Broom Pit was the deepest at , and longest-lasting of the Middleton collieries. In 1896 the Middleton Broom, Little and Middleton Main Pits, all managed by John Neal, employed over 600 workers. By 1923 just the Broom Pit was working, employing more than 1,000 men and supplying coking, gas and household coal and fireclay to the brickworks. Nearly 900 men were employed there in 1940. At the time the collieries were nationalised in 1947, the workforce had reduced to 436. Operations at the pit ended in 1968 as the productivity of the colliery declined.