Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
Mining in Caughley has always been linked with clay. The earliest recorded workings are associated with
the Caughley China Works in the mid 18th century. Later mining was carried out by the Broseley Tileries,
who manufactured bricks, roofing tiles from 18321. The area is at the southern end of the Coalbrookdale
coalfield where the seams are relatively shallow and few in number. Randal states that: Caughley was
admirably situated for the manufacture of china, from the fact that coal lay about twenty feet from the
surface, and clay for saggers at a less depth even; 2
In 1754, a potter called Gallimore took a sixty-two year lease of the site from Browne of Caughley, a local
landowner. Gallimore appears to have produced varieties of earthenware probably from local clay. In 1772
Thomas Turner took over the works at Caughley and also acquired the lease of a neighbouring colliery.
There was also a sagger works South East of the China works near the Dean brook. In an agreement dated
12th October 1799, Turner assigned the lease of the Caughley Works, and the nearby colliery, to Edward
Blakeway, John Rose and Richard Rose of Coalport3. They later closed the works and it was demolished in
1814 the work having being transferred to Coalport.
There were a number of mine shafts in the area and the earliest workings appear to have been bell pits, some
of which were South East of the China works. By 1793 a mine had been opened in a field immediately to
the north of the works.
The Onions brickworks, at Broseley Tileries, was set up on the site of their Broseley Furnace which had built
in the early 1800’s and closed in the 1830’s. It is not known when they opened up their mine at Turners
yard. By 1883 Turners Yard and the Deep Pit were both supplying the brick works with coal and clay and
continued to do so until the 1930’s when Deep Pit closed.
An 1891 report states that there were two shafts at Turners yard both 5’ diameter and 108 feet deep. The
mine was working coal. In 1896 the Broseley Tileries Company Ltd was working the mine, with 8 men
working at the pit. It was working two minerals in the Clod coal seam and it is listed as working Coal which
was used for manufacturing.4 In the late 1890’s a worker was killed while working in an ancient gob, at
which time the mine was being worked for clay.5
In 1930 it was one of only five pits open in Broseley but by this time it is listed as a fireclay mine employing
14 men. In 1948 only three mines were working south of the Severn with 11 men being employed at Turners
yard. 6 The mine finally closed in 1950’s.7
In 1964 the area under the Caughley China works was opencast. In the 1990’s an area South West of the last
mine has been opencast for clay and coal, first by Ibstock Brick (who purchased Broseley Tileries in the
1950’s) and now by Parkhill Estates.
The opencast mining has not however destroyed the surface remains of the two mines North of Caughley
Road or the site of last mine. During 1999 a number of Bell Pits were exposed and these were probably
those shown on the 1780 map south of the China Works.
1
Mugridge A.J. Brick & roofing tile manufactories in the Severn Gorge. 1987
Randal John. Broseley and its surroundings
3
Thornes P.A. Thomas Turner brought Frenchmen to his Caughley China Works and lived in a mock chateau.. The
Shropshire Magazine 1963.
4
From the Tables compiled by W.N Atkinson, H.M.Inspector for the North Staffordshire District in his Report for 1896
Peak District Historic Mining Society web site
5
Brown I.J SCMC newsletter October 1997
6
Brown I.J Some mining incidents in the Broseley Field . Wilkinson Society Journal 1980
2
7
Brown also refers to STRAHAN, Sir A and others. Refractory materials; fireclays. Resources and geology 1920. (Memoirs of the
Geological Survey. Special report on the mineral resources of Great Britain, vol. 14).
Whitehead, T.H. and others. The county between Wolverhampton and Oakengates. H.M.S.O. 1928. (Memoirs of the Geological
Survey).
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Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
Geology8
The mine is in the HP
The Best Coal is very variable in thickness; south of the Severn (Figure 28) it ranges from 0.15 m to 1.22m.
At Ganey and Caughley opencast sites it is split, with a lower leaf 0.58 in to 0.65 m thick and an upper leaf
0.30 m to 0.35 m thick separated by 0.19 m to 0.30 m of pale grey-brown fireclay.
