In 1890 shafts were sunk for a colliery at Walton and pit dwellings were built for the miners. These were called Ings Cottages or, as they were known locally, Spike Island or the Spike.
Formerly known as Sharlston West, Walton pit was a safety lamp mine. By the 1930's there were about 1,200 men working there but in 1979 it was closed before the Miners' Strike.
There are still ex-miners around in Walton to tell the tale of the pit, of course, but it is hard to visualise what the pit must have looked like now that the area has been landscaped and planted.
Walton Colliery Nature Reserve was opened on the former colliery site. Later, the 'Reserve' part of the name was changed to 'Park'.
On 22nd April 1959, an explosion of firedamp occurred, initiated by an electric arc from the damaged trailing cable of a coal-cutting machine. The explosion was propagated to some extent by coal dust.
