doodlemines

Fact sheet · updated

WHAT THE RECORDS SAY

Closed,
but not gone.

Coal built modern Britain, and left a lot behind.

Walk the timeline
A disused colliery headframe with its winding wheel silhouetted against an evening sky over grassland
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

2015last deep mine closes

Nearly 1.1 million people worked in British coal in 1913. The last deep mine, Kellingley in Yorkshire, closed in December 2015. Underneath the former coalfields lie old shafts, tunnels and warm mine water that still matter today.

At a glance

172,000+

Recorded shafts and adits being managed

Building on top of or close to mine entries should be avoided wherever possible, even after they've been capped, says today's Mining Remediation Authority.

MINE ENTRIES · COAL AUTHORITY 2015

26,000 km²

Area of underground coal workings

Its archive holds more than 120,000 coal abandonment plans, some from the 17th century, which can be viewed free at its centre in Mansfield.

WORKINGS · COAL AUTHORITY 2015

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

What mining
left underground.

The legacy the public body for old mines
looks after on behalf of the country.

The Mining Remediation Authority (formerly the Coal Authority) also owns most of the coal in Great Britain on behalf of the country and licenses coal mining.

A QUICK TIMELINE

How big
was coal?

Pick a year to see how many people worked in British coal. The bar shows the size of the workforce.

Workforce figures from a historian's account of British coal (The Conversation, 2015). Earlier years are estimates.

Timeline

Choose a year
1830109,000 workers

Demand for coal was growing fast, for steam engines, ironworks and heating in growing towns.

1913Nearly 1.1 million

The industry's height: coal was Britain's biggest industry by workforce. The interwar years brought crisis and decline.

1979235,000 miners

Nationalised since 1947, the industry had already seen 1960s closures. The 1984 to 1985 strike was followed by a major reduction.

199232,000 miners

By early 1992 the workforce had shrunk to 32,000, ahead of privatisation in 1995.

2015Last deep mine closes

Kellingley colliery closed in December 2015. Even that year, coal still provided around 20% of Britain's energy needs, mostly imported.

Source: The life and death of King Coal, The Conversation (2015); Coal Authority (2015).

THE SHORT ANSWER

The industry ended,
the legacy did not.

Coal was once Britain's biggest industry
by workforce.

HISTORY

From boom to closure

Coal employment grew from 109,000 workers in 1830 to nearly 1.1 million in 1913, then fell to 32,000 by early 1992. Kellingley, the last deep mine, closed in December 2015.

Walk the timeline

UNDERFOOT

Shafts and workings remain

In 2015 the national coal authority was managing over 172,000 mine entries and 26,000 km² of underground workings across Britain.

Check a home

THE FUTURE

Heat from old mines

Water in flooded mines is warmed naturally and doesn't vary with the seasons, so it can heat homes in coalfield areas.

Mine water heat
Orange-tinted water pouring over a small concrete weir beside a reedy pond in the countryside
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW ON THE COALFIELD

Living over
old workings.

GOV.UK guidance for homeowners and buyers in former mining areas.

  1. Search a postcode for free

    An online search tells you instantly if a property is in a coal mining area and whether you need a mining report.

  2. Order a report if needed

    Reports cover mine entries within 20 metres, mine gas and other hazards. Prices start at £27 plus VAT; most arrive in 24 to 48 hours.

  3. Report a hazard any time

    Collapses, open shafts, sinkholes or gas and water from old mines can be reported to a 24-hour hazard line.

  4. Claim for subsidence damage

    Cracked plaster and sticking doors can be early signs. An engineer inspects, and a decision usually comes within 90 days.

FROM COAL TO CLEAN HEAT

Warm water
in the old seams.

Heating accounts for 40% of UK energy use. Water in old mines is warmed naturally, and a mine water heat network at Seaham, County Durham, went live in September 2026, serving the first of 750 new homes.

In a 2026 trial in Glasgow, water heated to up to 32°C was injected into old mine workings over 25 days, storing 98 MWh of heat. Early findings showed the heat stayed in the seam with no ground movement detected.

Rows of terraced houses stepping up a green valley hillside in a former mining area
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Questions

Questions people ask

When did Britain's last deep coal mine close?

Kellingley colliery in Yorkshire, the country's last deep mine, closed in December 2015.

How many coal miners were there?

Nearly 1.1 million in 1913, at the industry's height. There were 235,000 in 1979 and 32,000 by early 1992.

How do I know if my house is on a former coalfield?

Search the property's postcode with the Mining Remediation Authority's free online service. It tells you if a mining report is needed.

Who pays for coal mining subsidence damage?

You can claim from the Mining Remediation Authority for damage not covered by a licensed operator. If they agree, the damage is fixed or compensated.

Can old coal mines heat homes?

Yes. Naturally warm mine water can supply low-carbon heat; schemes run in places such as Gateshead and Seaham.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. The Conversation: The life and death of King Coal (2015)
  2. GOV.UK: Coal Authority to take on Kellingley subsidence claims (2015)
  3. GOV.UK: Find out if a property is affected by coal mining
  4. GOV.UK: Claim for subsidence damage caused by coal mining
  5. GOV.UK: Access coal mining information and data
  6. GOV.UK: Mine water heat

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