Quote Originally Posted by Grumpy King of the West View Post
As an addendum to this thread, did you know that at the time of the Miner's Strike (1984), Rotherham was second only to Wakefield in the number of pits in Yorkshire?

Official data extract:

In 1984, 15 of the collieries were in the Wakefield district, 11 in the Rotherham district, 10 in the Barnsley district, 9 in the Doncaster district, 6 in the Selby district, 3 in the Leeds district and 2 in the Kirklees district.



When you factor in the devastation the strike caused to the town, on top of the havoc caused just a few years earlier by the Steelworkers strike, is there any wonder it has taken generations for it to recover? In fact, I think it's fair to say that it hasn't recovered. I think Rotherham was unique in having the double whammy of the two infamous industrial strikes (both of which devastated long standing industries) of the Thatcher years.
Grumps thank you for those fascinating facts. I enjoy reading anything coal mining related. I've recently acquired a copy of Black Diamonds.
An extraordinary tale of family feuds, forbidden love, civil unrest and the downfall of a mining dynasty all about the Fitzwilliam family.

I had no idea that back in the day, Wentworth in Yorkshire was surrounded by 70 collieries employing tens of thousands of men.