the former cannel oil industry in north wales and staffordshire.

THE FORMER CANNEL OIL INDUSTRY IN NORTH
WALES AND STAFFORDSHIRE.
By H. P. W. GIFFARD,* M.B.E., M.A., B.Sc.
SuMMARY.
Cannel coal was discovered and first worked in 1858. Its distillation for the
production of oil appears to have been an important industry about 1865,
although it has also been used for many years as a source of gas and for
improving the luminosity of gas obtained from coal.
The output of
cannel coal in North Wales was far larger than in Staffordshire, and in 1865
oil works for the treatment of cannel were situated n ear Mold in Flintshire
and in the Potteries district of North Staffordshire. By 1871 n early all the
cannel coal raised in Great Britain was being used for gas manufacture and
most of the cannel-oil works had been closed down. Some oil, however,
continued to be produced in North Staffordshire until about 1880. The yield
of oil obtained varied from 35 to 80 gals. of crude oil p er ton of raw material
in North Wales and from 12 to 60 gals. per ton in North Staffordshire.
From 1865 to 1870 cannel coal was used chiefly for the manufacture of
illuminating oil by distillation of the coal in cast-iron retorts at a low red
heat. Lubricating oil and grease were also obtained.
The cannel-coal industry declined about 1870, consequent on the discovery
of petroleum in America and the importation of illuminating oil from the
United States. The industry was also affected by the introduction of
incandescent gas mantles, as a result of which it was no longer necessary to
manufacture gas of such a high d egree of illuminating power.
INTRODUCTION .
THE object of this paper is to give some account of the former canneloil industry of North Wales and Staffordshire. As far as Staffordshire is
concerned, the industry appears to have been restricted to the North
Staffordshire Coalfield, there being no record of the production of oil
from cannel coal in South Staffordshire.
The preparation of this paper has been a somewhat difficult matter,
owing to the absence of authentic data on the history of the industry and
the fact that writers on this subject have not always differentiated clearly
between cannel coal and oil shale. Information is particularly scanty in
regard to the amount of oil produced and the method of retorting and
treatment adopted. The best statement on the operations carried out
which the author has been able to discover is contained in a special report
on cannel coal and bituminous shales which was included in the Official
Mineral Statistics for 1865, but which was unfortunately not continued
in tlie official statistics for subsequent years. Most of the available
information on cannel coal was summarized in the Memoir of the Geological
Survey published in 1920, "Special Reports on the Mineral Resources of
* Petroleum Department, Mines D epartment.
78
80
GIFFARD:
Specific gravity .
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen and nitroge n .
Sulphur
Phosphorus
Water
Ash.
THE FORMER CANNEL OIL INDUSTRY
Smooth
Cam1el.
Curly
Cannel.
1·282
1·219
Chemical Composition.
79·87
5·78
8·09
0·57
77·81
8·47
6·32
0·71
Shale.
2·15
2·84
2·85
0·68
6·01
63·32
5·28
5·38
0·65
0 ·07
2·30
23·00
100·00
100·00
100·00
Composition, exclus-ive of Sulphwr, Phosphorus, Watm· and Ash.
85·20
84·03
85·59
6·17
9·15
7·14
8·63
6·82
7·27
Carbon
Hydrogen
.
Oxygen and nitrogen .
100·00
100·00
100·00
The mo t important difference in the chemical compositions of" smooth "
and " curly " cannel, is the considerably larger percentage of hydrogen in
the latter. This greater proportion of hydrogen causes it to produce,
when submitted to the process of destructive distillation, a much greater
quantity of hydrocarbons.
" Curly cannel " and " shale " were used chiefly for the manufacture
of paraffin oil, by distillation at a low red heat. " Smooth cannel " was
also used for making oil, but the greater part of what was raised was sold
for gas-making. "Curly cannel" produced about 80 gals. of crude oil
to the ton, "smooth cannel" about 35 gals., and "shale" about 33 gals.
The oil produced from "curly" and "shale" was superior in quality to
that produced from·" smooth cannel," though there is apparently no
information on record as to the characteristics of the two oils. The " bad
cannel " varied very much in appearance. It is stated that sometimes it
strongly resembled "shale," whilst in other cases it was very like the
ironstone which lay immediately underneath it. In many places it was
raised and sold with the "shale," and in others, where its appearance was
not so good, it was left underground.
(b) North Staffordshire.
True cannels are rare, but bastard cannel ("peel," "boo-cannel") and
bass having some resemblance to torbanite, and appropriately called oilshale, persistently accompany the Black Band Ironstones that are developed
in the basal groups of the Upper Coal Measures. Bastard cannels are
associated with the Cannel Row, and varieties of cannel and oil-shale
occur with the Wood Mine Coal in the top part of the Middle Coal Measures.
Locally, a bastard cannel appears in the vicinity of the Mossfield Coal,
but the numerous and important seams of coal in the Middle Coal Measures
above the Winpetmy Coal are practically devoid of associated canneloid
substances. 3
IN NORTH WALES AND STAFFORDSHIRE.
81
Towards the middle of last century some oil, according to Homer, 4 was
obtained in the Pitts Hill district from the following seams taken in
descending order.
Thickness.
(1) The Red Shagg Bass.
I ft. 8 in. thick.
(2) An oil-shale.
I ft. 6 in. thick, forming
the roof of the Red
Mine Ironstone.
(5) The Cannel Row Half-
yards.
(6) The Wood Mine Cannel
Bass and Ironstone.
OccURRENCE.
I2-15 gals. of heavy oil
to the ton.
28 gals. of oil to the ton.
25-30 gals. to the ton.
(3) The Roo-Cannel worked
at Pinnox Colliery.
(4) A crumel.
Yield of Oil per Ton.
8-10 in. thick, associated
with the Great Row
Coal.
Consisting of I ft. 6 in. of
coal, 3 in. to 6 in. of peel
cannel, and 1 ft. 6 in. of
strong cannel and ironstone.
