Lea Hall Colliery

1986LEA HALL COLLIERY, RUGELEY.

                                       
Lea Hall Colliery was one of the most   
modern pits in the world. It was       
started in 1954 when they began        
sinking two shafts near the railway    
and the River Trent. Most of the coal  
mines in the area were getting old and 
there was not much coal left. It cost  
14 million pounds. Rugeley "A" power   
station was planned at the same time   
so that the coal could be transported  
directly to it by conveyor belt. The   
first production of coal started in    
1960. By 1986 there were 7 coal faces 

in use.When work started local people     
were used, later skilled workers were  
transferred from the other coalfields  
on the Chase,and other parts of        
the country. As a result new housing   
estates were built in Rugeley and      
Handsacre. There in 1985 there were 17

93 underground workers and 345 surface workers.