Whitwick Colliery 1826 - 1986

Although coal had been mined in Swannington and Coleorton from 1204 the coal under the village is deep under a layer of clay and it was the Industrial revolution which produced the technology that made Whitwick coal viable. William Stenson (pictured right) opened Whitwick Colliery in 1826 and and in 1827 the Leicester Chronicle reported that two shafts had reached a depth of 26 yards. coal was finally reached in April 1828 when the Minge seam was reached some 100 yards below ground and later that month a waggon laden with Whitwick coal was drawn about Leicester preceded by a band. In May 1834 the main coal was reached and great celebrations were held at the Railway Hotel on Long Lane. It was reported that 50 gentlemen dined and 200 colliers ate roast beef and plum pudding, with due allowance of ale. The celebrations were further enlivened by music and cannons!

Stenson realised early that improved transport infrastructure was needed and in In 1828 there were plans to lay tracks along the route of the disused and dry Charnwood Forest Canal bed so that coal could be delivered to Loughborough, transferred to canal barges and delivered to Leicester's West Bridge Wharf. However, this was dismissed by the owners of the disused canal and the thwarted coal owners finally achieved their aim with the bill for a new railway being passed in 1829. In the Autumn of 1832 the Leicester - Swannington Railway had reached Bagworth and the colliery advertised for horses and carts. The railway reached Long Lane in 1833 and the colliery advertised for miners to boost production. The arrival of the railway also saw the sinking of two further pits.

In April 1860 Stenson retired at the grand age of 90 although he had been struggling to raise the required capital to maintain his interest as early as 1840. Stenson's retirement left Whitwick Colliery primarily in the hands of James Whetstone. In 1868 James died and his interest was passed to his brother, William. In August 1873 William sold his interest in the operation of the colliery to George Thorpe and Joseph Boam of Leicester, who two days later entered into an agreement with a joint stock company, Whitwick Colliery Limited, which was incorporated in August 1873. Despite this Whetstone retained the chattels, mines, brickworks, freehold and leasehold mineral rights as security. These were boom times for the coal mining industry and in 1874 two further shafts were sunk, consequently by August of the following year the Whitwick Colliery Company was raising 3300 tons per week. In March 1876 the company recorded a profit of £12,002-19-5d and production had exceeded 4000 tons per week. However, the boom was coming to an end and in 1877 profits had plummeted to £1370 forcing the company to close shafts and lay off 150 colliers in June 1878. By October of the same year the company had racked up debts of £31,000 and in November a liquidator was appointed. In February 1880 the company finally went into liquidation and operational power was regained by Whetstone. In 1881 the company was reformed and given a new 8 year lease to operate the colliery. In 1885 Whetstone sold the colliery to the company for £72,000 with £70,000 of the purchase price being loaned by Whetstone himself. By 1897 the mortgage had been reduced to £18,000 and the debt transferred to the Leicester Banking Company Limited.

In 1896 Arthur H Stokes, HM Inspector for the Midlands District, recorded the following details for Whitwick: