The colliery was founded in 1868 when two shafts, both 13 feet (4 m) in diameter, were sunk to the Beeston coal seam at a depth of 564 yards (516 m).

One of the main investors was a Dr Holt, and so for many years the colliery was known as the "doctor's pit".

The upcast shaft, which was for men and materials, had two single deck cages, each of which could hold two tubs.

[5] At this time Wheldale's six hundred miners produced on average 400,000 tonnes (440,000 tons) of coal per year.

Fryston colliery closed in 1985, and a barrel washer was set up to clean coal at Wheldale.

[9][10] At the time of closure, each shaft had a concrete landing between the Flockton and Middleton little seam insets.

These landings needed to be removed because they were exuding low atmospheric pressure explosive quantities of methane gas, which was escaping from the old lower workings.

This was carried out using a robot-controlled machine while supervised by the engineers in the colliery offices via CCTV.

The site was eventually restored to its original woodland, grassland and wetland state, with bridle and footpaths for recreational use.