The strata between the Best Coal and the Two Foot Coal are thicker in the Madeley Syncline than
elsewhere…..
The Two Foot Coal of the Donnington Syncline is represented by two or three coals in the Madeley
Syncline. The lowest of these is called the Main or Lower Ganey, the highest is called the Upper Ganey or
Two Foot, and a Little Ganey Coal is locally developed in between. The successions in localities south and
north of the Broseley Fault are shown in Figure 28…..
South of Benthall, in Broseley and at Caughley (Williams, 1846), only the Lower and Upper Ganey coals are
present, respectively 0.4 in to 0.9m and 0.5 m to 0.6 m thick and separated by 3m to 8 m of mixed sandstones
and fireclays. In the Caughley Opencast [6915 0015] a coal believed to be the Main Ganey (0.6 m thick) lay
at the base of a washout cutting down into the Best Coal Rock. The upper part of the coal was canneloid and
overlain by 4 m of mudstone with scattered ironstone nodules above. The Main Ganey Coal (0.5m thick)
similarly rested at the base of a washout in the Ganey Opencast [688 000].
Section of coal workings from Geology of Telford and the Coalbrookdale Coalfield BGS 1995
8
Section of coal workings from Geology of Telford and the Coalbrookdale Coalfield. BGS 1995. The mine has a BGS registered
number of SJ60SE/298-299 and their source of information was from British Coal Mine abandonment plans WM4 and WM105.
They quote the mine at grid reference 693 002 which refers to the last working site (1927 on)
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Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
The Caughley Works from a picture published in The Salopian Monthly, April 1875
The works was mostly demolished in 1814 although a small portion was converted into a dwelling.
Opencast working in 1964 destroyed the site of the works, although the area containing the pond
and building in the foreground remains undisturbed although they themselves have disappeared.9
9
Clarke C. Ironbridge George. IGMT 1986.11057
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Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
Maps
The first map showing mines at Turners yard is in 1778.
The colliery is not shown on the 1830 1” OS map although this is limited in detail.
By 1883 a mine is shown on a large mound.
By 1927 two further mines had been sunk one of which had been abandoned. On its final site working
continued until the 1950’s
Building and pond shown in illustration?
China works Pond
China works
Railroad – now Pound lane (Caughley Road)
The Caughley saggar works, from a survey of estate dated 1780 (SRO 1224/1/4710)
This shows shafts in upper and lower Yates’s Leasow with other fields indicating mining.
10
Clark C. Ironbridge Gorge Batesford 1993
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Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
A Plan of the Township of Caughley, the property of Ralph Browne, Wylde Browne Esq,
made by Joseph Powell, Jr. in 1793.11
Pound Lane
Caughley China Works
Pond
Mine (Turners Yard?)
The map shows what must have been the first Turners Yard mine with a pond to the South East. It
interestingly also shows another building (top right) which is not shown on any other map.
11
Forester Collection, 1224/1/47. & Ironbridge History & Guide Hayman R. Horton W.
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Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
Tramway to Broseley
Tileries
Site of pond shown on
1780 map and in
engraving of the china
works
Location of mine
shown on 1793 map
Pound Lane
(Caughley Road )
Site of china works
showing house
converted from works
buildings
Turners Yard Colliery from 25” OS map 1883.
It shows the large mound still extant. At this time the tramway shown was a link to Prestage
Broseley Tileries. The size of the mound suggests that it was worked for ironstone.
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Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
Tramway from Turners
Yard
Broseley Tileries from 25” OS map 1883 showing tramway from Turners Yard mine and also Deep
Pit.
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Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
Turners Yard Colliery, Caughley Colliery, Deep Pit & Broseley Tileries 1903 6” OS Map
The colliery at Turners Yard, as shown in 1893, has by this time, become disused. A new shaft has been
open 200 yards to the south east of the 1883 mine. This is now connected by the tramway to Broseley
Tileries.
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Mining at Caughley - Turners Yard Colliery.
25” OS Map 1927
This shows three
sites for Turners
yard colliery. The
more easterly shaft
and the old shaft
shown South West
have appeared since
1883
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