Averaging 4 ft. 6 in. in
thickness.
30 gals. of oil to the ton.
Yielded from 50 to 60 gals.
of crude oil to the ton,
with a specific gravity
of 0·870.
Yielded about 25 gals. of
oil to the ton.
GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPIDCAL.
The results of an examination made by the Geological Survey in 1920
showed that cannels are of strictly local development, and are confined to
lenticular patches which thin away and pass into carbonaceous coal in all
directions. The best seams have been worked nearly or quite to eXhaustion.
North Wales.
The North Wales Coalfield consists of a comparatively long and narrow
strip of coal measures running nearly north and south, and extending
through parts of the counties of Flint, Denbigh and Shropshire. The
north-east boundary of the coalfield is formed by the estuary of the Dee.
The coalfield is regarded chiefly as yielding steam-raising coals, but, in
addition, it produces house, gas and manufacturing coals. Cannels in
lenticles and beds are widely distributed. Among the latter, that of the
Leeswood Coalfield is one of the well-known cannels of North Wales. It
lies about 250 ft. below the Main Coal, and reaches its maximum development at Leeswood, where it is said to have attained a thickness of 4 ft.
Southwards it passes in a short distance into a bituminous coal, and northwards it has not proved workable as cannel for more than four miles.
The change from cannel to bituminous coal appears to have been a gradual
one. On both the northern and southern outskirts of the area in which
the Cannel Seam was found, its lower portion was replaced by coal. The
seam consists of smooth cannel, 7 in. to 2 ft. 4 in. ; curly cannel, 8 in.
to I ft . 4 in.s
It will be seen from the Geological Survey Map that the Coal Measures
are divided about half-way between their northern and southern extremities
by a strip of Millstone Grit and Carboniferous Limestone, brought in partly
by an anticlinal axis and partly by faulting. In the portion qf the coalfield immediately to the north of this division the, main cannel seam was
G
82
GIFFARD :
THE FORMER CANNEL OIL INDUSTRY
found and, according to Griffith, it occupied an area of about 8 square
miles. This is evidently the same seam as that referred to by Walcot
Gibson occurring about 250 ft. below the "Main Coal." The seam is
subject to "washouts," and Griffith remarks that they vary in size from
slight depressions of the roof of the seam, by which a position of the
" smooth " is displaced for a few square feet, to large "washes " or ancient
river-courses by which the cannel is entirely removed for hundreds of
acres. Griffith gives the following section of the Cannel Seam as found at
the Coppa Colliery as representing about an average section of the seam
at its best, although he remarks that even within a limited space of as
little as 170 yds. the seam varied greatly in thickness and quality. The
seam in this section consisted of:Smooth cannel
Curly cannel
Shale
Bad cannel
Ironstone
Coal •
Total
Ft.
2
1
0
0
0
0
Ins.
2
4
10
5
2
3
5
2
The three upper bands were regarded as the only valuable portions of the
seam, the " bad cannel " and ironstone being left underground.
A further section taken at Bromfield Colliery, on the northern boundary
of the "Cannel area," indicated that only a portion of the upper band or
" smooth cannel " remained as cannel, the rest of the seam being coal.
At Coed Talon, not far from the southern boundary of the same area, the
section (in 1870) showed 2 ft . of smooth cannel, underlain by 8 ins. of
curly cannel and 1 ft. 4 ins. of coal; thus the upper band and a portion
of the middle band, or " curly cannel " remained, the lower portion of the
seam again being coal. At Plas-Kynaston Colliery near Ruabon, at a
distance of about 9 miles south of where the Flintshire Cannel Seam was
found, a seam of cannel was worked which occupied the place of the
Ruabon " Lower Yard " coal. 6
North Staffordshire.
The Coal Measures occupy a series of synclines in folds in the Carboniferous rocks in this area. In the western and the deepest of these folds
occurs the " Potteries " Coalfield, a triangular-shaped coalfield of about
100 square miles in extent in the neighbourhood of Stoke-upon-Trent,
where the coal measures sequence of the Potteries has been preserved
intact. Other and less important coalfields in this area are those of Cheadle,
Shaffalong and Goldsitch Moss. Of the latter, only the Cheadle coalfield
is of commercial importance. In the Potteries Coalfield cannels and
canneloid substances, at one time used as a source of oil, are associated
with the Moss, Wood Mine, Great Row and Cannel Row Coals.
Very little information appears to be available regarding the geographical
arrd geological distribution of the cannel coals of North Staffordshire at
the time when they were being worked for the production of oil (about
IN NORTH WALES AND STAFFORDSHIRE.
83
1865). The mineral statistics for 1865 contain a short note on the occurrence of cannel coal in North Staffordshire as follows: "A cannel coal of
uncertain quality occurs in this district, especially between Hanley and
Harecastle. It is usually termed in the locality " pill" or "peal," and
is sold at the pit's mouth at lOs. per ton." At that date there were oilworks situated at Tunstall, Burslem, Longton, Hanley and Milton. The
Geological Survey Memoir referred to above under the heading of" North
Staffordshire " states : " The lenticular occurrence of all cannels prevents
any accurate estimate of resources. Oil-shales, however, from a few inches
up to 2 ft. in thickness, can be regarded as occurring over an area coextensive with the Bassey Mine Ironstone and the Red Mines-that is,
they may be expected to occupy an area of 18 square miles where the
Red Mines are developed, and over an area of 28!- square miles where the
Bassey Mine occurs. There is also a considerable area of oil-shale over
the Cannel Row Half-Yards." There follows a description of the noticeable occurrences of cannels and oil-shales with their associated seams of
coal and ironstone, of which the following are the more important, taken
in descending order : -
"Half-Yard Ironstone .
" A black bass from l to 2 ft . thick, sometimes accompanied with
a few inches of cannel, lies on the top of the ironstone in the districts
of Kidsgrove and Silverdale.
