The coal that lays below South Yorkshire started to form over 280 million years ago in the Carboniferous period. The very same rich coal  seams stretch from Scotland, Northumberland, Lancashire into North Wales and around the Staffordshire area. Most of the southern counties do not have large coal seams below.

Ireland has a tremendous coal seam beneath its green grass.

Wales has a somewhat smaller size seam in the south toward Bristol.

Which explains why we in South Yorkshire had so many coal mines and the southern counties didn't.

Silverwood then was yet just one more mine, in an area surrounded by mines, a mine to be linked with the older Roundwood Colliery a couple of miles away.

Situated between the Villages of Thrybergh and Ravenfield on Hollings Lane, Silverwood Colliery was sunk by the Dalton Mining Company between April 1900 and December 1903, There were two shafts both sunk to the south of Hollings Lane by the Dalton Main Colliery Company at Silverwood . These shafts entered the Barnsley Seam at a depth of 750 yds.

To ensure vertical rise plumb bobs were used for the entire depth of the shaft, metal tube was used to suspend the plumb bobs which enabled the sinkers to measure from and ensure a constant diameter.

The walls of the shaft were constructed as the shaft was sunk, these walls made of brick or stone were thicker at the top of the shaft than the bottom section.

There was eventually a link to the Roundwood Colliery underground and it is thought that this link was started from Roundwood prior to the shafts at Silverwood being sunk .

The Barnsley seam provided most of the output at Silverwood until the Melton field was developed in 1952 .

The area of the mine including the tip was  128 hectares or 311 acres. The tip itself was to eventually cover 93 hectares of the Silverwood site.
The buildings at Silverwood which became a familiar sight to us all  were actually constructed with bricks from a local brickworks on the Silverwood site, the brickworks itself  being constructed for that purpose. The brickworks were eventually covered by the ever expanding tip. The clay was also thought to be gained from  local quarries, which may have been the quarries off Oldgate Lane. 

The Ravenfield Stream was diverted with the use of two 900mm pipes so that the construction of the Mine would not interfere with the flow.

One of the most important features which would ensure transportation of materials to and from the mine was the railway line, and this was constructed during this early  period. In 1907 What was named Spring Cottage at nearby Ravenfield was demolished so that the new railway line from Silverwood to Haxey and to Dinnington  with connections at Bawtry could run through the Village. A second line was run down through Thrybergh and out toward Kilnhurst.

A system known as the Pillar and Stall system was implemented in the mine, this system consisted of stalls which were inserted in the roadways and galleries, these were then supported by timber pillars. The size of the pillars depended on several factors including the structure of the coal, and surface structures above.

Two main roadways would be cut which would be connected by cross cuts as a means of ventilation, this system enabled coal to be removed by two operations

Electrical Times - Page 833 1902
... Ltd., for the I outstation at Mexborough, where ill form the feeder for a new 66 kv station being erected at Silverwood

In the sinking of shafts and the cutting of roadways only men with experience were employed, the same rule applied in any work on the pillars as in their removal.

It was in October 1905 that the first coal emerged from the East Pit, thus began the legend of Silverwood  a record breaking Mine.
During its early days the mine was to earn a macabre nickname of "The Merry Widow Maker" due to the amount of deaths within the Mine.

One of the most frightening aspects for miners was the collapse of a roof and the actual floor rising. This was caused by weak floors and roofs reacting to pressure and the collapse of pillars.

Between 1899-1904 there was a  report and valuation on mineral estate and agreements re collieries with Denaby Main, and Dalton Main.
With the building of Silverwood large housing estates were also built to cater for the flow of miners into the area in Thrybergh, Bramley, Dalton, Wickersley, the garden village of Sunnyside, and Ravenfield Common. Bricks from the colliery brickyard were used.
Dalton Mining was part owner of these estates some of which were built by the Industrial Housing Association.
In 1901 listed as living in Thrybergh with his family was James Ball a Pit Sinker, age 35  born in Bristol  Gloucester. James had children born at nearby Hoyland and Barnsley, so we can presume  that James had previously worked at Mines in that area. It is also reasonable to presume that James was playing an important role in the sinking of Silverwood.

