Coal in North Staffordshire
Coal and ironstone were being dug in the area as early as 1282, and by 1467 the Great Row coal seam was being mined and used for firing pottery. The actual area in which the coal is exposed at the surface is 70 square miles, which is small compared to other coalfields, but along the central part of this the thickness of the seams is much greater than that of any other English coalfield except Lancashire.
The coal is of the Black Band Group of the Middle Coal Measures. Although there is a wide variety of coal types, there are two of the greatest importance: these are ‘long flame coals’ - essential for firing pottery ovens.
Some of the famous seams carry names like - Great Row, Hard Mine, Bowling Alley, Cox’s Head, Peacock, Bassey Mine, Holly Lane and Mossfield. Because the coal seam emerged (appeared) at the surface it was dug out until the seam was followed underground in sloping tunnels called ‘footrails’ or ‘adits’.
Some coal was mined in ‘Bell Pits’, where a shaft was dug to a seam, and the seam excavated until the danger of collapse made it unsafe, and the seam was followed by digging another shaft nearby. In the late eighteenth century, pottery manufacturers joined together to form companies to mine coal for their mutual benefit. One at Fenton Park Colliery was typical, in which the principal partners included Josiah Spode II, Thomas Wolfe and Thomas Minton.
