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{{Short description|Former coal mine in South Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox mine
| name = Yorkshire Main Colliery
| image = Winding wheel from Yorkshire Main Colliery 1911 to 1985 - geograph.org.uk - 637011.jpg
| width =
| caption = Winding wheel installed as a monument in Edlington
| alt = A colliery winding wheel sunk into the ground as a memorial
| pushpin_map = South Yorkshire
| pushpin_mapsize =
| pushpin_map_alt = Map of South Yorkshire showing location of the mine
| pushpin_map_caption=
| pushpin_image =
| pushpin_label =
| pushpin_label_position =
| coordinates = {{coord|53.4862|-1.1815|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline, title}}
| place = Edlington, Doncaster
| subdivision_type = County
| state/province = South Yorkshire
| country = England
| products = Coal
| amount = {{convert|908,000|tonne}}
| financial year = 1951<ref name="YP"/>
| type =
| greatest depth =
| discovery year =
| opening year = {{Start date|1909}}
| active years = 
| closing year = {{End date|1985|10|11|df=yes}}
| owner =
| official website = 
| acquisition year =
| module = 
}}
'''Yorkshire Main Colliery''' was a coal mine situated within the village of [[Edlington]], south west of [[Doncaster]], [[South Yorkshire]], England.

==History==
The colliery was created by the [[Staveley Coal and Iron Company]], which bought land in Edlington and leased the right to exploit the coal reserves under this and adjoining land from the Battie-Wrightson of [[Cusworth Hall|Cusworth estate]] in several transactions in 1909 and 1910. [[William Wrightson (MP for Aylesbury)|William Wrightson]] of Cusworth had acquired the Edlington estate in 1803 from the Molesworth family, which had owned it since the late seventeenth century.<ref name="Administrative history:">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=197-dyedlo&cid=0#0|title=Edlington (Yorkshire) Land and Development Company Ltd. And its Successor, Deeds and Associated Papers.|publisher=The National Archives|access-date=31 January 2010}}</ref>

Two shafts were sunk in 1909 and 1910. The new colliery, originally known as "Edlington Main" had a name change in September 1911 and became "Yorkshire Main". It reached the [[Barnsley seam]] at a depth of 905 yards in July 1911, however this was on a fault. The main seam was relocated in October 1912. The Colliery first produced a million tons of coal in 1923 and in 1939 it achieved a record output of 1,138,512 tons. In 1937, the pit became part of the Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd company, and was nationalised into the National Coal Board in 1947.<ref name="YP">{{cite news |last1=Tuffrey |first1=Peter |title=Life and Death of the Yorkshire Main Pit |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=9 February 2021 |page=18|issn=0963-1496}}</ref>

Extraction of the [[Dunsil seam]], about 18 yards lower, began in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yorkshire Main Colliery |url=https://www.nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/coal-mining-in-the-british-isles/yorkshire-coalfield/doncaster/yorkshire/ |website=nmrs.org.uk |access-date=9 February 2021}}</ref> In the 1970s work started on a new seam, the ''Swallow Wood Seam'', with and area of about {{convert|1.5|by|3|mi}}.<ref name="Yorkshire Main Aim at Million Mark Again">{{cite web|url=http://yorkshiremain.webs.com/gazettereport1970.htm|title=Doncaster Gazetter Report 1970|year=1970| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730165921/http://yorkshiremain.webs.com/gazettereport1970.htm| archive-date = 30 July 2010}}</ref> Plans had also been made to open up the [[Parkgate seam]], but these were later abandoned. In 1984, the mine was recorded as making a profit of £4.5 million, however, the mine was closed in 1985.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pithers |first1=Malcolm |title=Colliery closure reversed in crisis coalfield: from the archive, 6 March 1984 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/the-northerner/2015/mar/06/miners-strike-1984-num-yorkshire-archive |access-date=9 February 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=6 March 2015}}</ref> In 1987, the {{convert|200|ft|adj=on}} headstock winding tower, which cost £6 million, was demolished.<ref name="YP"/>

The colliery had a war memorial sited at the main entrance to commemorate those who worked at Yorkshire Main who died in the [[First World War]]. The memorial was moved into the village of [[Edlington]] in the 1970s.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Edlington War memorial|num=1467762|grade=II|accessdate=9 February 2021}}</ref> In 2018, part of the surface of the old colliery was granted approval for the building of 375 homes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hundreds of homes to be built on old Yorkshire Main colliery site at Edlington |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/hundreds-homes-be-built-old-yorkshire-main-colliery-site-edlington-1815481 |access-date=9 February 2021 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=29 July 2015}}</ref>

[[Arthur Wharton]], the first black professional player in the [[Football League]], worked as a collier there after his retirement from playing in 1902.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thomas |first=Matt |title=Arthur Wharton|url=https://thestoryofsouthelmsall.co.uk/2023/04/01/arthur-wharton/|access-date=15 December 2024|website=thestoryofsouthelmsall.co.uk|date=1 April 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
* Neighbouring pits: [[Rossington]] Colliery to the east, [[Maltby Main Colliery]] (south); [[Silverwood Colliery]] (south-west); and [[Cadeby, South Yorkshire|Cadeby]] Colliery (west).
* [[List of collieries in Yorkshire 1984-present with dates of closure]]
* [[Yorkshire Main F.C.]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{citation| url = http://www.freewebs.com/yorkshiremain/ |title = Yorkshire Main Colliery & Other Local Mines |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110204184112/http://yorkshiremain.webs.com/ | archive-date = 4 February 2011}}
*[https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/epw012973 Image of the coal mine from 1925]
{{Coal mining in Yorkshire}}

[[Category:Coal mines in Doncaster]]
[[Category:Coal mines in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Underground mines in England]]

Yorkshire Main Colliery - Revision history

imported>Cloptonson: /* History */ trim