The Birley Collieries were a group of coal mines set in the Shire Brook Valley in south-east Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They were connected to the railway system by a branch line from the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Woodhouse East Junction, about 800 yards east of Woodhouse station. From 1877 to his death in 1926, William Dunn Gainsford was owner of the Birley Collieries, with his cousin Alfred John Gainsford serving as Managing Director. The collieries The Birley collieries were owned by the Sheffield Coal Company who also owned nearby Brookhouse and North Staveley collieries. These collieries stood either side of the M.S.& L.R. line less than a mile to the east of Woodhouse East Junction. In 1866 the Sheffield Coal Company, which had been founded in 1805, signed an agreement with the Earl Manvers to work below his lands in the Frecheville, Woodhouse and Hackenthorpe area, just outside the then Sheffield boundary. Over the following ten years they sunk and developed Birley West Colliery on a site in the Shirebrook Valley between Woodhouse and Hackenthorpe. A further 10-year plan followed in which more land was acquired and a new shaft sunk, however, it was not until spring 1887 that work commenced on this new sinking. The following year the part completed colliery gained the name Birley East Colliery. Although a small amount of coal was being cut from the new colliery, brought to the surface at Birley West, it was not until 1890 when a new winding engine was installed that it fully came on stream. Later expansion came with mining rights being obtained from the Duke of Norfolk to mine below Handsworth Common. Accidents In 1856 John Walker (aged 16) was killed at Birley Vale a quantity of coal gave way and bruised him but he died before being taken home, he left a widowed mother. Sheffield Free Press 26 September 1857. Anthony Mycock 61 severely burnt by Fire Damp at Birley Vale Plantation Pit. Died from his injuries 7 October 1857 Buried at Gleadless Christ Church. On Saturday 19 January 1858 George Drury a large quantity of earth fell on him and killed him on the spot. In 1863 a young man named Gillott was killed by a fall of bind on Thursday 17 September 1863. On Thursday 13 September 1866, Thomas Downs (aged 14) of Normanton Spring was killed and two men injured at