The earliest listing of collieries I have come across is in the Report
of the Royal Commission on Children's Employment of 1842 ("First Report
of the Commissioners. Mines", PP 1842, XV and "Appendix to First Report
of the Commissioners. Mines. Part II. Report and Evidence from
Sub-Commissioners", PP 1842, XVII) although it's far from comprehensive,
consisting of a series of reports on those pits visited by the
commissioners.
Annual lists can be found in Robert Hunt's "Mineral Statistics" from
1854, although, at least at first, these are often very vague regarding
the locations of the mines.
My own research interests include the Bristol and Somerset coalfield,
and a reasonably comprehensive list of pits in Somerset, complete with
brief histories, can be found in Down and Warrington's book "The History
of the Somerset Coalfield" (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, c1972).
Keith Ramsey
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