"Red Shagg Ironstone and Coal.
" The Red Shagg cannel and bass above the ironstone is impersistent, and is usually only a few inches thick.
"Red Mine Ironstone and Coal.
" In the central part of the basin an oil-shale up to l ft . thick lies
above the ironstone. It is absent on the western side of the coalfield.
" 'Hoo-Cannel' and Ironstone.
"At the Jubilee Pits, Clanway Colliery, Tunstall, a bastard cannel
l ft. 8 in. thick, called ' hoo-cannel,' crops out near the shafts, in
which it lies 28 yds. above the Bassey Mine Ironstone. In the
Grange Pit, Cobridge, the same bed is found 26 yds. above the Bassey
Mine Ironstone. Its composition is: Coal (hoo-cannel), l ft. 7 in. ;
black bass, 2ft. 10 in. The hoo-cannel and ironstone crop out in the
Bycars Marlhole at Burslem. In the western part of the coalfield
the band is associated with ironstone occurring in sufficient quantity
to be workable. In the Parkhouse Colliery, Chesterton, the bed
consists of five bands described as . cannel, from l to 9 in. thick,
interstratified with four bands of ironstone ; a thin coal forms the
roof and floor. In the Royalty of the Apedale Coal and Iron Company the bed was, until recently, worked as an ironstone. Its composition is : Coal, lO in. ; cannel, 10 in. ; ironstone, 9 in. ; shale,
3 in. ; ironstone, 8 in. ; cannel, 2 ft. 3 in. ; coal, l ft.
84
GIFFARD:
THE FORMER CANNEL OIL INDUSTRY
"Bassey Mine Imnstone and Coal.
" A black bas. , from 6 in. to 3 ft. in thickness, usually forms the
roof of the ironstone. It is described in some sections as ' oil-bass,'
but the yield of oil is not mentioned.
" Spencmft Coal.
" A bastard cannel 1 ft. thick lies 1 ft. above this coal at the Longton Hall Colliery. The coal, 5 ft. thick, is a potters and forge coal.
"Great Row Coal.
"This seam, from 5 to 8 ft. thick, is extensively worked. In the
northern area a cannel a few inches thick occurs on the top of the
coal. On the western side of the coalfield a few tests have yielded
38 gals. of crude oil per ton, with a specific gravity of 0·930.
"Cannel Row Half-Yards and Coal.
" A cannel and ironstone overlies the coal, which is from 5 to 6 ft.
thick and extensively worked for firing the kilns. Black bass (3 ft.)
underlain by c.c1.nnel (2 ft.) rests on the Cannel Row Coal at Longton
Hall Colliery. At the Sneyd Colliery, Burslem, the coal had been
worked out, and no cannel was being rai ed when the Geological
Survey Memoir was published in 1920. Farther north, at the Clanway
Colliery, a cannel (oil-shale), from 1 ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. thick, occurs as
a persistent bed on the top of the Cannel Row Coal over a Royalty
of 600 acres. It is known to extend into flooded areas on the west
of the Royalty. Laboratory test.- give from 60 to 70 gals. of oil per
ton.
" Wood Mine Imnstone and Coal.
"At Sneyd Colliery, Burslem, an oil-shale 2 ft . 6 in. thick forms
the roof of the coal. This and the oil-shale crop out in the colliery
railway-cutting. The coal and ironstone are of little consequence.
" M ossfield Coal.
" This is an important and extensively worked seam. At the Glebe
Colliery, Fenton, a cannel 3ft. thick forms the roof of the coal, and a
cannelly bass 2 ft. 8 in. thick lies 3 yds. below the coal. A cannel and
cannelly bass 2 ft. 8 in. thick lies 3 yds. below the Mossfield at Oldfield No . 3 Pit, and a cannel coal 2 ft . 1 in. thick, 7 yds. below the
coal in Oldfield No. 4 Colliery. At the Sneyd Colliery the cannel,
3 ft. 10 in. thick, occurs 10 yds . below the coal, and the same thickness of cannel is met with in cro:s-measure drifts. The yield of oil
is not known.
" Twist Coal.
" This seam is not worked, but at the Deep Pit, Far Green, the
roof is described as consisting of 2 ft . 4 in. of cannel."
'
IN NORTH WALES AND STAFFORDSHIRE.
OuTPU'r
85
OF CANNEL CoAL.
The output of cannel ha seldom been recorded separately from that of
other forms of coal, but in the " Mineral Statistics for 1865," it is stated
that the annual output at that time was estimated at 946,175 tons in
Encrland, 150,000 tons in Wales and 383,500 tons in Scotland. In England
50,000 tons in all were believed to have been reserved for the manufacture
of coal and shale oils.
An examination has been made of the Official Mineral Statistics of the
United Kingdom from the year 1862 onwards, but until 1882, when the
compiling of the Mineral Stati tics was taken over by the Home Office,
by which time the cannel-mining industry had greatly declined, only isolated
figures are given for certain years and for individual collieries, and these
are of little value in attempting to prepare a comprehensive review of the
history of the industry. The most detailed figures for "Cannel Coal" and
" Bituminous Shale " were given in the Stati tics for 1 65, when it seems
reasonable to assume that the cannel oil industry was in its most flourishing
condition.
North W ctle.s.
In 1862, 28,816 and in 1864, 120,000 tons of cannel were raised in Flintshire by collieries at Leeswood Green, Leeswood Hill, Coed Talon, Coppa
and Nerquis. 7 According to the Official Statistics for 1865, the collieries
producing cannel were :l. Leeswood Green, Mold.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Leeswood Hill, Mold.
Coed Talon, Mold.
Coppa, Mold.
Nerquis, Mold.
Wern, Bagillt.
From these collieries the quantity of cannel coal raised was, as nearly as
could be ascertained, 150,000 tons, " almost the whole of which was consumed in the extensive oil works of Flintshire." In the Official Statistics
for the majority of the years about this period, the only figures given are
for " oil-shale," as distinct from the" total produce of coal in North Wales."
