The Fair Oak Colliery Company was formed on 1 September 1871. It acquired a 60 year lease on 5,500 acres of mineral rights under Cannock Chase. The No.1 Colliery was not very successful as the company had not sunk a bore-hole to test the geology of the area. The company had some success with its No. 2 Colliery, which began to produce coal in 1877. By 1880 the No.2 Colliery was producing 2,000 tons of coal per week and employed almost 400 people. Workmen and their families were housed in two rows of cottages and a few houses close to Stony Brook. However, due to the cost of unproductive years, mining operations ended in 1884. Company liquidation soon followed. The two collieries were connected by a tramway, and also to the nearby standard gauge railway. [Geograph.org.uk].