barges at Stainforth canal.
After the war was over, ex-miners/prisoners and stateless persons, such as Ukrainians, Poles, Czechs, Yugoslavians and Germans all found their way into the great fraternity of mining races and peoples.
The miners of Hatfield Main played a major
part in the strikes of '69, '72, '74 and finally in '84, where Tory
trickery was used to fool those of lesser gumption into crossing picket
lines for the first time at Hatfield.
After the '84 strike, the strength of the NUM at Hatfield declined.
By the '90s, after the pit had been bought by the previous management,
the Union had been relocated to the St. John's Ambulance Brigade building
on Emerson Avenue.
Seams Worked
The Barnsley seam was worked from 1921 to 1984. In some areas, the Dunsil seam combines with the Barnsley seam and part of the Dunsil seam was extracted.
The High Hazel seam has been worked from 1927 to December 1993. The Hatfield Coal Company Limited recommenced mining activities within the High Hazel seam in July 1994.
This table shows the seams and the depths
at which they are found
(This information is borrowed from the IMCL report for 1998)
|
Seam
|
Section
cm |
Interval
Metres |
Depth
Metres |
|
Shafton
|
50
|
402
|
|
|
Sharleston Top
|
20
|
45
|
447
|
|
Houghton Thin
|
70
|
56
|
503
|
|
Wheatworth
|
80
|
37
|
540
|
|
Swinton Pottery
|
50
|
24
|
564
|
|
Newhill
|
90
|
17
|
581
|
|
Meltonfield
|
100
|
18
|
599
|
|
Two Foot
|
50
|
8
|
607
|
|
Winter
|
40
|
5
|
612
|
|
High Hazel
|
140
|
22
|
634
|
|
Kents Thick
|
80
|
31
|
665
|
|
Barnsley
|
280
|
38
|
703
|
|
Dunsil
|
70
|
17
|
720
|
|
Flockton Thick
|
160
|
100
|
820
|
|
Fenton
|
50
|
24
|
844
|
|
Parkgate
|
130
|
10
|
854
|
|
Thorncliffe
|
70
|
20
|
874
|
|
Blocking
|
90
|
25
|
899
|
|
Top Beeston
|
140
|
27
|
926
|
The Present
 |
On August 9th 2001 Hatfield Coal Company dramatically announced the closure of Hatfield Colliery. For several weeks the future of the mine hung in the balance. In October 2001 Richard Budge took over the running of the colliery under the name of his new company, Coal Power.
Production.
Under Hatfield Coal Company, production was quoted as the following:
Production at Hatfield is from a single advancing face
strategy in the High Hazel seam.
Annual output is quoted as being between 350,000 and 400,000 t. Production
has to take into consideration market demand and, thus, weekly advance
rates differ between summer and winter.
Production figures for Coal Power will be given when I have them available.
|
Workforce Hatfield Coal Company Limited employed a workforce
of 205, with an additional 26 persons working from outside contract
in the company's coal prep plant. |
Markets
Hatfield's output is presently aimed at the domestic and industrial market. The mine had won a contract to supply nearby Drax Power Station at Selby with coal and under Coal Power's management the contract will probably be fulfilled. However, a message appearing in the Financial Times in October 2001 outlined Mr Budge's plans for an on site coal fired electricity generator, capable of producing 500 MW and feeding into the National Grid. This is a system much used in the USA and could provide Hatfield with a secure future as costs normally accrued in transporting coal no longer apply.
Profit / Loss?
Unfortunately, the financial state of the Hatfield Coal
Company was never open for the scrutiny of anyone not directly concerned
with the company.
The problem leading to the company's decline was
cited as a "withdrawal of funding from a Japanese bank". It
would appear that the mine had been given backing from the bank to the
tune of £40 million, only to have the agreement annulled at such
short notice that the company could not find another backer in time to
stave off it's creditors.
With the possibility of the mine being tied to an on site power station, the future certainly looks much rosier than it did in late August 2001
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Into the Future...
|
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There are also outline plans for driving two drifts giving
access to the Barnsley seam, which lays some 70m below the High Hazel,
with the prospect of working the 1.9m seam by means of retreat.
Update - Spring 2002
In April of 2002, Coalpower publicly announced their plans for the future
of Hatfield Colliery. The main part of Coalpower’s plan involves
the construction of a 430 MW Coal Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle
(IGCC) Power Generation Plant. The colliery surface will also be transformed
into a modern business park, provided with cheap electricity from the
on-site power plant. The "Power Park" should be completed by
2005/6
After struggling throughout 2003 to find funding for their ambitious plans, Coalpower announced the closure of Hatfield Colliery. An estimated £30 million was needed to fund the project and save the colliery, but despite pleas from local MPs and the miners themselves, the pit was placed on a care and Maintenance order until March 2004. Ironically, this marks the 20th anniversary of the '84-'85 miners strike, during which the men of Hatfield Main fought against Tory plans to destroy the industry.
However, many residents of Stainforth were left in a state of confusion after news reports on the evening of Friday 30th January said that underground pumps had already been switched off and the shafts were beginning to fill with water. A news spokesman said the main ventilation fan was to be switched off that very same day.
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Hatfield Colliery 2004
2006 - March Earlier this year Richard Budge announced the formation of his new company, Powerfuel PLC. In the second week of March, the announcement was made that Kuzbassrazrezugol (KRU), one of largest coal producers in Russia, had acquired a 51% shareholding in Powerfuel. KRU expect that by the time the colliery has been fully refurbished and production is at full capacity, possibly by 2009, Hatfield could be producing around 2m tonnes per year.
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2007 - 2008 Autumn - winter . Work is resumed on reshaping the colliery surface, this time with obvious intent. Large banks have been constructed around the site using spoil from the East Lane tip. Coal poduction has been resumed from a single face, with further developments being planned. Many of the old colliery buildings have been demolished and replaced with new structures. |
2008 - March . An application to construct a 900 MW electricity generating plant has been made. This is to be built on the site of the colliery adjacent to the shafts, where plans for a similar 430 MW IGCC plant have already been approved.