<p><b>Markham Main Colliery</b> was a coal mine in Armthorpe, on the eastern edge of <a href="/pages/w/106010149430037">Doncaster</a>. It could be seen, and was a landmark, from the nearby <a href="/pages/w/102554983131978">M18</a>. 87 miners were killed at the pit.</p><h2>History</h2><p>It was sunk on 6 May 1916 and work continued until 24 August 1916 when work stopped because of the war. Work continued on 21 May 1922. Coal was first recovered on 5 May 1924. The site cost around £1 million and a model village for the pit (Armthorpe) was built.</p><p>For many years it was used as a training pit for the local area, with a training tunnel. In the 1950s it had around 2,700 workers. A domestic fuel processing plant was built in 1966.</p><p>In the mid-1980s the pit had around 1,500 employees. When the 1980s miners' strike finished in 1985, Markham Main was the last <a href="/pages/w/408141785974370">Yorkshire pit</a> to return to work, three days later.</p><p>On its initial closure in 1992 it had around 730 workers.</p><h3>Closure</h3><p>It closed in 1996 when it had 50 million tonnes of coal reserves, enough for around fifty years. The site is now a housing estate, next to Sandall Beat Wood.</p><h2>Ownership</h2><p>It was first run as Markham Main Colliery Ltd.</p><h3>Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries</h3><p>It was taken over by Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd in February 1937, based at The Lodge on <i>South Parade</i> in Doncaster. This company also owned <a href="/pages/w/139725432712531">Yorkshire Main Colliery</a> at Edlington. The Chairman of this company was William Humble, whose son was <a href="/pages/w/112310418780680">Bill Humble</a> the aviator and granddaughter is <a href="/pages/w/105541442814147">Kate Humble</a>. William Humble was a mining engineer who had overseen the construction of the pit.</p>