Roundwood Colliery was a coal mine situated in the Don Valley, about 2 miles north of

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, England on the borders of Rotherham and

Rawmarsh Rawmarsh (locally ) is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-northeast from Rotherham town centre and south-southwest of Swinton. ...

History

Coal gathering in the Aldwarke area, lands of the old manor which stretch across the Don Valley from Parkgate to

Thrybergh Thrybergh is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England, from Rotherham. It had a population of 4,327 in 2001, reducing to 4,058 at the 2011 Census. History Thrybergh – which is mentione ...

, goes back to the 17th century with documents relating to tenants' rights of way over the grounds and the river Dunne (Don) at Aldwarke ford, on both sides of river; and to any person fetching coals from pits. Earlier records still refer to charkcole (charcoal) to be cut in Rounde woodde near Aldwarke Manor house. It is from Rounde woodde that this colliery takes its name.

Deep Mining

The Deep Mine, named Roundwood, was set a short distance north of

Aldwarke Main Colliery Aldwarke Main Colliery was a coal mine sunk in the Don Valley, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. History The name "Aldwarke" refers to an area in the Don Valley about 2 miles north of Rotherham, South Yorkshire stretching to the outski ...

between the main line of the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

, north of Parkgate and Rawmarsh and the Mexborough to Sheffield line of the

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...

, north of Parkgate and Aldwarke. It was established in the early 1860s and had connections to both railways and to staithes alongside the river Don. In 1880 the colliery was listed as being owned by Cooper, Sellars and Company, becoming The Roundwood Colliery Company by 1896. This company was purchased by

John Brown and Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and the '' Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its height, from 1900 to the 1950s, it was one o ...

and became the foundation of the Dalton Main Colliery Company. Dalton Main Collieries were responsible for the sinking of

Silverwood Colliery Silverwood Colliery was a coal mining, colliery situated between Thrybergh and Ravenfield in Yorkshire, England. Originally called Dalton Main, it was renamed after a local woodland. It was owned by Dalton Main Collieries Ltd. History Dalton ...

, these collieries being joined by a railway built by the owners and known as

John Brown's Private Railway John Brown's railway was a line constructed in the Rotherham area of South Yorkshire, England, in order to link Silverwood Colliery to staithes situated alongside the River Don, South Yorkshire, River Don. The line, along with the collieries, bec ...

and over which a

Paddy Mail Paddy mails, generally considered as being workmen's trains, were operated by, or for many companies to transport their workers to their place of work or between their sites of work. Originally they were operated by railway contractors, on temp ...

service operated until the 1930s when it was discontinued in favour of "pit buses" which were operated by private companies and, later Rotherham Corporation. From 1908 the collieries were joined underground. This underground joining of the collieries meant that the drawing of coal could be concentrated at Silverwood and the Roundwood shafts used for materials and men. In 1947 the colliery passed to the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...

and was closed in the early 1960s. {{coord, 53, 27, 21, N, 1, 19, 29, W, region:GB_type:landmark_source:wikimapia, display=title Coal mines in Rotherham Coal mines in South Yorkshire Underground mines in England