Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1900-1926 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
5 files
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
James Ford was a mining engineer and colliery agent, often working as a consultant. Working in the Midlands and having premises in Doncaster, Newark, and Mold (Wales) between the early 1900s and the late 1920s, he claimed to be the first man to discover the oil strata in England while superintending coal borings in Kelham, Nottinghamshire, in August 1911, at which time he was in a syndicate with Maurice Deacon and C R Hewitt, and advising The Newark Collieries and The Newark Coal and Oil Company. These borings also provided evidence for the eastern extension of the Nottinghamshire Coalfield. The discovery does not appear to have amounted to anything at the time, though oil was later extracted from the area in the 1940s.
In the mid-1920s he became part of a company named the Lincolnshire Coal Boring Syndicate, which had plans to bore for coal and build a power station nearby, thus minimising the expense needed to transport the coal to the power station and resulting in cheap electricity production.
He was a member of the Midlands chapter of the Institution of Mining Engineers (now part of IOM3), and a Fellow of the Geological Society between 1911 and 1936.
Repository
Archival history
GB 378 LDGSL/1061 1900-1926 Series 5 files FORD , James , [fl 1890s-1920s] , mining engineer and colliery agent
The Newark Collieries
Newark Coal and Oil Company
Lincolnshire Coal Boring Syndicate
James Ford was a mining engineer and colliery agent, often working as a consultant. Working in the Midlands and having premises in Doncaster, Newark, and Mold (Wales) between the early 1900s and the late 1920s, he claimed to be the first man to discover the oil strata in England while superintending coal borings in Kelham, Nottinghamshire, in August 1911, at which time he was in a syndicate with Maurice Deacon and C R Hewitt, and advising The Newark Collieries and The Newark Coal and Oil Company. These borings also provided evidence for the eastern extension of the Nottinghamshire Coalfield. The discovery does not appear to have amounted to anything at the time, though oil was later extracted from the area in the 1940s.
In the mid-1920s he became part of a company named the Lincolnshire Coal Boring Syndicate, which had plans to bore for coal and build a power station nearby, thus minimising the expense needed to transport the coal to the power station and resulting in cheap electricity production.
He was a member of the Midlands chapter of the Institution of Mining Engineers (now part of IOM3), and a Fellow of the Geological Society between 1911 and 1936.
Various papers relating to the search for coal and oil in the Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire area of the Midlands between 1900 and 1926, and the presence of oil in England more widely. They include maps, correspondence, reports, proofs of articles and publicity literature, legal documents, and newscuttings.
They mostly cover the period from 1911 to 1919, and relate to the discovery of oil in August 1911 at Kelham, Nottinghamshire, with one file covering a later peiod (1920s) and focusing on coal borings in Lincolnshire.
Previously the series was not catalogued hierarchically, meaning that the files within the series were all given ascending reference numbers (1061, 1062, 1063, 1064, 1065). This has been revised so that LDGSL/1061 is now the series reference, with the files below being named LDGSL/1061/1, LDGSL/1061/2 and so on.
Access is by appointment only, daily readership fee is applicable unless you are a member of the Society. Please contact the Archivist for further information.
Copies, subject to copyright and the condition of the original, may be supplied. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.
English
An online, detailed catalogue will be available shortly.
Description by John Thackray, revised by Victoria Woodcock.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
1990s, revised September 2013 Fuel resources Mining Coal mining Oil Energy resources Nonrenewable energy sources Petroleum resources Oil extraction Fuels Coal Lincolnshire England UK Western Europe Europe Newark-on-Trent Nottinghamshire
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Various papers relating to the search for coal and oil in the Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire area of the Midlands between 1900 and 1926, and the presence of oil in England more widely. They include maps, correspondence, reports, proofs of articles and publicity literature, legal documents, and newscuttings.
They mostly cover the period from 1911 to 1919, and relate to the discovery of oil in August 1911 at Kelham, Nottinghamshire, with one file covering a later peiod (1920s) and focusing on coal borings in Lincolnshire.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Previously the series was not catalogued hierarchically, meaning that the files within the series were all given ascending reference numbers (1061, 1062, 1063, 1064, 1065). This has been revised so that LDGSL/1061 is now the series reference, with the files below being named LDGSL/1061/1, LDGSL/1061/2 and so on.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Access is by appointment only, daily readership fee is applicable unless you are a member of the Society. Please contact the Archivist for further information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies, subject to copyright and the condition of the original, may be supplied. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
An online, detailed catalogue will be available shortly.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English