For example, in the year 1875 the following figures are given for production
of" oil-shale," according to the Mining Record Office:Coed Talon produced
Coppa produced
Nerquis produced
Total
Tons.
6,824
1,800
2,352
10,976
In addition, it may be assumed that a considerable quantity of cannel
coal was also produced, details of which are not available.
86
GIF:E'ARD :
THE FORMER CANNEL OIL INDUSTRY
North Staffordshire.
In North Staffordshire, as already indicated, the cannel coal and oilshale occur in association with ironstone. In the Official Statistics for
1865 the production of "Cannel Coal" for the year, which is stated to
be of uncertain quality and to be known locally as "pill" or "peal," is
given as 10,000 tons, sold at the pit's mouth at lOs. per ton. A later
section of the same report refers to the production of 10,000 tons of
"Bituminous Shales,"" selling at the pit's mouth for l2s. the ton." Presumably these two figures must be added together to give a total output
of about 20,000 tons of cannel coal and shale for the year. Apart from
the year 1865, no separate figures are available prior to the year 1872.
As in North Wales, similar difficulties present themselves in obtaining any
reliable data on the output of cannel coal during these years. For example,
in 1872 a figure of 72,530 tons is given in the Official Statistics for the
production of cannel coal in North Staffordshire together with Cheshire
and Shropshire, but there is no corresponding figure for oil-shale. No
figures are given for the production of cannel coal or oil-shale for 1873,
but a small output of 2322 tons of cannel and 3371 tons of oil-shale is
recorded in 1874 at "Clanway" only. In 1877 the following figures are
given for production of oil-shale, but without any corresponding particulars
for cannel coal.
1877.
"
"
"
"
According to Mining Record Office.
Sneyd " Colliery produced
Pinnox " Colliery produced
Clanway " Colliery produced
Chatterley " Colliery produced
Total
Oil-shale, tons.
902
10,500
10,760
11,047
33,209
For the same year the Inspectors' Reports give " oil-shale mixed with
cannel coal" 47,020 tons. In subsequent years, in addition to the collieries
mentioned above, some " oil-shale " was also produced by the following
collieries : " High Cart," " Tileries" and "Tunstal." Thus in 1878
"High Cart" produced 5772 tons and" Tileries" 1685 tons. "Tunstal"
produced 320 tons in 1880. The following are the figures of the production so far as they can be ascertained : 1875
1876
1877
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
Oil-shale,* tons.
9,831
6,447
33,209
Oil-shale mixed with Cannel Goal.t
Tons.
47,020
34,800
24,102
19,000
20,500
* Mining Record Office.
t Inspectors' Reports .
IN NORTH WALES AND STAFFORDSHIRE.
87
In 1882, when the compiling of the Mineral Statistics was taken over by
the Home Office, the cannel-coal industry had greatly declined, and in
1906 it had practically died out in England and Wales, as shown by the
statistics of the annual output of "Oil-Shale," which probably includes
cannel coal. An extract from the Home Office Mineral Statistics showing the outputs from the year 1882 onwards is attached as an Appendix
to this paper (Appendix A). It will be seen on reference to this table that
the output of the so-called" Oil-shale" in North Staffordshire fell off from
about 25,000 tons in 1884 to 2000 tons in 1905, while in Flintshire it
declined from 11,000 tons in 1884 to about 1100 tons in 1904.
·
The only conclusion which can be reached as to the output of cannel
coal is that no precise figures are available, but in the areas dealt with in
this paper it probably amounted to about 150,000 tons in North Wales
and 20,000 tons in North Staffordshire at the period when cannel coal
was being worked to its greatest capacity.
Utilization of Cannel Coal.
Cannel Coal was discovered and first worked in 1858. Cannel has long
been used in many districts primarily as a source of gas and for improving
the luminosity of gas obtained from ordinary coal, but its distillation for
the production of oil appears to have been an important industry round
about the year 1865. It is stated, however, in the "Report of the Commissioners appointed to Inquire into the Several Matters Relating to Coal
in the United Kingdom," Vol. III., 1871, Report of Committee E, that in
1871 " nearly all the cannel coal now raised is used in the manufacture of
gas," and that many of the cannel oil works in Great Britain "are now
idle." In view of these remarks in the Report of the Royal Commission,
the author is not disposed to regard cannel coal as having been of any
considerable commercial importance as a source of oil subsequent to the
issue of the Commission's Report in 1871.
The cannel-oil industry was continued on a small scale in North Staffordshire for some years. Mr. W. Tellwright of Sneyd Collieries, Burslem,
Stoke-on-Trent, has kindly furnished a copy of an old "Balance Sheet"
of the Sneyd Colliery Company representing the Oil Account for the
year 1877-1878. A copy of this "Balance Sheet" (Appendix B) is
annexed to this paper. It is stated that these works closed in 1880.
METHOD OF TREATMENT.
As regards the method of treatment, according to Griffith, curly cannel
and shale were used in North Wales "chiefly for the manufacture of
paraffin oil, by distillation at a low red heat." Smooth cannel was also
used, but was for the greater part used for gas-making. As much as
80 gals. of crude oil to the ton were obtained from" Curly Cannel," 35 gals.
per ton from" Smooth Cannel" and 33 gals. per ton from the" Oil-shale."
With regard to the method of retorting and treatment of the crude oil,
little is known. Homer, in the paper reported in the Transactions of the
North Staffordshire Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers 18751878, in a paragraph dealing with the" Red Mine Ironstone and Coal,"
88
GIFFARD :
THE FORMER CANNEL OIL INDUSTRY
mentions that " after the oil is extracted by cast-iron retorts specially
adapted to the purpose, the residue is from 3 to 5 tons of blast-furnace
mine to every ton of oil made." The raw material being treated in this
case was a band of oil-shale 1 ft. 6 ins. thick, which yielded 28 gals. of oil
to the ton. Below the oil shale lay the Red Mine iron-stone, varying in
thickness from 2 ft . to 9 ft. and beneath this was a coal of moderate
quality 2 ft . thick.
