Mining Regions in England

Although the Bristol and Somerset coalfields have extensive coal seams they have not produced much coal as the seams are thin in nature and have major faults. This problem can be seen by the output of sixty collieries in 1901 which amounted to just 1.3 million tons.

Unlike many collieries the Somerset mines were built to blend in with their rural surroundings. They made use of local stone and slate, with red brick coming into use only in the twentieth century.