This is another one of those places that became a bit of a project for @SpiderMonkey and I. There are cameras with sensors all over the site and I've read various reports of people being caught by a rather unfriendly security guy followed by an OTT police response, so in order to cover the site relatively thoroughly we were careful to avoid the security measures. This meant a few different visits were required over the last 8 months to cover various areas, but the persistence paid off and we were able to visit all bits we wanted to. Even after that I'm well aware there are still some areas we didn't see - I haven't climbed any of the headstocks for example, and I have no intention to as they are well documented on this website. I would recommend you take a look at Oxygen Thief's Chatterley Whitfield report too, as it compliments my report very well.
Chatterley Whitfield is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell, near Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire. It is one of the most complete former collieries in Europe. As such it has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a host of buildings on the site have Listed Building status. In its heyday, Chatterley Whitfield was one of the most productive sites in the country, and in 1937 was the first colliery to produce over one million tons of coal in a year.
Chatterley Whitfield, is situated on the North Staffordshire Coalfield, where evidence suggests coal was first extracted in the fourteenth century, and the first records of mining activity date from the 1750s. By the 1800s a colliery had started to develop with a number of shafts being sank. A great deal of expansion took place during the 1850s and 1860s.
The colliery suffered badly during the recession of the late 1920s and early 1930s, but as the economy recovered in the years leading up to the Second World War, over £300,000 was invested in new plant, workshops and railway equipment, leading to record-breaking years in 1937-9. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the coal industry was nationalised, and the colliery saw significant modernisation.
In 1974 it was decided that Whitfield coal could be more easily worked from Wolstanton Colliery and an underground roadway was driven to join the two pits. Chatterley Whitfield ceased production on 25th March 1977.
In 1979 the site re-opened as the Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum, with access to the underground workings via the Winstanley Shaft. Many of the surface buildings were renovated and machinery was restored in its original working condition to show in great realism the life and working conditions of local miners. At it's peak, it attracted 70,000 visitors a year.
In May 1986, the nearby Wolstanton colliery was closed, from where water was pumped out of the workings. This lead to fears that the underground mining experience at Chatterley Whitfield would flood and there would be a build up of gas. A new experience was constructed using shallow workings and a railway cutting. This enabled underground tours to continue until the museum was put into liquidation in 1993 and subsequently closed on 9th August that year.
Hesketh, Platt and Institute headstocks (mobile shot)
Platt and Institute headstocks, along with the main boiler house chimney
Hesketh headgear, winding house and power house
Winstanley heapstead
Operational from 1914, the Hesketh power house contained compressor pumps and electrical generating equipment. Air was pushed into compressed air receivers to maintain pressure before being pumped down the pit where it would be used to power the machinery such as coal cutters, boring engines, jigger picks and conveyors.
Walker Horizontal Reciprocating Steam Compressor Engine (relocated from Sutton Manor Colliery)
Rear of the Walker compressor
Reciprocating steam engines such as these were the primary source of electricity during the Victorian times
A pair of British Thomson-Houston synchronous induction motors with an Alley air compressor in the centre
Belliss & Morcom Vertical Cylinder Compressor, driven by the induction motors
One of the British Thomson-Houston synchronous induction motors
Makers plate on the compressor
Air compressor built by Alley & MacLellan of Glasgow
Hesketh Winding House
Adjoined to the power house, the Hesketh winding house contains a 500 horsepower steam winding engine, made by Worsley Mesnes lromnakers, Wigan in 1914.
From left to right: The Hesketh headstock, winding house and power house
The Worsley Mesnes steam powered winding engine
Steam winder with the banksman's position to the right
Banksman's chair
Shaft signal indicator
Down in the basement we find a few other interesting bits...
The stables for the pit horses were located on the ground floor of the winding house
A stash of old control panels
This old rail-mounted transformer was tucked away in the darkness
Underside of the winder
Continued...
History of Chatterley Whitfield Colliery
Chatterley Whitfield is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell, near Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire. It is one of the most complete former collieries in Europe. As such it has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a host of buildings on the site have Listed Building status. In its heyday, Chatterley Whitfield was one of the most productive sites in the country, and in 1937 was the first colliery to produce over one million tons of coal in a year.
Chatterley Whitfield, is situated on the North Staffordshire Coalfield, where evidence suggests coal was first extracted in the fourteenth century, and the first records of mining activity date from the 1750s. By the 1800s a colliery had started to develop with a number of shafts being sank. A great deal of expansion took place during the 1850s and 1860s.
The colliery suffered badly during the recession of the late 1920s and early 1930s, but as the economy recovered in the years leading up to the Second World War, over £300,000 was invested in new plant, workshops and railway equipment, leading to record-breaking years in 1937-9. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the coal industry was nationalised, and the colliery saw significant modernisation.
In 1974 it was decided that Whitfield coal could be more easily worked from Wolstanton Colliery and an underground roadway was driven to join the two pits. Chatterley Whitfield ceased production on 25th March 1977.
The Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum
In 1979 the site re-opened as the Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum, with access to the underground workings via the Winstanley Shaft. Many of the surface buildings were renovated and machinery was restored in its original working condition to show in great realism the life and working conditions of local miners. At it's peak, it attracted 70,000 visitors a year.
In May 1986, the nearby Wolstanton colliery was closed, from where water was pumped out of the workings. This lead to fears that the underground mining experience at Chatterley Whitfield would flood and there would be a build up of gas. A new experience was constructed using shallow workings and a railway cutting. This enabled underground tours to continue until the museum was put into liquidation in 1993 and subsequently closed on 9th August that year.
Hesketh, Platt and Institute headstocks (mobile shot)
Platt and Institute headstocks, along with the main boiler house chimney
Hesketh headgear, winding house and power house
Winstanley heapstead
Hesketh Power House
Operational from 1914, the Hesketh power house contained compressor pumps and electrical generating equipment. Air was pushed into compressed air receivers to maintain pressure before being pumped down the pit where it would be used to power the machinery such as coal cutters, boring engines, jigger picks and conveyors.
Walker Horizontal Reciprocating Steam Compressor Engine (relocated from Sutton Manor Colliery)
Rear of the Walker compressor
Reciprocating steam engines such as these were the primary source of electricity during the Victorian times
A pair of British Thomson-Houston synchronous induction motors with an Alley air compressor in the centre
Belliss & Morcom Vertical Cylinder Compressor, driven by the induction motors
One of the British Thomson-Houston synchronous induction motors
Makers plate on the compressor
Air compressor built by Alley & MacLellan of Glasgow
Hesketh Winding House
Adjoined to the power house, the Hesketh winding house contains a 500 horsepower steam winding engine, made by Worsley Mesnes lromnakers, Wigan in 1914.
From left to right: The Hesketh headstock, winding house and power house
The Worsley Mesnes steam powered winding engine
Steam winder with the banksman's position to the right
Banksman's chair
Shaft signal indicator
Down in the basement we find a few other interesting bits...
The stables for the pit horses were located on the ground floor of the winding house
A stash of old control panels
This old rail-mounted transformer was tucked away in the darkness
Underside of the winder
Continued...
