The Midgeholme Coalfield is a coalfield in Midgeholme, on the border of Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

 with Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

 in northern England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is the largest of a series of small coalfields along the south side of the Tyne Valley

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

 and which are intermediate between the Northumberland

Northumberland Coalfield

The Northumberland Coalfield is a coalfield in north-east England. It is continuous with the Durham Coalfield to its south. It extends from Amble in the north to the boundary with County Durham along the River Tyne in the south, beyond which is the Durham Coalfield.The two contiguous coalfield...

 and Durham Coalfield

Durham Coalfield

The Durham Coalfield is a coalfield in north-east England. It is continuous with the Northumberland Coalfield to its north. It extends from Bishop Auckland in the south to the boundary with the county of Northumberland along the River Tyne in the north, beyond which is the Northumberland...

s to the east and the Cumberland Coalfield

Cumberland Coalfield

The Cumberland Coalfield is a coalfield in Cumbria, north-west England. It extends from Whitehaven in the south to Maryport and Aspatria in the north.The following coal seams occur within the Coal Measures Group in this coalfield...

 to the west. Like the other small coalfields to its east, this small outlier

Inliers and outliers (geology)

An inlier is an area of older rocks surrounded by younger rocks. Inliers are typically formed by the erosion of overlying younger rocks to reveal a limited exposure of the older underlying rocks. Faulting or folding may also contribute to the observed outcrop pattern...

 of the Coal Measures

Coal Measures

The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...

 here at Midgeholme occurs on the Stublick-Ninety Fathom Fault System

Alston Block

The Alston Block is a term used by geologists to describe the geological structure of the North Pennines of northern England and which forms a part of the Pennine Block & Basin Province which originated during the Carboniferous period. It is defined by the Stublick and Ninety Fathom Faults to the...

, a zone of faults which defines the northern edge of the Alston Block

Alston Block

The Alston Block is a term used by geologists to describe the geological structure of the North Pennines of northern England and which forms a part of the Pennine Block & Basin Province which originated during the Carboniferous period. It is defined by the Stublick and Ninety Fathom Faults to the...

 otherwise known as the North Pennines

North Pennines

The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north-south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east...

. It is recorded that coal was being mined here in the early seventeenth century and coal trains were being hauled from Midgeholme Colliery along the Brampton Railway

Brampton Railway

The Brampton railway was a ten mile long track branch railway line on the borders of Cumberland and Northumberland, England, that ran from to on the Alston Line via three intermediate stations, Brampton Junction, and...

 by Stephenson's Rocket

Stephenson's Rocket

Stephenson's Rocket was an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, built in Newcastle Upon Tyne at the Forth Street Works of Robert Stephenson and Company in 1829.- Design innovations :...

, the famous locomotive, in the 1830's. The early workings have left a legacy of spoil heaps, bell pit

Bell pit

A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore or other minerals where the coal or ore lies near the surface.. A shaft is sunk to reach the mineral which is excavated by miners transported to the surface by a winch and removed by means of a bucket, much like a well. It gets its name...

s, shafts and adit

Adit

An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...

s. There is no current coal production.

The following coal seams are recognised from the Pennine Lower Coal Measures within this coalfield. The list is organised stratigraphically

Stratigraphy

Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....

, with the uppermost seam first:

• Bounder
• Craignook Upper
• Craignook Lower
• Little
• Threequarters Half
• Threequarters Quarter
• Wellsyke
• High Main
• Slag
• Low Main
• Ganister Clay (Kellah)
• Gubeon