At the age of 15 James was an apprentice painter living in Bristol.

 John Henry Mcgann came to the area specifically as a shaft sinker to work on the Silverwood site. On completion he signed on as a Stoneman and lived at the end house of Osberton Street /Saville Street. He was sacked in around 1926 which was the year of the strike.
John Haddrill age 29 in 1901 who was born in Chipphan Wiltshire was living at  Thrybergh listed as a Colliery Sinker.
 

A young Alfred Wyett started work in 1900 at Silverwood as a Pit Pony Boy. His younger brother William aged 13 was also listed in 1901 as a Miner Pony Driver but it is not certain which mine William worked at. Both boys were living in Rotherham in 1901. In the year 1904 Alfred left the mine and enlisted in the York And Lancs. Regiment.

Amongst the first miners at Silverwood was one George Willey around 1901, his descendant Fred Willey an Overman locked up the mine in 1994.

William Woolford who was born in Highworth Wiltshire was listed in 1901 as a General Labourer, he moved into Thrybergh with his family including  Levi and Ernest Woolford also listed as General Labourers.  The family had moved to Thrybergh from Gresley Derbyshire between 1900 and the time of the census in 1901. William was an experienced Pit Sinker and it is believed the three men above were involved in the sinking of Silverwood.  [  Woolford One name Study  ]

In 1904 George Thomas Mason  born in 1878 at Wednesbury Staffordshire moved into 6 Norwood Street, Dalton Brook with his wife Margaret Ellen . It is not known at this moment if George started at Silverwood in this year, but moving into Dalton Brook tells us that if not then he worked at Roundwood before moving to Silverwood as a Hewer. Georges family were not coal miners but his wife's father was a Welsh coal miner.
 

There were many tragic accidents at Silverwood, including quite a few roof falls which  were  typical tragic events that occurred in many mines which not only inflicted painful suffering for the miners families, but in the case of a roof fall where bodies were not recovered it also deprived the families of giving their husbands and sons a decent burial.

So the grieving widow and family were left to attend a funeral lacking the presence of the deceased, the widows sometimes had a grave constructed,  an empty grave to pay their respects. This is how the mine earned its black humorous nick name " The Merry Widow Maker" I say black humorous because the Widows were far from " Merry"

The three earliest accidents recorded found so far concerned a Mr Gascoigne, Mr Cartwright, and Mr Jennings so hopefully I will eventually be able to get some details.

The Mines around this time were insured with  Yorkshire Coal Owners' Mutual Indemnity Co. Ltd. for compensation cases.

J. Merrills was killed at Silverwood Colliery on the 4th January,1909 aged 52 years.

This was mining in its worse scenario and from these accidents many heroes were to emerge men like Bill Hill who was a Loco Driver on the pit top pre 1947, received a First aid medal for saving A. Gibbs life on the1st Jan 1909. There were quite a few of the Hill family who became employed at the Mine.

 It took just five years of coal production for Silverwood to become the biggest mine in the Yorkshire area.  In 1910 the mine employed, 2,593 men working underground and 635 on the surface  It was also considered to be the largest mine working on just one single seam throughout Great Britain. The legend had established itself.
Amongst the new employees at the mine in 1910 were Jno Wain from  Staffordshire age 23 living at 44 Savile St Dalton signed on as a pit bottom worker.  J. R. Shaw also of  Staffordshire age 28 signed on as a Filler. William Moore age 14 living at 24 Saville St. Dalton signed on to work in the West Pit bottom.  James Laughlin age 24 of 27 Norwood St Dalton signed on as a Collier.  Fred Gill age 27 living at 55 Kelvin St. signed on as a Filler he had previously worked at Orgreave.  Sam Swancott of West Bromich age 32 living at 5 Osberton St. signed on as a Filler