Silverdale is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, west of Newcastle-under-Lyme. In 1932 it became part of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and is now primarily part of the Silverdale and Parksite ward, with the exception of the north-eastern end which is part of Silverdale and Knutton. Historically the village has been dominated by the coal industry and records indicate coal was mined in the area as long ago as the 13th century. The last colliery, Silverdale, closed in 1998.
Silverdale Colliery
The main employer in Silverdale for well over 100 years was Silverdale Colliery, also known locally as Kent's Lane. The first shafts were sunk in the 1830s and the colliery initially mined ironstone as well as coal. The main user of both the minerals was the nearby Silverdale Forge. The colliery was completely rebuilt during the 1970s when three new drifts were sunk to exploit new reserves in the Keele area. Production increased and the pit mined over one million tonnes annually but was closed in 1998, the last deep mine in North Staffordshire to close. One of the coal spoil heaps from the Silverdale mine on Hollywood road between Silverdale and Keele caught fire in 1996, 2 years before the site's closure, and continues to burn two decades later. While the fire is primarily underground there have been times when the heat and smoke have made it to the surface setting fire to parts of Holly Wood for which the road is named. Speculation has been raised that attempts to fight the fire or open it up for housing work could result in what's left of the Silverdale coal seam catching fire as well.
Notable residents
Henry Radcliffe Crocker MD, FRCP an English dermatologist. Aged 16 he went as apprentice and assistant to a doctor at Silverdale.
Keith Broomhall an English former footballer who played for Port Vale F.C.
Transport
Silverdale was served by a railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in May, 1863. The station was on the NSR Newcastle to Market Drayton line and was closed in the 1960s. The station buildings remained for a number of years as train crew accommodation for British Rail staff who worked the coal trains to Silverdale Colliery. The rapid loader was located adjacent to the old station. In 2009 the track was removed between the station and Silverdale tunnel, however the two short station platforms still exist. The line from the entrance to the former site at Pepper Street through the old train station and onto Knutton and Newcastle under Lyme has been regenerated into a public access foot and cycle path providing a single, safe, accessible footpath for Newcastle under Lyme College for much of its prime catchment area.