Redwood, in his" Treatise on Petroleum," Vol. II, 1913 Edition, remarks
that in the earliest system of distillation of shale, the shale was heated in
horizontal cast-iron retorts similar to those then used for coal-gas manufacture, the retorts being discharged after the volatile constituents had
been driven off, and recharged. The use of steam appears to have been
first suggested by Selligue, and is said to have given with the Bathgate
retort in 1861 an increase in the yield of oil from "Boghead coal" from
90 or 100 gals. to over 120 gals. per ton. It seems probable, therefore,
that horizontal retorts of this type were used for dealing with the cannel coal
and bituminous shales of North Wales and North Staffordshire.
With regard to the two areas referred to above, some particulars are
given in the Mineral Statistics for 1865 under the heading of " Detailed
Statement of the Production of Cannel Coal in Great Britain."
North Wales .
The following list of works is given for Flintshire : List of Cannel and Shale Oil ( 1 Works) in Great Britain, distilling
Crude Petroleum from Cannel Coal or Bituminous Shales or Sandstones, so far as these have been ascertained.
Flintshire.
Proprietors.
Flintshire Oil & Cannel Coal Co., Ltd.
British Oil & Cannel Co . ..
Canneline Oil Co. .
Coppa Oil Co.
.
.
.
.
Williams Patent Mineral Charcoal & Oil Co.
W . B. Marston's Oil Works
Leeswood Main Cannel Oil Co.
North Wales Oil Co.
Padeswood Oil Co . .
Roger .Jones & Co . .
E . G. Buttery & Co.
Thomas Green
.
G. H. Birbeck & Co.
Ness and Griffiths .
Barlow and .Jeli's .
.
F . Page & Co.
Mold Mineral Oil Co.
G. F . Milthorp
Glover & Co. .
.
Hardman and Sharett
Plasy Mhowys Oil Co.
The Cambrian Oil Co.
Locality.
Saltney.
Leeswood.
Coed Talon.
Padeswood.
Ponty Bodkin.
Coed Talon.
Hope and Leeswood.
Lower Leeswood.
Padeswood.
Hope.
Hope.
Padeswood.
Padeswood.
Padeswood.
Coed Talon.
Padeswood.
Mold.
Padeswood.
Leeswood.
Tryddu .
Nerquis.
Hope.
It is stated that the quantity of cannel raised was " as nearly as can
be established 150,000 tons> almost the whole of which was consumed in
IN NORTH WALES AND STAFFORDSHIRE .
89
the extensive oil works of Flintshire," but unfortunately no particulars
are given in this report of the number of retorts in operation at these
works or of the amount of crude oil produced. According to Meade,
however, over 1000 retorts had been, or were being, erected in the districts
of Leeswood, Coed Talon and Coppa. 8 The yield of crude oil per ton in
Flintshire is given in the Mineral Statistics as follows : Bituminous shales
Smooth cmmel
Curly cmmel
.
Bagillt cmmel .
33 gals. of crude oil to the ton.
36
75
35
With regard to the last of these, a small quantity was stated as being
worked at Wern Colliery near Bagillt, whilst a thin band of Cannel, about
6 ins. thick, could be traced from Bagillt to Mostyn.
Owing to the difference in the quality of the raw material treated and
the varying yields of oil obtained per ton, it is difficult to give an estimate
of what these oil works actually produced. As a rough approximation,
however, it may be said that the probable output of crude oil was something of the order of 28,000 tons in 1865, on the basis of an average yield
of 45 gals. per ton of raw material treated and using a conversion factor
of 240 gals. of crude oil per ton. In this connection it may be mentioned
that, when cannel coal was treated for the production of oil in gas works
in 1918 by the Mineral Oil Production Department of the Ministry of
Munitions, the crude oil obtained had a specific gravity at 60° F. of 0·9325,
whilst an analysis of cannel made for the Wigan Coal and Iron Company,
1914, yielded 31 gals. of oil per ton, with a specific gravity of 0·941.
We have, from the Mineral Statistics of 1865, information as to the
percentage of products obtained from the crude oil in Flintshire, which
is given as follows :4·95
21·60
8·84
4·58
37·55
22·48
"Spirits
.
Burning oil
Lubricating oil
Liquid grease
Stiff grease
Loss
100·00"
This statement shows that the principal object of the operations at these
works was to obtain illuminating oil or paraffin, lubricating oil and grease.
North Staffordshire.
As already stated earlier in this paper, yields of oil were obtained varying from 12 to 15 gals. of heavy oil per ton in the case of the Red Shagg
Bass to from 50 to 60 gals. of crude oil per ton in the case of the Cannel
Row Half-Yards Coal. The Roo Cannel worked at Pinnox Colliery
yielded 25- 30 gals. per ton. Homer gives particulars of six seams of
Cannel Coal interstratified in some cases with bands of Ironstone which
were utilized for the production of oil, of which the two most important
were the Great Row Coal and the Cannel Row Half-Yards.
90
GIFFARD : THE FORMER CANNEL
OIL
INDUSTRY
The following is an extract from Homer's paper dealing with these two
seams and the manner in which they were utilized :" GREAT Row CoAL, takes its name from its being the thickest and
most cheaply wrought in the upper series. It is upwards of 9 ft .
thick, and has a cannel lying in connection with it, 8-10 in. thick,
used for oil- and gas-making purposes, yielding over 30 gals. of oil
~o the ton; the specific gravity being 0·890-0·900, or if used for gasmaking yields 10,000 cu. ft . to 12,000 cu. ft . of gas per ton of high
illuminating power. The coal lies in two parts, the lower part being
6-7ft. thick, with a cannel and stone parting 1 ft. 6 in. thick between
it and the upper coal. It is of good quality, being used for house,
manufacturing, steam and iron-making purposes.
