Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 79. Chapters: Somerset coalfield, William Smith, Kennet and Avon Canal, Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Somerset Coal Canal, Timsbury, Somerset, Peasedown St John, Ham Hill, Somerset, Stanton Drew, Newton St Loe, Bath Stone, Paulton, High Littleton, Pensford, Bishop Sutton, Clutton, Somerset, Camerton, Somerset, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Holcombe, Somerset, Mells, Somerset, Farrington Gurney, Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines, Kilmersdon, Farmborough, Coleford, Somerset, Dunkerton, Somerset, Writhlington, Hunstrete, Norton Radstock, Cam Brook, Wellow Brook, Hamstone, Quarries of the Mendip Hills, Emborough Quarries, Batts Combe quarry, Hadspen Quarry, Cloford Quarry, Fairy Cave Quarry, Stancombe Quarry, Whatley Quarry, Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands, Doulting Stone Quarry, Radstock Museum, Colemans Quarry, Moon's Hill Quarry, Windsor Hill Quarry, Cook's Wood Quarry, Halecombe, Holwell Quarries, Torr Works, Snowdon Hill Quarry, Viaduct Quarry, Hobbs Quarry, Gurney Slade quarry, Dulcote Quarry, Callow Rock quarry, Cloud Quarry. Excerpt: Connection Timeout The Somerset Coalfield included pits in North Somerset, England, area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973. It is part of a wider coalfield which covered northern Somerset and southern Gloucestershire in England. It stretched from Cromhall in the north to the Mendip Hills in the south, and from Bath in the east to Nailsea in the west, a total area of about 240 square miles (622 km). Most of the pits in the Somerset Coalfield were concentrated along the Cam Brook, Wellow Brook and Nettlebridge Valleys and in the areas around Radstock and Farrington Gurney. The pits were often grouped geographically with clusters of pits which were close together working the same coal seams and often under the same ownership. Many also shared the same trackways and tramways which took the coal to the Somerset Coal Canal or railways for distribution. Many of the early pits were bell pits, however these were replaced as deeper seams were mined, with the deepest shaft being the Strap mine at Nettlebridge reaching 1, 838 feet (560 m). Many of the mines flooded and there were also coal dust explosions, both of which required improved ventilation and equipment. Many of the pits closed in the 19th century as the available coal was worked out. Those that survived until 1947 became part of the National Coal Board, however the expense of improving equipment and working conditions meant that even these became uneconomic and the last pit closed in 1973. There is still some evidence of some of the mine workings with the remains of buildings, spoil heaps and tramways around the area. The old coal mining wheel, now featured in the centre of Radstock, in front of the Radstock Museum It is believed that coal was mined in the area during Roman times and there is documentary evidence of coal being dug on the Mendips in 1305 and at Kilmersdon in 1437. By the time of Henry VIII there were coal pits at Clutton, High Littleton and Stratton-on-the-Fosse. During the early pa