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MINERALS AND MINING IN THE WEST MIDLANDS
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From coal in the Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent areas to lead in Shropshire, minerals in the West Midlands had a major impact on industry and society in the United Kingdom. This was particularly the case in East Shropshire, where coal deposits helped fuel the iron industry of the West Midlands and the potteries of Staffordshire. It was here that the first iron bridge of its type in the world was built at Coalbrookdale as a symbol of the industrial revolution that all these industries were a part of. Birmingham And The Industrial RevolutionThe coal mines in Birmingham and other parts of the central West Midlands area had a crucial role to play in the development of iron and other industries and were a major factor in Birmingham being closely involved in the Industrial Revolution. |
Coventry Miners. |
A Birmingham factory which became known throughout the world was set up by Matthew Boulton at Soho in Handsworth to manufacture metal goods such as buckles, buttons, plate, and silverware. Boulton later went into partnership with James Watt, who produced the coal-powered steam-engines which played a vital part in the Industrial Revolution. A foundry was built at Smethwick in the 1790s to help make parts for these engines.
This steam-power was also used for coin and mint-making and the machinery used in the making of money was exported world-wide. Boulton and Watt were part of a group known as the Lunar Society, which also included other industrialists such as Josiah Wedgwood. Another person of note who worked for Boulton & Watt was William Murdoch, the inventor of gas lighting.
Coal fed the furnaces which powered the factories and these industries in turn then manufactured equipment and machinery for the mining industry, such as steam pumps and railway locomotives.
Further details are available at the website links below:
Shropshire And Lead
Snailbeach, to the south-west of Shrewsbury, was the biggest lead mine in Shropshire and may have been mined by the Romans, but the first documented attempts at mining here were in the mid-16th century. The Snailbeach Company was formed in 1783 and coal was also mined in the area to fuel the lead mine's boilers. Coal production lasted until the mid-19th century.
The site developed with the building of smelt mills to process the lead ore and mines continued to be sunk. As the mine expanded and production increased tramways and railways were built to move ore and smelted lead about. Snailbeach had its most productive period in the 1840s and 1850s but lead prices fell and it became unproductive to mine here for lead later on in the 19th century.
The site only continued into the 20th century because the waste tips and upper level shafts above the water level were worked. It is now managed by the Shropshire Mines Trust, which also looks after the Tankerville lead mine site near Pennerley, which is to the south of Snailbeach.
Go to the websites shown below for more details mining in Shropshire:
Staffordshire And The Potteries
A lot of Staffordshire coal was found in the north of the county near Stoke-on-Trent, and it was just the right type of coal for fuelling the hundreds of pottery kilns which sprang up in the area. Coal was being mined for the pottery industry as early as the mid-15th century and as demand increased, so more mines were opened to meet this demand. Clay, which is the essential ingredient for pottery making, was also found in the area and this explains why the industry thrived here. By the early 18th century Stoke-on-Trent was seen as the heart of the pottery industry in the UK and by the end of that century it dominated world production.
There had been mining in the area as early as the 13th century and it continued until 1998 when the last deep mine at Silverdale closed.
Coal was also available in the Cannock Chase area north of Birmingham, and to the east of Birmingham in south Staffordshire. The Cannock Chase Coalfield was developed in the mid-19th century and as in other coal mining areas, once the first mines were opened by landowners and entrepreneurs, many others followed. The industry had a dramatic impact on the landscape and new communities were built for miners and support staff.
If you want to find out more about mining and related industries in Staffordshire, have a look at the links below:
Cannock Chase Mining Historical Society
Coal Mining In North Staffordshire
The North Staffordshire Coalfield
Coalbrookdale And The Iron Bridge - A Symbol Of Industry
The iron bridge built at Coalbrookdale in 1779 is a symbol of the importance of the West Midlands and coal in the Industrial Revolution in Britain. It was at this site on the River Severn in the 18th century where large scale production of iron started, thanks to a new discovery involving the smelting of iron. In 1709 Abraham Darby came up with a way of smelting iron with coke (a by-product of coal) instead of charcoal. This method was more efficient and produced a better quality of iron.
Other manufacturers had tried this, but Darby was the person who made the great breakthrough in the technique. He and later members of the Darby family saw the industry expand from producing kitchen equipment to much larger industrial machinery. The coal in the area meant that plenty of coke was available and other industries started up alongside the iron industry to make good use of the natural resources and by-products underground. These industries included tile, china, porcelain and brick works, and clay tobacco pipe-making. The coal was also needed for the Cheshire salt industry.
The coal and the industries that grew up in the area as a result led to new settlements being built and the names of these reflected the presence of coal - for example Coalbrookdale, Coalport and Coalford.
One example of making good use of natural resources was the tunnel built at Coalport in 1786 to connect the Blists Hill mines with the Coalport Canal and the River Severn. As the tunnel was being dug out a spring of natural bitumen was discovered so it was decided to make use of this material rather than use the tunnel to get coal to the river.
The coal found in this area was part of the Shropshire coal field, which extended as far west as Shrewsbury. There was also coal near Oswestry on the Welsh border in the North West of the county which was part of the North Wales coalfield.
For more information go to the websites shown below:
Industrial history of the Oakengates area, including the Lilleshall Colliery
More West Midlands images are available in the image gallery.
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