Talk o' th' Hill Colliery

Another one from the tarchives.

The North Staffordshire Coal & Iron Company leased this colliery from Ralph Sneyd in the 1860s in conjunction with a short-lived ironworks (1862-73). Later run by the Talke o' th' Hill Colliery Company, in 1920 it was acquired by Deeside steelmakers John Summers & Sons Limited who also owned the Shelton Iron & Steel Co Ltd. Closure came in March 1928 with over 1000 people made unemployed.

The photograph was taken from on top of the bunkers associated with the battery of 70 Simon Carves bye-product coke ovens on the site. These replaced a several ranges of beehive coke ovens around 1900. There were two shafts here with the upcast (No.2) just out of view on the left. The downcast shaft (No.1) was 384 yards deep to the Bullhurst seam. The buildings in front of the chimney on the right were used to repair railway wagons and locomotives.