Time Line of the Darfield Main aka The Valley
1856 - Shaft sinking began in the spring or summer of 1856. Exact start date not known.
1857 to 1859 – Sinkers had to deal with water bearing strata which made progress almost impossible. The only solution to the problem was to line the shafts with cast iron tubing.
1858 - First recorded accident at the colliery occurred on the 13th of September 1858 when a Richard Sutcliffe age 25 had his fingers blown off in a shot firing incident. Both arms had to amputated.
1860 - First recorded fatality at the colliery was on the 7th of February 1860 when George Taylor age 33 fell down the shaft off a scaffold platform. He left a widow and 9 children.
1860 - The Barnsley Seam was reached on the 28th of August 1860.
1861 - The Darfield Main Coal Company was Dissolved.
1870 - Edward Blackett Beaumont sold off his Woodhall Estate, but the leases stayed with the colliery.
1872 - A fire broke out on Sunday 4th February 1872 the fire was put out by stopping off the district. Production was restarted on Monday 19th February 1872.
1872 - A second more serious fire hit the colliery on the 13th of October 1872, efforts were made to put out the fire, but it was too established. A team of specialists, including the colliery management team decided the only option was to flood the mine, seal the shafts and wait for the fire to take its course.
1873 - Colliery remained flooded while a solution was being worked on to prevent a recurrence of such a serious fire.
1874 - After 13 months the pit had been pumped out and the clean-up was well underway. It was not long before the colliery began winding coal again. Estimates at the time suggested the fire had cost the company more than £100,000.
1880 - Colliery still owned by Darfield Coal Company Ltd.
1896 - Mitchell Main Colliery Company Ltd ?? needs authenticating.
1902 - Mitchell Main Colliery Company Ltd takes over Darfield Main.
1910 - After Fifty Years the Barnsley Seam is almost worked out.
1910 - The Meltonfield Seam had already been opened up, so production simply switched seams. A small team was left to work the Barnsley Seam until the take was totally exhausted.
1913 - The Mitchell Main Coal company made the decision to sink a third shaft some 21 ft in diameter but before the project started war broke out and sinking did not really begin until 1917.
1914 to 1919 First World War.
1917 - Sinkers Huts are erected on the land opposite Garlands Pond in preparation for the sinking of the third Shaft.
1917 - Work final began on the sinking of the new shaft, and due to the experience gained when sinking No 1 and No 2 shafts it was decided that the first 100 yards would be lined with German made tubing.
1919 - Shaft sinking was completed in 1919 with insets at the following seams, Meltonfield – Winter – Beamshaw – Swallow Wood – Flockton – Lidgett – Parkgate. Depth to the bottom of the sump was 628 yards but it would be some time before the shaft was used for anything other than ventilation.
1931 - Serious flooding causes lots of problems at the colliery, and the sinkers huts are surrounded by flood water, so the tenants must find temporary accommodation until the water subsides.
1938 - The Beamshaw Seam begins production towards the end of year.
1939 to 1945 Second World War.
1942 - The pit canteen is opened.
1947 - January 1st Vesting Day Darfield Main is nationalised under the control of the National Coal Board, which was set up by the Attlee Labour Government, but the future of the colliery is very much in doubt.
1952 - Decision taken to close Mitchell Main by 1956, Darfield Main is to remain open and will receive capital funding for an extensive modernisation scheme which included a new washer, new engine houses with the latest electric winders, and the long overdue pit head baths.
1956 - Mitchell Main is closed, and the workforce is transferred over to Darfield Main.
1956 - Darfield Main now employs just over 1300 men working three seams the Meltonfield, Winter and Beamshaw, and has a weekly production target of 10,000 Tons. By November 22nd, the colliery was hitting 12,000 Tons per week and set a new production record.
1961 - The first mechanised face at the colliery begins production. An Anderson Boyes Trepanner is installed along with the collieries first, Dowty powered supports on a face in the Meltonfield.
1961 - No 1 Pit Bank reconstruction.
1963 - After just 2 years the programme to mechanise, the colliery was completed.
1963 - Hand filling ends at the colliery.
1969 - Unofficial Miner’s Strike.
1970 - Meltonfield production comes to an end.
1972 - Miner’s Strike.
1974 - Miner’s Strike.
1984/85 – 12-month Miners’ Strike.
1985 - After the return to work in March 85 it was announced that the colliery would be closed by September. But following a pit review meeting in London the colliery was given a reprieve with conditions. The conditions were a reduction in manpower down to 300, a merger with Houghton Main, and that Darfield Main would only work the Silkstone Seam.
1986 to 1989 - Darfield Main was merged with Houghton Main, The Merger was completed by November, and the men who remained moved into the Silkstone Seam.
1989 - The Darfield section of Houghton Main Colliery is closed with no possible reprieve.
129 years after opening the colliery is closed.