Baggeridge Colliery facts for kids
Baggeridge Colliery was a coal mine located in Sedgley, in the West Midlands of England. It was a very important place for getting coal out of the ground for many years.
Contents
History of Baggeridge Colliery
The Baggeridge Colliery was owned by the Earls of Dudley. This family had been involved in mining for hundreds of years in the Black Country area. The mine's location was special because it was just outside the main South Staffordshire Coalfield. This boundary was known as the Western Boundary Fault.
People wondered if coal could be found deeper down across this fault line. In 1869, geologists thought that coal probably existed there. They believed the Earl of Dudley's team would find it.
Finding the Coal
In 1896, a test drill was done. Work on the first mine shaft began in February 1899. A very thick layer of coal was found in 1902. As predicted, this coal was much deeper than coal found in other mines in the Black Country.
A second shaft was dug in 1910. By 1912, both shafts were finished, and the mine started producing coal.
Transporting Coal
The colliery had its own railway line. This line was part of the Earl of Dudley's Pensnett Railway. This network of lines connected many industrial sites in the west of the Black Country. The main railway company, GWR, built the connection in 1907.
The Mine Closes
Baggeridge Colliery closed on March 2, 1968. It was the very last coal mine in the Black Country. Its closure marked the end of about 300 years of coal mining in the area. Even after it closed, local bus services continued to run extra trips for a few years.
For its last two years, the mine was technically in Seisdon due to changes in local government areas. After 1974, when Sedgley became part of the new West Midlands county, the colliery site remained part of Staffordshire.
Baggeridge Country Park
Today, the land where the coal mine once stood is a beautiful place called Baggeridge Country Park. It has been transformed with a lake, wooded areas, and walking paths. Work on the park started in 1981. Princess Anne officially opened the new country park on June 17, 1983.
