At a loose end for something to do whilst visting a fellow Urbexer on a trip up North and having discovered the place we oroiginally intended on visiting had recently been demolished, a search of the surrounding areas revealed Stillingfleet Collery, near York. Whilst the site has been derelict now some 20 years and a lot of the buildings, such as the admin block, miners dry, winders and both pit heads have been demolished, it looked like there might still be enough there for a couple of hours worth of exploring, so, we decided to give it a go.
History:
Stillingfleet was one of several collieries constructed part of the Selby Coalfield, a massive set of undergound workings, linked together undergound and with pitheads at Wistow, Riccall, Stillingfleet, Whitemoor, North Selby and Gascoine Wood. Whilst the above each had it's own mining teams, workshops & admin blocks, coal only came to the surface at Gascoine Wood where a large rail transfer yard took the coal onwards, to sites such as Drax power station. A large undergound conveyor system meant the coal from all areas of the pit only came to surface here. However, during construction and earlly operations, waste mining spoil at least was extracted at each pit - a large transfer yard exists at Stillingfleet, which is surrounded by tracks for the mine carts and linked to both of the pit heads, meaning easy transfer from mine cart to road vehicle for onward transfer and disposal. First dreamed up in 1974 by the NCB (National Coal Board) and Labour government of the time, the 'Selby Superpit' as it became known , saw shafts sunk at Stillinglfleet in June 1978 but, as the creation of a mine is no simple process, production at the site didn't commence until January 1988. Whilst the 'Super Mine' enjoyed early success, the Coal Industry Act of 1994 saw the framework laid for the break up of British Coal with the Selby Coalfield acquired by RJB Mining in 1995. Between 1995 and 1999 the mine complex went from a successful venture to a loss-making operation, from there, the writing was on the wall. In 2002 it was announced by UK Coal that the coalfield would close during 2003 / 2004. The mine at Stillingfleet closed in 2004, with production ending on 30th July.
The Explore:
Initially, Google maps suggested it was as simple as ducking under a single metal barrier and just walking in, however, a 6' high gate greeted us at the entrance. A spot of walking and consulting of satellite imagery, soon found an easy route into the site. Now very overgrown, a lot of the site has been demolished - interesting areas such as the admin block, miners dry, pitheads, etc are nothing more than vast empty concrete slabs, however, a few workshops still remain, along with a smaller office, all now largley stripped of anything of much interest and heavily vandalised. A second block of buildings in the South-East corner of the site also remains - these are the electrical substations and switchrooms. Please note - these are very much still in use, as coal gas is now extracted from one of the capped mine shafts and is used on-site, to generate electricity. These buildings are secure, sections around them (and the pit head) are fenced, covered by CCTV and on the day we visited, also clearly had signs that people were at work - we stayed well clear of these buildings and enjoyed an undisturbed explore of the remaining site. The photos below show the buildings we were able to get into, along with wider views of the rest of the site and transfer yard.
The Future:
Part of the site is in use for electricity generation and the remainder of the site is currently proposed as a waste storage and sorting facility. The derelict areas are also used for police firearms training, with literally thousands of blank / plastic tipped bullets laying around everywhere
Above - Maintenance workshop area stairs to offices
Above - View down into electrical fitting shop from first floor offices
Above - Manuals and documentation found on workbence in woodworking / general workshop
Above: Smaller woodworking / general workshop on the end of the stores building
Above: View over to 'live' part of site / power generation buildings
Above: Rear of parts stores & main access roadway in. The main gate and admin building were to the right (now demolished).
Above: Ex rated fire-alarm callpoint (For use in a gaseous / explosive environment)
Above: Stores bell (unsure about Mick however....)
Above: Stores parts issue counter (seen from stores side)
Above: View from roller shutter on parts store, looking out towards transit yard and fitters workshops.
