So far as I am aware, however, North Staffordshire alone, among all the places in England, has the distinction of so far having produced liquid petroleum in sufficient quantity for refining purposes. It was in 1874 that oil was discovered in a seam of coal in one of the pits of the Mear Hay Collieries, Longton, and a contract was ultimately made with a Mr. William Walker, Senr., of Hanley, who erected plant at Cobridge for the purpose of refining the oil. I am indebted to Mr. Walker for the following facts, though in a general way I have full corroboration for them, for it was within a couple of miles from the collieries that I was born and spent my earlier days. The seam of coal wherein the oil was discovered was one of the deeper seams, and by no means one of the best in the district. At that time, the flow produced more than 5 tons of crude oil per week, and inasmuch as England then was not inundated with American petroleums, great possibilities were seen in the discovery. But almost before the refining of the crude had settled down to be a commercial undertaking, the plans of operation were upset, for a serious explosion occurred at the colliery, which rendered necessary the closing of the pit. Twelve months later, however, they were re-opened, and after the re-sinking had proceeded awhile, the oil was found far up the shaft, and in due course the shaft was cleared and the mines re-opened. Refining operations were resumed and continued for a year or two, when the pits had to be closed on account of the shafts shrinking. However, in the course of a number of years, petroleum appeared in another colliery less than a mile from the Mear Hay Colliery, and again Mr. Walker secured the contract for the whole of the output. The quantity of crude oil found was several tons weekly, and a large stock had accumulated when Mr. Walker’s attention was drawn to this new find. This time, the supply continued for a longer period, and then again the seam of coal in which the deposit occurred had to be abandoned. Thus, while the resources of this part of the Charnian axis have not been properly tested--for, in the opinion of the colliery owners, it is not possible profitably to work coal and oil at the same time--there is ample evidence to suggest that, in the not distant future, there may be most interesting oil developments in this part of North Staffordshire.