The Colliery
The Minnie Pit was located in the small village of Halmer End, Newcastle under Lyme and was opened in 1881. It was named after Minnie Craig, the daughter of one of the owners, a Mr. W.Y. Craig.
The Pit was the downcast shaft for the Podmore Hall Colliery, a wider industrial concern that mined coal at the Podmore Hall site in nearby Apedale at the Burley Pit, and also included the ironworks, forge and coking ovens at Apedale. In 1890, the entire combine was formed into the Midland Coal, Coke and Iron Company, Ltd. and apart from mining and iron making, the combine company had its own mineral railway, the Apedale and Podmore Hall Railway.
The Minnie Pit was 359 yards deep and had access to five seams of thick, good quality coal. Before the disaster it was an extremely profitable pit. Together with the wider operations of the business it was one of the biggest mining and iron making operations in North Staffordshire.
Read more about this topic: Minnie Pit Disaster