Above: Police Line
Above: Transit yard from canteen on end of stores building
Above: Live power generation area, seen though windown of staff canteen, parts store building
Above: Parts store viewed through broken canteen window
Above: All roads lead to the pit. Both of these tracks lead to the now capped and fenced shaft. There are 2 shafts here, the other out of view, further to the left. There would once have been a pithead here, with a set of enclosed headgear, an electric winder and then immediately to the right, the miners dry, admin areas, etc. The building seen on the right, is the canteen area on the end of the parts store. The original admin buildings, miners dry, etc were all built in this style, but sadly now long demolished.
Above: The parts store building, canteen / staff room on the left, oil store on the right, with main parts building seen behind. All of the buildings on the site were constructed in this style, the canteen gives us an idea of the appearance of the now demolished admin building and miners dry.
Above: The original electrical substations, switchrooms, etc. This area is now in use for power generation using coal gas, the gas being extracted from the second mineshaft, which is behind the metal fence, far left. This section is secure, alarmed, has modern CCTV cameras and on the day we visited, people working. We stayed away from the live section and were not disturbed.
Above: Helmet
Above: Artwork in the smaller offices, upstairs in the fitters workshop building
Above: Artwork in the smaller offices, upstairs in the fitters workshop building
Above: Mine cart tracks. The site is criss-crossed with these everywhere. They lead to the capped mineshaft (top left) The transfer yard (Right) and to the second shaft and fitters workshops (bottom left).
Above: Fitters workshop roller shutter
Above: Power generation building, seen from doorway of smaaller fitters workshop
Above - Smaller fitters workshop
Above: Live section of ssite - the original substations and switchrooms, now in use for power generation. Secure, alarmed and manned.
Above: Robin...... On the wall of fitters workshops
Above: Small turntable for mine trucks / locos used in the mine. Mine trucks and locos could be brought into the workshops for repair. Tracls run in through every door and all the wal end to end inside. A now removed gantry crane spanmned the entire building.
Above: Smoke grenade. Either from police training, or from someone maybe using the site for some kind of paintball / war games
Above: REuse, REduce, REcycle... ...REdevelop?
Above: The transfer yard. Ringed by rail tracks, trucks could be unloaded here into road vehicles. Whilst the site never hauled coal to the surface, it being sent underground to Gascoigne Wood, waste spoil from shaft sinking and mine development would have been handled here
History:
Stillingfleet was one of several collieries constructed part of the Selby Coalfield, a massive set of undergound workings, linked together undergound and with pitheads at Wistow, Riccall, Stillingfleet, Whitemoor, North Selby and Gascoine Wood. Whilst the above each had it's own mining teams, workshops & admin blocks, coal only came to the surface at Gascoine Wood where a large rail transfer yard took the coal onwards, to sites such as Drax power station. A large undergound conveyor system meant the coal from all areas of the pit only came to surface here. However, during construction and earlly operations, waste mining spoil at least was extracted at each pit - a large transfer yard exists at Stillingfleet, which is surrounded by tracks for the mine carts and linked to both of the pit heads, meaning easy transfer from mine cart to road vehicle for onward transfer and disposal. First dreamed up in 1974 by the NCB (National Coal Board) and Labour government of the time, the 'Selby Superpit' as it became known , saw shafts sunk at Stillinglfleet in June 1978 but, as the creation of a mine is no simple process, production at the site didn't commence until January 1988. Whilst the 'Super Mine' enjoyed early success, the Coal Industry Act of 1994 saw the framework laid for the break up of British Coal with the Selby Coalfield acquired by RJB Mining in 1995. Between 1995 and 1999 the mine complex went from a successful venture to a loss-making operation, from there, the writing was on the wall. In 2002 it was announced by UK Coal that the coalfield would close during 2003 / 2004. The mine at Stillingfleet closed in 2004, with production ending on 30th July.
