The colliery was sunk on the site of an old mill in January 1885 by the Cowpen and North Seaton Coal Company. This company was later taken over by the Mickly Coal Company in 1923 and, following nationalisation, it operated until it was closed in July 1969. The colliery had one shaft, which was 558 feet deep, and an underground shaft. It had an escape route through North Pit, later called Bates Pit and there were also underground connections to Isabella Pit. Crofton worked ten seams of coal using many different mining methods. It was also a highly mechanised colliery achieving a peak output of 366.000 tons of coal.