The Earl of Dudley's coalfields. From Griffiths' Guide to the Iron Trade of Great Britain.

Lord Ward initially leased the collieries to charter masters, who employed butty-colliers, who in-turn employed middle men to employ the colliers to mine the coal. In 1797 the system was reorganised when Lord Ward employed Charles Beaumont, who supervised the colliers himself and stipulated how the mines would be run. The colliers were now permanently employed, which didn't happen with the old system. Every fortnight a minimum amount of coal had to be brought to the surface. Beaumont introduced a standard weight for the coal so that the colliers knew beforehand how much they would be paid. The standard rates were based on the types of coal being cut, such as best coal, second best coal, lump coal and slack.

In the 30 foot seam he started a new system in which six foot layers had to be cut, one at a time, to reduce waste. He also instigated the use of one large shaft instead of two smaller ones to carry air into the mine, with a stronger draught. His work resulted in reduced costs and higher profitability for Lord Ward. In 1803 the annual profit was over £3,555 which in today’s money is approximately £355,500.

In 1803 Lord Ward employed Francis Downing as Mineral Agent for the Dudley Estate, but by 1826 productivity was falling. So in 1836 he employed Smith and Liddell, mining engineers, to improve matters. They recommended that the business should be put in the hands of a mining engineer and that the mines should be worked to their full capacity, including the removal of the thinner seams of coal and ironstone. They also recommended that the pits should be leased on a 20 percent royalty on sales and that the coal masters and ironmasters should meet all working costs.

Lord Ward appointed Richard Smith as Mine Agent to work alongside Francis Downing. Richard Smith greatly increased the profits from the mines, which by the end of the century were producing a lot of coal for domestic use.

In 1841 over a quarter of the male population of Dudley were occupied in the coal, iron and limestone mines which were run by 17 coal masters. Bentley's Directory of 1840 lists that 1.2 million tons of coal and 150,000 tons of limestone and ironstone were used to produce 24,000 tons of iron in Dudley parish.

The collieries included the Parkhead and Dudley Wood Collieries that served Parkhead Furnaces and Woodside Works, also Shaw's and Badley's at Blowers Green. At Netherton, the rich supply of easily obtainable coal from the 30 foot seam contributed enormously to Dudley's industrial development. It was free from sulphur and with a characteristic long flame that was ideal for the iron industry. Netherton furnaces were well supplied by the New Bufferies and Bumble Hole Collieries. There were large coal and ironstone mines at Coneygre, Russell's Hall, Himley, Knowle Hill and Saltwells. At Kates Hill, coal could be found at the surface.

At Bridge End Colliery in Pensnett, run by Mr. Raybould, six men were killed on the 11th. January, 1864 when a pit horse fell down the shaft onto the men who were being lowered into the mine. At Woodside Colliery in 1893, three men were killed when the winding machine broke while bringing them to the surface.

At number 10 pit, at Saltwells on the 9th. February, 1865, around fifty tons of coal fell around seventeen feet at one of the openings, killing six men.  On the 18th. March, 1929 at Coombs Wood Colliery, in Halesowen, managed by Mr. H. J. Newey, eight men died after an underground fire. In another underground fire at the Old Buffery Colliery in 1875, four men died.

Baggeridge Colliery. From an old postcard.

From the end of the 18th century, limestone was in great demand due to the opening of many ironworks and the ease of transportation on the newly built canals. It was used as a flux that was essential to iron making. Silurian limestone, outcrops in a series of faults in the Dudley area that form Castle Hill, Wrens Nest Hill and Hurst Hill.

Local sand deposits were well-worked for glass-making. From an old postcard.