Birmingham and the Black Country

Abstract

The most notable seam of the South Staffordshire coalfield is the Ten Yard or Thick coal, which reaches the unusual thickness of 30 to 35 feet. Underlying a large area, this seam, together with the associated bands of limestone, has been a source of enormous wealth to the district. Outcrop of the Thick coal passes through Dudley and Darlaston and to the west of Bilston (see Figure 2). Farther north it becomes split into over a dozen separate seams, still totalling about 30 feet, but separated by hundreds of feet of barren strata. The ironstones