Coal and
ironstone were being dug in the Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire area as
early as 1282, and by 1467 the Great Row coal seam was being mined and used for
firing pottery. The actual area within which the coal is exposed at the
surface is 70 square miles, which is small compared to other coalfields, but
along the central part of this the thickness of the seams is much greater than
that of any other English coalfield except Lancashire.