The Explore:
Initially, Google maps suggested it was as simple as ducking under a single metal barrier and just walking in, however, a 6' high gate greeted us at the entrance. A spot of walking and consulting of satellite imagery, soon found an easy route into the site. Now very overgrown, a lot of the site has been demolished - interesting areas such as the admin block, miners dry, pitheads, etc are nothing more than vast empty concrete slabs, however, a few workshops still remain, along with a smaller office, all now largley stripped of anything of much interest and heavily vandalised. A second block of buildings in the South-East corner of the site also remains - these are the electrical substations and switchrooms. Please note - these are very much still in use, as coal gas is now extracted from one of the capped mine shafts and is used on-site, to generate electricity. These buildings are secure, sections around them (and the pit head) are fenced, covered by CCTV and on the day we visited, also clearly had signs that people were at work - we stayed well clear of these buildings and enjoyed an undisturbed explore of the remaining site. The photos below show the buildings we were able to get into, along with wider views of the rest of the site and transfer yard.
The Future:
Part of the site is in use for electricity generation and the remainder of the site is currently proposed as a waste storage and sorting facility. The derelict areas are also used for police firearms training, with literally thousands of blank / plastic tipped bullets laying around everywhere
Above - Maintenance workshop area stairs to offices
Above - View down into electrical fitting shop from first floor offices
Above - Manuals and documentation found on workbence in woodworking / general workshop
Above: Smaller woodworking / general workshop on the end of the stores building
Above: View over to 'live' part of site / power generation buildings
Above: Rear of parts stores & main access roadway in. The main gate and admin building were to the right (now demolished).
Above: Ex rated fire-alarm callpoint (For use in a gaseous / explosive environment)
Above: Stores bell (unsure about Mick however....)
Above: Stores parts issue counter (seen from stores side)
Above: View from roller shutter on parts store, looking out towards transit yard and fitters workshops.
Above: Police Line
Above: Transit yard from canteen on end of stores building
Above: Live power generation area, seen though windown of staff canteen, parts store building
Above: Parts store viewed through broken canteen window
Above: All roads lead to the pit. Both of these tracks lead to the now capped and fenced shaft. There are 2 shafts here, the other out of view, further to the left. There would once have been a pithead here, with a set of enclosed headgear, an electric winder and then immediately to the right, the miners dry, admin areas, etc. The building seen on the right, is the canteen area on the end of the parts store. The original admin buildings, miners dry, etc were all built in this style, but sadly now long demolished.
Above: The parts store building, canteen / staff room on the left, oil store on the right, with main parts building seen behind. All of the buildings on the site were constructed in this style, the canteen gives us an idea of the appearance of the now demolished admin building and miners dry.
Above: The original electrical substations, switchrooms, etc. This area is now in use for power generation using coal gas, the gas being extracted from the second mineshaft, which is behind the metal fence, far left. This section is secure, alarmed, has modern CCTV cameras and on the day we visited, people working. We stayed away from the live section and were not disturbed.
Above: Helmet
Above: Artwork in the smaller offices, upstairs in the fitters workshop building
Above: Artwork in the smaller offices, upstairs in the fitters workshop building
Above: Mine cart tracks. The site is criss-crossed with these everywhere. They lead to the capped mineshaft (top left) The transfer yard (Right) and to the second shaft and fitters workshops (bottom left).
Above: Fitters workshop roller shutter
Above: Power generation building, seen from doorway of smaaller fitters workshop
Above - Smaller fitters workshop
Above: Live section of ssite - the original substations and switchrooms, now in use for power generation. Secure, alarmed and manned.
Above: Robin...... On the wall of fitters workshops
Above: Small turntable for mine trucks / locos used in the mine. Mine trucks and locos could be brought into the workshops for repair. Tracls run in through every door and all the wal end to end inside. A now removed gantry crane spanmned the entire building.
Above: Smoke grenade. Either from police training, or from someone maybe using the site for some kind of paintball / war games
Above: REuse, REduce, REcycle... ...REdevelop?
Above: The transfer yard. Ringed by rail tracks, trucks could be unloaded here into road vehicles. Whilst the site never hauled coal to the surface, it being sent underground to Gascoigne Wood, waste spoil from shaft sinking and mine development would have been handled here
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