pithead

American  

[pit-hed] / ˈpɪtˌhɛd /

noun

1. a mine entrance and the surrounding area.

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pithead British  

/ ˈpɪtˌhɛd /

noun

1. the top of a mine shaft and the buildings, hoisting gear, etc, situated around it

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Etymology

Origin of pithead

First recorded in 1830–40; pit ¹ + head

Example Sentences

The iconic image of Shaft XII’s pithead is scattered throughout the city of Essen as an unofficial trademark of the Ruhr region.

From Scientific American • Jan. 4, 2022

In view of the pithead, rail trucks bulging with the stuff rattle across the Hatfield estate, bound for Drax, Europe’s biggest coal-fired power-station.

From Economist • Jun. 25, 2015

First on the scene at the pithead was Mr Shaw, the mine manager, who had been in the lamp room at the surface when the explosion occurred.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2013

George Camsell, a Middlesbrough legend whose talents were first spotted - according to the Observer's Paul Wilson - at a "pithead kickabout during a miners' strike", banged home nine hat-tricks in the 1925-26 campaign.

From The Guardian • Mar. 16, 2011

The average pithead price of South African coal in 1915 was five shillings twopence a ton and at the time of my visit to South Africa in 1919 was still under seven shillings a ton.

From An African Adventure by Marcosson, Isaac Frederick