Image ID: 25216

J. Oakes and Co's exhibition block of coal

Courtesy of Mr S Hill

Pollington Colliery, Brinsley or Oaks Foundry, Pyebridge ?
Brinsley
Riddings ?
England

This huge block of coal was hewn from Pollington Colliery, near New Brinsley, just inside Nottinghamshire, next to the Derbyshire border. Pollington Colliery, along with Pye Hill, Tunnel (Alfreton) and New Selston Collieries were owned by J Oakes and Co. who also owned Riddings/Pye Bridge Ironworks. It is not known whether the picture was taken at Pollington or at James Oakes' Foundry at Pye Bridge, because there is another picture of this event; one picture (seen here) is from Eastwood, who say that its location is Pollington Colliery and the other is DCAV000218 which came from Alfreton, who said that it was at the Oakes Foundry. (To add to the confusion, the same photographs appear on a Brinsley Web-site, and they say that the block of coal for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 ! which is probably incorrect as the clothes style look wrong for that date.) The picture here shows the largest single piece of coal taken from a mine, 4 Tons 12 Cwts, loaded onto an Oakes railway truck to be taken to the London Colliery Exhibition 1903.

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Keywordsironrailrailwayswagontransportsteelindustrialworkscoalexhibitionlampsminerspicksblocksheds

Eastwood Library