Coal mining was first recorded in the Biddulph Valley in the early 17th century.
Robert Heath came to the valley in 1857 and created the Biddulph Valley Coal and Iron Works.
The coal productivity of Victoria Colliery (known locally as Black Bull) provided the main source of employment in Biddulph from 1860 to 1953. In 1908 it employed some 1,110 men and boys. By 1953 it had a workforce of 1,580.
By 1977 the workforce had reduced to 600, but still had a lasting effect on the economic life of Biddulph until its closure on the 28 July 1982.
The balance wheel from the base of the Victoria shaft was unveiled outside the Town Hall on the 3 December 1983 ‘as a reminder of the debt owed to the mining industry, upon which the development of Biddulph so greatly depended.’
Our proposed visual of the re-developed area is shown below, showing the mining wheel raised up onto a plinth, with walling where engraved bricks will face the public square.