"CANNEL Row HALF-YARDS, lies immediately above the Cannel
Row Coal and consists of 1 ft 6 in. of coal of fair average quality,
3 in. to 6 in. of Peel Cannel, and 1 ft. 6 in. of strong cannel and ironstone. The cannel is used for oil-making purposes, yielding from
50 gals. to 60 gals. of crude oil to the ton of 0·870 specific gravity,
and is also used for gas-making purposes, being of high illuminating
power, 26 candles to 29 candles, and 10,000 ft. to 12,000 ft ., of gas
to the ton, and 10 gals. of tar and rich ammoniacal liquor, in addition
the residuum being a fair blast furnace ironstone."
Little or no information is available as to the method of treatment
adopted, but, again in the Official Mineral Statistics for 1865, the following
list is given of the works which were then producing oil and the number
of retorts in use.
Proprietors .
Messrs. Adams
H. Meir, Esq. .
Messrs. May & Co.
Messrs . Glover .
Messrs. Slater & Co.
Messrs. Wards & Co . .
Messrs. Hardman & Co.
.
.
North Staffordshire Coal and Iron Co.
Locality.
Tunstall
Bu;~lem
Longton
Burslem
Hanley
Milton
'l'unstall
No. of
Retorts .
20
20
40
10
36
18
8
2
154
" Each r etort yields on an average 30 gals. of crude oil per day of 24 hours,
working 6 days per week, say 100 tons of crude oil per week for the district."
The Statistics suggest, therefore, that the annual output of crude oil
at that time was about 5200 tons, but the quantity of raw material from
which it was derived is not clear from the Report contained in the Statistics,
owing to the absence of any figures of throughput of cannel in the Oil
Works. The Statistics refer to a production of 10,000 tons of "Cannel
Coal" and 10,000 tons of "Bituminous Shales," but on the basis of the
known yields of oil per ton of cannel and shale in North Staffordshire, an
output of 5200 tons of crude oil per annum would seem to indicate the
utilization of an amount of raw material in excess of 20,000 tons. If it
be assumed that a yield of 50 gals. of oil per ton was obtained, as in the
case of the Cannel Row Half-Yards seam, something like 25,000 tons of
IN NORTH WALES AND STAFFORDSHIRE .
91
cannel coal per annum would be required, but the average yield was
probably less than this. It is not stated how much, if any, of the cannel
coal was used for gas-making purposes. Mter 1865 no figures are available for the output of oil from cannel coal.
EXTENT OF THE INDUSTRY.
It is evident from the statistics of production that by far the largest
production of cannel coal in England and Wales was obtained from North
Staffordshire, "X"orkshire and Flintshire. The cannel-oil industry seems
to have reached the apex of its development about 1865-1870, but was
continued in North Staffordshire on a smaller scale until about 1880.
Subsequently some cannel coal was produced for gas-making purposes,
but the production fell off rapidly after the year 1890, as the best seams
gradually became worked out.
Finally it may be remarked that the possibility of raising, separating
and treating cannel as a profitable undertaking depends on other circumstances apart from its yield of gas and oil. In some cases the cannel,
occurring as it frequently does at the top of a seam of coal, has to be left
as a roof, or a heavy expense in timbering has to be incurred. Generally,
the profit in the undertaking would depend also on the value of the coke,
and in this respect cannels are disappointing. The ash-content is usually
high, especially in impure cannels and " canneloid " substances, though
no information is available on this point relating to the period under
consideration.
No information has been obtainable as to the amount of employment
which the industry afforded as distinct from ordinary coal-mining.
REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF THE CANNEL-COAL INDUSTRY.
The two principal reasons for the decline of the cannel-coal industry were
the discovery of petroleum in America, which led to the importation of
illuminating oil from the United States, and the introduction of incandescent-gas mantles which no longer necessitated the manufacture of gas
of such a high degree of luminosity. Mr. J. Pringle of H.M. Geological
Survey, writing on North Wales, says that, in Denbighshire, the shales
overlying the cannel in the old Cefn Colliery appear to have yielded a little
oil, and the oil-works were established; but the enterprise proved unsuccessful, and later the retorts became the nucleus of the present chemicalworks. He adds that the cannel was energetically worked in the past and
was sent to London gas works; but on the introduction of gas mantles
the demand ceased and the pits closed down.
As regards the competition with American oil, petroleum was discovered
in some quantity in America by drilling in 1859, when Drake's first oilwell was completed at Titusville, Pennsylvania, and the development of
petroleum as a commercial product soon caused the closing down of the
American coal-oil works. In this respect the cannel-oil industry in England
no doubt suffered from the competition of American oil equally with the
Scottish shale-oil industry, which was passing through a difficult time
about the year 1869. The marketed production of American oil expanded
92
GIFFARD:
THE FORMER CANNEL OIL INDUSTRY
from about 2000 barrels in 1859 to 2,116,000 in 1864 and 4,215,000 barrels
in 1869, whilst the value fell from an average of $16 per barrel in 1859 to
less than $1 in 1861. The products of this cheap oil soon reached the
British market, and it appears that a large proportion of the total output
was sold here. Mr. H. R. J. Conacher, 9 in a review of the Scottish shaleoil industry, which is of interest in connection with the history of the
development of oil from cannel coal, writes :
" Petroleum does not appear at all in the catalogue of the 1851
Exhibition, but we find a quantity of 700 tons imported from ' Rangun '
into Liv:erpool in 1857, and imports from various sources had been
arriving erratically-sometimes only a few gallons in a year-during
the previous twenty years."
