Visited with @Saltburndan1971
HISTORY
Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum rose from the ashes of the old Chatterley Whitfield Colliery which had operated outside Chell, Staffordshire from 1853 until its closure by the NCB on Friday, March 25th, 1977.
The museum opening in 1979 and was soon welcoming over 70,000 visitors a year. It offered a range of activities - derelict buildings were renovated, mining machinery restored in its original working condition in order to show the working conditions of local miners and an underground tour of workings was also offered.
The underground tour was through the Winstanley shaft. Problems first arose in 1984 when the pumps at Wolstanton colliery were turned off as Chatterley Whitfield had been connected underground to Wolstanton. Coal production was stopped at Wolstanton in 1981 but pumping operations continued there until May 1984 to facilitate salvage work. With the pumps now turned off, there was a danger that water levels and methane would make the underground tour at Chatterley Whitfield unsafe. This duly came to pass and the underground tour finishing when a new purpose built mining experience (The New Pit) was opened on Wednesday, August 20th, 1986. This new tour - the subject of this report - continued until Monday, 9th August, 1993 when the museum was closed and put into the hands of the liquidators.
PHOTOS
1. Pit bottom
2. Phone
3. Candid camera
4. Control room
5. Offices
6. Stair, rail and conveyor
7. Shearer
8. Support
9. Cutter face
10. Rust
11. Face
12. Horse
13. Fan
14. Pump
15. Chatterley Whitfield
Thanks for looking and huge thanks to @Saltburndan1971 for both showing me around and for cracking this in the first place.
HISTORY
Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum rose from the ashes of the old Chatterley Whitfield Colliery which had operated outside Chell, Staffordshire from 1853 until its closure by the NCB on Friday, March 25th, 1977.
The museum opening in 1979 and was soon welcoming over 70,000 visitors a year. It offered a range of activities - derelict buildings were renovated, mining machinery restored in its original working condition in order to show the working conditions of local miners and an underground tour of workings was also offered.
The underground tour was through the Winstanley shaft. Problems first arose in 1984 when the pumps at Wolstanton colliery were turned off as Chatterley Whitfield had been connected underground to Wolstanton. Coal production was stopped at Wolstanton in 1981 but pumping operations continued there until May 1984 to facilitate salvage work. With the pumps now turned off, there was a danger that water levels and methane would make the underground tour at Chatterley Whitfield unsafe. This duly came to pass and the underground tour finishing when a new purpose built mining experience (The New Pit) was opened on Wednesday, August 20th, 1986. This new tour - the subject of this report - continued until Monday, 9th August, 1993 when the museum was closed and put into the hands of the liquidators.
PHOTOS
1. Pit bottom
2. Phone
3. Candid camera
4. Control room
5. Offices
6. Stair, rail and conveyor
7. Shearer
8. Support
9. Cutter face
10. Rust
11. Face
12. Horse
13. Fan
14. Pump
15. Chatterley Whitfield
Thanks for looking and huge thanks to @Saltburndan1971 for both showing me around and for cracking this in the first place.
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