The shallower parts of the Denbighshire Coalfield were worked extensively in the early nineteenth century, most of the coal being used in the iron industry. In the mid-nineteenth century, much deeper pits were established and a network of railways was built in the Wrexham area to transport the coal.[2]
A report on the North Wales Coalfield in the 1950s found that the reserves of coal were running low and that in the Denbighshire Coalfield, the geology of the coal-bearing strata dipped rapidly rendering it unlikely that the coalfield could be further developed.[1] The last deep mine to operate in the coalfield was Bersham Colliery which closed in 1986. Prior to this time, as many as 38 collieries had been in operation across the area, with a peak output in excess of 2.6 million tons, and giving employment at the height of production to some 12,000 men.[3]
Coal seamsedit
Several coal seams are named in the sequence. All of the seams occur within the Bettisfield Formation with the exception of the Morlas which occurs in the Coed-yr-Allt Formation. The seams are listed stratigraphically with the uppermost (youngest) at the head of the list and the lowermost (oldest) at the foot.[4]
Morlas
Bersham Yard Group; from Alpha (or Alpha Rider) through Beta Rider, Beta and Gamma to Delta (or Delta Bench)
Upper Stinking
Warras
Lower Stinking (known as Brassy at former Moreton Hall Colliery)
Powell
Hollin
Crank
Quaker
Main (was known as Six Foot at Quinta Colliery, Bottoms at Preesgwyn Colliery, Bind and Bench at Moreton Hall Colliery and Yard in the Oswestry area)
Crown
Upper Red
Lower Red
Cannel
Fireclay Group (includes Stone, Half Yard, Firedamp, Bottom Four Foot and Two Foot seams)
Nant
Ruabon Yard
Premier
Llwyneinion Half Yard
Chwarelau
Referencesedit
^ ab"Mines of the North Wales Coalfield". North Wales Miners Association Trust Ltd. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
^Royle, Edward (1998). Issues of Regional Identity: In Honour of John Marshall. Manchester University Press. pp. 210–213. ISBN978-0-7190-5028-2.
denbighshire, coalfield, historic, county, denbighshire, north, east, wales, smaller, british, coalfields, extends, from, near, caergwrle, north, southwards, through, wrexham, ruabon, rhosllannerchrugog, chirk, south, small, part, extends, into, shropshire, ar. The Denbighshire Coalfield in the historic county of Denbighshire in north east Wales is one of the smaller British coalfields It extends from near Caergwrle in the north southwards through Wrexham Ruabon and Rhosllannerchrugog to Chirk in the south A small part extends into Shropshire around Oswestry Beyond Caergwrle the coal bearing strata continue northwards as the Flintshire Coalfield Together the two coalfields are known as the North Wales Coalfield 1 History editThe shallower parts of the Denbighshire Coalfield were worked extensively in the early nineteenth century most of the coal being used in the iron industry In the mid nineteenth century much deeper pits were established and a network of railways was built in the Wrexham area to transport the coal 2 A report on the North Wales Coalfield in the 1950s found that the reserves of coal were running low and that in the Denbighshire Coalfield the geology of the coal bearing strata dipped rapidly rendering it unlikely that the coalfield could be further developed 1 The last deep mine to operate in the coalfield was Bersham Colliery which closed in 1986 Prior to this time as many as 38 collieries had been in operation across the area with a peak output in excess of 2 6 million tons and giving employment at the height of production to some 12 000 men 3 Coal seams editSeveral coal seams are named in the sequence All of the seams occur within the Bettisfield Formation with the exception of the Morlas which occurs in the Coed yr Allt Formation The seams are listed stratigraphically with the uppermost youngest at the head of the list and the lowermost oldest at the foot 4 Morlas Bersham Yard Group from Alpha or Alpha Rider through Beta Rider Beta and Gamma to Delta or Delta Bench Upper Stinking Warras Lower Stinking known as Brassy at former Moreton Hall Colliery Powell Hollin Crank Quaker Main was known as Six Foot at Quinta Colliery Bottoms at Preesgwyn Colliery Bind and Bench at Moreton Hall Colliery and Yard in the Oswestry area Crown Upper Red Lower Red Cannel Fireclay Group includes Stone Half Yard Firedamp Bottom Four Foot and Two Foot seams Nant Ruabon Yard Premier Llwyneinion Half Yard ChwarelauReferences edit a b Mines of the North Wales Coalfield North Wales Miners Association Trust Ltd Retrieved 25 April 2016 Royle Edward 1998 Issues of Regional Identity In Honour of John Marshall Manchester University Press pp 210 213 ISBN 978 0 7190 5028 2 WCBC Bersham Colliery Mining Museum Bedrock Geology UK South 1 625 000 scale geological map 5th edn British Geological Survey 2007 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty url help 53 03 03 N 3 00 34 W 53 0507 N 3 0094 W 53 0507 3 0094 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Denbighshire Coalfield amp oldid 1108209386, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
