Halmer End is a small village in the Borough of
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...
in Staffordshire, neighbouring the small hamlet of Alsagers Bank and the larger village of
Audley.
Population details as taken in the
2011 census can be found under
Audley Rural
Audley Rural is a parish of Staffordshire, England, located four miles to the north-west of the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is predominantly a rural area, of which Audley is the centre. Other settlements are Alsagers Bank, Bignall End ...
. The village is on the B5367.
Historically, the village was dominated by the Coal Mining Industry, and several large coal mines were in operation in the vicinity of the village in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the village is remembered as being the site of the worst mining disaster in the history of the North Staffordshire Coalfield when, in 1918, 156 men and boys were killed in the Minnie Pit Disaster.
Nowadays, the village remains semi-rural and residential with a school, convenience store and a Chinese takeaway.
The Minnie Pit Disaster
The Minnie Pit was opened in 1881 and was part of the wider Podmore Hall Collieries, a large combine of pits in the Halmerend area that served the ironworks at nearby
Apedale.
The Minnie Pit was the Downcast Shaft for the Podmore Hall operations and was 360 yards deep, reaching five thick, profitable coal seams.
On 12 January 1918, a huge explosion tore through the workings and killed 156 men and boys, at a time as well when the Great War was in its fourth year. The pit never recovered from the disaster and closed in 1930, along with the entire workings of the Podmore Hall Collieries and Apedale Ironworks. Nowadays a monument records the terrible disaster that befell this small village in 1918.
The Minnie Pit Disaster is the subject of the
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced by ...
poem "
Miners
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...
," published in 1918.
Transport
Halmer End was served by a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
which was opened by the
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.
The company was based i ...
on 28 June 1880. It was situated on the NSR Audley to Alsager Line. The line closed completely in 1963 and much of it is now a footpath, but nothing much remains of the industry that it once served.
Education
The village has one secondary school.
Sir Thomas Boughey Academy was built in 1849 and is situated on Station Road. It teaches pupils aged 11–16.
References
External links
Sir Thomas Boughey High School
{{authority control
Villages in Staffordshire
Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme