A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



The principal collieries now or lately at work are 

 the Annesley, belonging to the Annesley Colliery 

 Company, the Babbington, Broxtow and New- 

 castle, Bulwell and Cinderhill Collieries to the 

 Babbington Coal Company, the Bentinck and 

 New Hucknall to the New Hucknall Colliery 

 Company, the Bestwood Colliery to the Best- 

 wood Coal and Iron Company, the Brinsley and 

 Selston, the Moor Green and the Watnall 

 Collieries to Messrs. Barber, Walker & Co., the 

 Clifton Colliery to the Clifton Colliery Com- 

 pany, the Clinton to the Stoney Lane Brick 

 Company, the Cossall and Trowell Moor to the 

 Cossall Colliery Company, the Digby, Gedling, 

 and New London to the Digby Colliery Com- 

 pany, the Hucknall to the Hucknall Colliery 

 Company, the Kirkby, Plumtre, and Portland to 

 the Butterley Company, the Langton to the Pinx- 

 ton Coal Company, the Linby to the Linby Coal 

 Company, the Mansfield to the Bolsover Colliery 

 Company, the Manton to the Wigan Coal and 

 Iron Company, the New Selston, Pollington 

 Pye Hill and Tunnel to J. Oakes & Co., the 



Newstead to the Newstead Colliery Company, 

 the Radford and Wollaton to the Wollaton Col- 

 liery Company, the Shireoaks and Steetley to 

 the Shireoaks Colliery Company, the Sherwood 

 to the Sherwood Colliery Company, the Silver- 

 hill and Teversal to the Stanton Ironworks 

 Company, the Sutton to the Blackwell Colliery 

 Company, and the Warsop Main Colliery be- 

 longing to the Staveley Coal and Iron Com- 

 pany. 



The output from the Nottinghamshire col- 

 lieries during the last ten years has been con- 

 tinually increasing 60 and is bound to attain much 

 greater proportions. In 1897 6,970,424 tons 

 of coal were raised within the county, and 

 23,024 men and boys employed at the collieries 

 above and underground. In 1907 the output 

 reached 11,728,886 tons of coal, and the figures 

 of those employed 35,415. Indeed, owing to 

 the gradual opening up of the 'concealed ' field, 

 coal-mining must claim the first place in eco- 

 nomic importance among the industries of the 

 shire. 



BUILDING STONE 



In 1229 the king granted to the Prior and 

 monks of Lenton a quarry ' in rifleto foreste de 

 Notingham,' the stone from which was to be em- 

 ployed in certain repairs to their church tower, 

 which had fallen down the previous year. 1 In 

 1247 tne P r ' 01 " 2 f the same house was permitted 

 to dig stone in Sherwood Forest, a similar per- 

 mission being accorded in 1253, wnen a score 

 of cart-loads were specified as the amount of stone 

 to be taken from the ' quarry within Nottingham 

 wood for his works at Lenton.' 3 In 1234 

 Brian de 1'Isle was ordered to permit the men 

 of Nottingham to take stone from the quarry 

 in the wood called ' Brullius de Nottingham' 

 for the repairs of the bridge at Nottingham. 4 By 

 licence from Edward III (16 October 1337) 

 leave was granted to the chapter of Southwell 

 Minster to cart stone for their church from their 

 quarry at Mansfield through Sherwood Forest 

 free of toll. 5 Again, about the middle 6 of the 

 I4th century material for the repair of Notting- 

 ham Castle was brought from Gedling. One 

 hundred stones cost 5*., while the expense of 

 transporting them amounted to as much as 

 6s. 8</. In 1495 stones also from a quarry at 

 Gedling were used in the fabric of St. Peter, 

 Nottingham, for we find John Ward of Gedling, 



60 Since the statement in the text was put in type 

 the Government returns for 1908 show an output of 

 11,028,639 tons, a decrease of 700,247, owing to 

 transient trade depression. 



Cat. Close, 1227-31, p. 196. 



Close, 33 Hen. Ill, m. 12. 



Ibid. 37 Hen. Ill, m. 5. 



Cal. Close, 1232-4, p. 391. 



Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xii, App. ix, 539. 



labourer, who had been hired by William Stark, 

 mason, to dig the same for fourteen days at T,d. 

 a day, suing for the amount due to him. Stark 

 brought a counter-action, repudiating the claim, 

 and stating that Ward, who was ' engaged by 

 John Eaton at the desire and for the use of the 

 said plaintiff to find and to clean a stone quarry 

 at Gedling for the church of St. Peter,' worked 

 so lazily and carelessly that the said part of the 

 quarry was not cleaned nor bared by the time 

 before limited ; and so the said plaintiff had not 

 nor could have the same stones when he could 

 best have worked them, by reason of the lack of 

 work of the said defendant, whereby Stark was 

 damaged to the value of 2OJ. 7 



There was a quarry at Broxtow which fur- 

 nished stone for the bridge at Nottingham in 

 1503, John Meyson of Lenton being paid 31. 

 for six loads and for getting the same, 6^. 8 In 

 1504 I4</. was paid for three loads of boulders 

 for the pavement at the Malt Cross. 9 Allusions 

 to this road-metal from the Trent are numerous. 

 Deering writes of ' the veined and spotted 

 paving-stone got out of the Trent,' lu and Black- 

 ner speaks of the streets of Nottingham being 

 ' paved with boulders from the bed of the 

 Trent,' n whilst an anonymous author of the 

 1 7th century 13 describes the Trent, 'from four 

 miles above Stoke,' as being ' naturally paved 

 with gravel, pebbles, and boulders, the most 



6 Accts. Exch. K.R. bdle. 544, no. 35 (22 Edw. 

 III). 



' Rec. Bon. Nott. iii, 33. 8 Ibid. 321. 



9 Ibid. 316. 10 Deering, Nottinghamia, 88. 



11 Blackner, Hist. Nott. 74. 

 " Thoroton Sot. Trans. \, 26. 



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