He goes on to say that in 1863 the flood of imported petroleum began,
the growth of which is shown from the figures of United Kingdom imports
from the United States. Imports of kerosene increased from about
4 million gals. in 1863 to 120 million gals. in 1893. Imports of other
grades of oil also increased from about 4,706,000 gals. in 1863 to 34,742,000
gals. in 1893. In 1883 imports from Russia also commenced. The effect
of this was to reduce the price of burning oil to an enormous extent.
During the currency of Young's celebrated patent, which he took out in
1850 for " obtaining paraffine oil-from bituminous coals " by slow distillation, his burning oil had been selling at 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per gallon;
in 1875 it was selling at 10d. per gallon, and in 1894 American importers
were offering kerosene in Glasgow, at 4d. per gallon, barrels free. The
process was extensively carried out in Scotland and also in the United
States, under licence from Young, until naturally occurring petroleum
was produced in that country in such quantity and at so low a cost that
the distillation of bituminous minerals became unprofitable.
R ef erences.
Memoi1·s of the Geological Survey. Special Reports on Mineral R esources of Great
Britain, 1920, Vol. VII.
2 N. R. Griffith, Trans. N. England Inst. Min. Engrs, 1869- 1870, Vol. XIX.
3 Memoirs of the Geological Survey, 1!J20, Vol. VII.
• C. J. Homer, Trans. N. Staff. Inst. Min. Mech. Engrs, 1875-1878, Vol. II.
5 Walcot Gibson, "Coal in Great Britain," 2nd Ed., 1927.
6 N. R. Griffith, "On the Flintshire Cannel Seam," loc. cit., pp. 75-77.
7 R. Meade, "The Coal and Iron Industries of the United Kingdom," 1882, p . 181.
8 Idem, ibid., 1882, p. 181.
• Geological Survey Memoirs, Scotland, "The Oil Shales of the Lothians," 3rd Ed.,
1927.
1
93
IN NORTH WALES AND STAFFORDSHIRE.
APPENDIX A.
ANNUAL OuT-PUTS I
ToNS OF OIL-SHALE* AND PETROLEUM [sic] IN
ENGLAND AND WALES, EXCLUSIVE OF KIMMERIDGE SHALE.
Compiled from Home Office Mineral StatilJtics.
I
North Staffordshire
Yorkshire
F lintshire
Derbyshire, oil t
North Staffordshire, oil
North Staffordshire
Yorksrure
Flint
Derbyshire, oi l t
North Staffordshire, oil
North Staffordshire
Yorkshire
Flintshire
Derbyshire, oil t
North Staffordshire, oi l
North Staffordsh ire
Yorkshire
Flintshire
Derbyshire, oil t
North Staffordshire, oil
t
1882.
1883.
1884.
17,500
7,053
!),073
21,000
4,156
8,450
-
25,500
8,543
11,039
60
1887.
1888.
1889.
13,000
8,058
66
16,489
5,706
2,072
35
1892.
1885.
1886.
15,000
4,443
1,926
90
22,070
6,3!)4
1890.
1891.
17,692
8,046
2,132
30
13,130
7,351
3,438
35
-
8,309
8,648
1,904
100
-
1893.
1894.
1895.
1896.
4.,663
4,275
1,872
4,036
295
1,754
2,602
3,552
6,172
917
3,240
8,489
2,241
218
260
49
15
12
1899.
1900.
·--
t
-
-
,.
-
-
t
1,374
-
2,375
12
6
5
t
-
1903.
-
193
-
1,58 1
144
-
-
t
-
-
-
-
* This presumably includes
-
1913.
200
-
-
1904.
-
-
1905.
2,000
-
1910.
40
-
-
1914.
-
240
231
-
-
1909.
-
-
2,342
1,704
-
-
-
1,177
-
-
-
t
1908.
-
-
t
I
-
'
-
266
2,709
1,60!)
1912.
North Staffordshire
Yorkshire
Flintshire
Derbyshire, oil t
North Staffordshire, oil
-
989
9,57!)
1,560
1907.
North Staffordshire
Yorkshii·e
Flintshire
Derbyshire, o il t
North Staffordshire , oil
-
1898.
-
-
-
1897.
1902.
North Staffordshire
Yorkshire
Flints hire
Derbyshire; oil t
North Staffordshire , oi l
I
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
191 5.
5,976
-
-
-
-
-
43
1901.
388
-
3,691
-
8
1906.
-
-
798
-
1911.
-
-
1916.
-
-
~
-
Cannel CoaL-Author.
This is listed separately in the Official Statistics as " P etroleum " and may possibly
relate to naturally occurring petroleum obtained from seepages in coal mines.Author.
t
94
GIFFARD:
DISCUSSION.
APPENDIX B.
BALANCE SHEET OF THE SNEYD CoLLIERY CoMPANY.
OIL AccouNT, 1877-1878.
(These Works closed in 1880.)
(Record supplied by W. Tellwright, Esq., Managing Director, Sneyd Colliery Co.,
Ltd., Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.)
Dr.
Cr.
£
s. d.
£
s. d.
To Cost raising bass .
429 8 4
By Sales t;o customers
1715 8 7
, Wages at oil works
404 15 11
, , Supplies to colliery
160 0 0
76 17 6
, Royalty
, Stock
100 0 0
, Coal consumed
369 15 0
, Bricks used for repairs .
9 0 7
, Stores
30 0 0
143 3 3
, Cartage of bass
, Discounts to customers
50 1 9
, Balance, profit
1513
462
2
6
4
3
£1975
8
7
£1975
8
7
DISCUSSION.
MR. DoTT said :-I recognize that the author was dealing essentially with the historical and technical aspects of this subject, but I wish that he had stated with greater
exactitude the geological position of the deposits. My reason for so doing is that,
when examining the list compiled by the late Dr. Briggs of over thirty occurrences of
workable parrot shales in the Scottish coalfields, I was struck by the fact that the vast
majority of the retorted materials came from either of two geological horizons : either
towards the base of the Lower Coal Measures or towards the top of the Limestone
Coal Series. That is to say, the majority came from immediately above, and the larger
part of the minority from immediately below the Millstone Grit, using " immediately "
in a very relative sense. My recollection is that the Leeswood cannel occupies a
position roughly corresponding to that of the Boghead gas coal. It seems to me that
investigation of this matter of horizons might lead to the establishment of a rough
" law of occurrence " of retortable materials in Britain.
