1. History
Clipstone Colliery was a coal mine situated near the village of the same name on the edge of an area of Nottinghamshire known as “The Dukeries” (because of the number of stately homes in the area). The colliery was owned by the Bolsover Colliery Company and passed to the National Coal Board (NCB) in 1947. The headstocks and powerhouse are grade II listed buildings. The colliery was sunk to exploit the Barnsley seam or “Tophard”, as it is known locally, around the start of the 20th century. The sinking of the pit-shaft was interrupted by the First World War, and the development of the colliery site did not resume until 1919 with the new colliery operational by 1922. The complex was a state-of-the-art installation in the post-War development of the coal mining industry in England and one of the country's most productive coal mine, delivering 4,000 tons of coal per day by the 1940s.In the 1950s the shafts were deepened to just short of a kilometre to exploit other seams. This necessitated the instillation of two new headstocks, linked by a central powerhouse which were completed in 1953 to the designs of architects Young and Purves of Manchester. The headstocks are believed to be among the tallest ever built. The winding engines used the 'Koepe' system of friction winding, developed by the German mining engineer Frederick Koepe in the 1870s. The system was particularly well-suited for use in deep mines, as it could safely accommodate winding from increasing depths as a colliery developed. Employing over thirteen hundred men at its peak, it produced almost a million tons of coal in 1986.
The colliery was closed by British Coal, as the NCB had become, in 1993 and reopened by RJB Mining (now UK Coal) in April 1994, the licence to dig for coal being limited to the Yard seam which is located at a depth of 870 m. The 200ft (61m) headstocks were Grade II listed in April 2000. The pit closed in 2003 and an application for consent to demolish the building and headstocks was made the same year.
Archive picture of the pit in March 2003 (Copyright Robin Stewart-Smith)
RJB Mining - Ex-NCB Clipstone Colliery - March 2003 by Robin Stewart-Smith, on Flickr
English Heritage received a request to de-list the building and headstocks, but this application was not taken forward. The application to demolish remains under consideration by the Local Planning Authority. The Save Clipstone Colliery Headstocks group has spent years building support for plans to convert the surviving buildings into a sports and leisure hub including a mile-long,100-mph zip wire, tethered parachute jumps and indoor skydiving. The headstocks and powerhouse complex are structurally complete with the remains of much of the original plant and machinery in-situ.
2. The Explore
This was never going to be an internal inspection. The place is completely sealed-tight these days. The Heras fence there to prevent you from even approaching the compound was pretty ineffective so at least I could get a close-up look of the headstocks. It was a lovely sunny autumn day and with the flocks of birds circling the headstocks it made for an evocative image. At one stage I wandered too close to the fence and out through the PA system came the pre-recorded(?) announcement that I was being monitored and recorded on live CCTV! So no internals. However the externals of this fab place and the great light merit an externals only report.
3. The Pictures
img9814bw by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9816 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9821 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9822 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9824 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9825 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9826 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9828 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9829 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9832 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9835 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9838 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9840 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9841 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9843 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Clipstone Colliery was a coal mine situated near the village of the same name on the edge of an area of Nottinghamshire known as “The Dukeries” (because of the number of stately homes in the area). The colliery was owned by the Bolsover Colliery Company and passed to the National Coal Board (NCB) in 1947. The headstocks and powerhouse are grade II listed buildings. The colliery was sunk to exploit the Barnsley seam or “Tophard”, as it is known locally, around the start of the 20th century. The sinking of the pit-shaft was interrupted by the First World War, and the development of the colliery site did not resume until 1919 with the new colliery operational by 1922. The complex was a state-of-the-art installation in the post-War development of the coal mining industry in England and one of the country's most productive coal mine, delivering 4,000 tons of coal per day by the 1940s.In the 1950s the shafts were deepened to just short of a kilometre to exploit other seams. This necessitated the instillation of two new headstocks, linked by a central powerhouse which were completed in 1953 to the designs of architects Young and Purves of Manchester. The headstocks are believed to be among the tallest ever built. The winding engines used the 'Koepe' system of friction winding, developed by the German mining engineer Frederick Koepe in the 1870s. The system was particularly well-suited for use in deep mines, as it could safely accommodate winding from increasing depths as a colliery developed. Employing over thirteen hundred men at its peak, it produced almost a million tons of coal in 1986.
The colliery was closed by British Coal, as the NCB had become, in 1993 and reopened by RJB Mining (now UK Coal) in April 1994, the licence to dig for coal being limited to the Yard seam which is located at a depth of 870 m. The 200ft (61m) headstocks were Grade II listed in April 2000. The pit closed in 2003 and an application for consent to demolish the building and headstocks was made the same year.
Archive picture of the pit in March 2003 (Copyright Robin Stewart-Smith)
RJB Mining - Ex-NCB Clipstone Colliery - March 2003 by Robin Stewart-Smith, on FlickrEnglish Heritage received a request to de-list the building and headstocks, but this application was not taken forward. The application to demolish remains under consideration by the Local Planning Authority. The Save Clipstone Colliery Headstocks group has spent years building support for plans to convert the surviving buildings into a sports and leisure hub including a mile-long,100-mph zip wire, tethered parachute jumps and indoor skydiving. The headstocks and powerhouse complex are structurally complete with the remains of much of the original plant and machinery in-situ.
2. The Explore
This was never going to be an internal inspection. The place is completely sealed-tight these days. The Heras fence there to prevent you from even approaching the compound was pretty ineffective so at least I could get a close-up look of the headstocks. It was a lovely sunny autumn day and with the flocks of birds circling the headstocks it made for an evocative image. At one stage I wandered too close to the fence and out through the PA system came the pre-recorded(?) announcement that I was being monitored and recorded on live CCTV! So no internals. However the externals of this fab place and the great light merit an externals only report.
3. The Pictures
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