MR. H . P . W. GIFFARD said that he was grateful to Mr. Dott for directing attention
to the geological aspect of the occurrence of cannel coals ; he had given a certain amount
of information on the subject in the course of his paper, but he was not in a position
to furnish further details in regard to the particular points raised by Mr. Dott without
reference to the Geological Survey Maps and Memoirs on the areas concerned. He
would, however, be pleased to look into the matter further on his return to London,
and, if possible, amplify the information in the form of a written contribution to the
discussion.
Mr. Giffard subsequently wrote as follows :-"With further reference to Mr. Dott's
inquiry as to the geological position of the cannel coals in North Wales and North
Staffordshire, in North Wales the Cannel Coal of Leeswood, which was the principal
seam worked for cannel, appears to have occurred about 250ft. below the Main Coal.
The Main Coal is found at about the middle of the local development of the Middle
Coal Measures, and is approximately 1500 ft. above the top of the Millstone Grit.
In North Staffordshire cannels or oil shales are associated with a number of the coals,
again in the local development of the Middle Coal Measures. In this case the principal
cannel coals occur at intervals at horizons between 2500 and 4000 ft. above the top
of the Millstone Grit. In the course of my paper I have given the names of the coal
seams with which the cannels are associated, and I would suggest that if Mr. Dott
requires further details of the exact horizons, he might like to consult the relevant
Geological Survey l-in. Maps, Flintshire Sheet 108 and North Staffordshire Sheet 123,
GIFFARD : DISCUSSION .
95
together with the accompanying Memoirs on those areas issued by the Geological
Survey. • Mr. Dott has prepared a very interesting table of the correlation of the
various cannels in Scotland, but I do not think that it is possible to draw any useful
analogy between the position in Scotland and that in North Wales and North Staffordshire, as the geological conditions are quite different. As is well known, in the greater
part of England and Wales the Coal Measures occur above the Millstone Grit and the
underlying Carboniferous Limestone (where it exists ), whereas in Scotland the numerous
important coal seams are found below the Millstone Grit, in what has long been known
to Scottish geologists as the Carboniferous Limestone series. InNorthumberland some
coals occur in the lower Carboniferous, as in Scotland.
MR. H. R. J . CoNACHER wrote :-This is a very useful paper, as it gathers together
information otherwise lost or scattered and difficult to find. Could Mr. Giffard be
persuaded to extend his inquiries to include the industry in North Wales, and possibly
also Lancashire, or anywhere else that the industry is suspected of having existed ?
In the records of the Scottish Industry there are a few r eferences from time to time
to the works in North Wales, but I do not recall any to oil works of this kind elsewhere
in England. Of course the Welsh operators were attacked by Young and compelled
to pay or stop during the currency of his patent, and some of the Welsh interests
ultimately transplanted themselves to Broxburn.
The conclusion arrived at by Mr. Giffard as to the life of the industry in Staffordshire exactly agrees with what I have ascertained with regard to Scotland. It sprang
up on the expiry of Young's patent in 1864, collapsed in two or three years and was
practically extinct by 1870.
Some further data regarding operations in North Wales will be found in Ure's
"Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines," 3rd Edition, 1867.
A sample of Leeswood smooth cannel examined a few years ago gave a yield of
43 gals. of crude oil with specific gravity 0·980. I think the author is correct in his
conclusion that the use of cannel for oil manufacture reached its maximum about
1865-1870. Dr. Young's patent gave him the means to prevent the use of coal
during its currency (1850-1864) , and he was able to stop operations at Leeswood and
Saltney, the operators there transferring their activities and much of their plant to
Broxburn.
The author discusses the causes for the rapid decline in the use of cannel for this
purpose, but does not explain why the use of cannel ceased, whilst the use of shale
in Scotland persisted and expanded.
MR. H.P. W. GIFFARD, in reply to Mr. Conacher, wrote :- I am obliged for Mr. Conach er's written communication, but in reply to his remarks I regret that I am unable to
add anything to the information which is already given in my paper on the cannel
coal industry in North Wales, and which is dealt with there at considerable length.
Lancashire is outside the scope of the present paper, although no doubt it would be
of interest to trace the development of the cannel coal industry there. Through the
courtesy of the Secretary of the Institution of Mining Engineers I have had an opportunity of examining the 1875 edition of Ure's "Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and
Mines," from the Library of the Institution, the 1867 edition not being available.
This work, in the section dealing with cannel coal, unfortunately appears to contain
little which is not already recorded in the " Official Mineral Statistics " to which I
have referred. With regard to Mr. Conacher's query as to why the use of cannel
ceased, whilst the use of shale in Scotland expanded and persisted, it seems probable
that the falling off in the u se of cannel for oil-production purposes was (as indicated
on p. 81 of the above paper under the heading of " Occurrence. Geological and
Geographical" ) largely due to the lenticular character of the seams of cannel and the
fact that the seams of best quality quickly became worked out. The Scottish oil
shales, which first commenced to be worked about 1860, provided an abundant source
of raw material, which, although it did not give such a high yield of oil per ton as
some of the cannel coals, yet afforded in addition to other products, light lubricating
oils, paraffin wax, and, at a later stage, the valuable product-sulphate of ammonia.
• See also "Memoir of the Geological Survey," Vol. VII, 2nd Ed., 1920, Special
Reports on the Mineral Resources of Great Britain. " Mineral Oil, Kimmeridge
Oil-Shale, Lignites, Jets, Cannel Goals and Natural Gas," North Wales, pp. 106-110,
and North Staffordshire, pp. 102-104.