Wilford North Power Station.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Odd you say that about the Piper seam Brian, as Cotgrave started working the same seam and all their coal was supplied to Ratcliffe. They called the Piper the Parkgate seam and had geological problems similar to what we experienced on our last Piper face. Probably due to supports not strong enough, ie yielded at too low a pressure.

They left the Tupton seam alone and drifted down to the Blackshale.

[BulwellBrian 107]

There were two seams 1st Piper & 2nd Piper, in places they merged then it was called the Parkgate. The Blackshale seam was quite high in Sulphur too. I think the newer large power stations were more tollerant than the older ones. They also took in a wider mix of coal from a lot of pits, Ratcliffe neaded 5million tonnes a year!

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

That explains a lot then Brian. I have the seam charts and depths at different pits and I could never get the Piper picture, as it was just one seam at Clifton, merged would explain why we had Piper then Tupton. I'm presuming Cotgrave just had the merged seam too being so close to our workings.

Piper had been worked my times outbye of the last workings at Clifton, from the early 1900's right through the 2nd world war years, then for a time in the 1950's.

The last major workings of Piper were at the south western area nearly under Ruddington, and the last Piper face, 43's was worked heading towards Tollerton.

Seam names varied pit to pit, there never seemed a standard, probably goes back to early exploratory drillings, where the "geologist" couldn't match the seams he'd drilled through. Hence Tupton/Low Main. Piper/Parkgate and several of the "middle measure" coal seams having several different names.

Get's pretty confusing at times researching the coal industry and it's history...

[BulwellBrian 107]

I agree seam names get very confusing all seams split and recombine all over the coalfield so correlation is very difficult. Local names abound, Clifton, Wollaton & Radford all used Low Main for the Tupton, Wollaton called the 1st Piper the New Main, Gedling called the High Hazles the Low Hazel. Names in Yorkshire were different from Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire.

I am writing from memory of about 40 years ago!

No coal seam was homoginous they could all be divided into sections of bright coal and dull or hard coal most seams had dirt bands ranging from almost nothing to feet (when does a dird band become a split into separate seams?). In general the best seam was the Top Hard the Barnsley seam of Yorkshire more coal came from that seam than any other.

This thread has moved a long way from Wilford Power Station, perhaps it belongs on your Coal, Colliery & Mining forum.

Brian.

[taxi ray 170]

Ashley, the pub further along Manvers street would have been the Earl Manvers, which was on Colwick road, it was demolished about 2 years ago.

[mick2me 3,033]

Thanks Ray Robert Peel It was.

I am sure "Marketside" was Sir Robert Clifton Late 60s early 70s?

[Cliff Ton 10,464]

Mick, THIS seems to prove your memory is correct.

[Limey 242]

Also power stations were designed for a particular grade or quality of coal - including things like BTu, sulphur content, ash content and, as mentioned, ash fusion temperature. However, the newer stations, like Ratcliffe, could tolerate a greater variation in coal quality and especially sulphur content. Ratcliffe was updated with sulphur "scrubbers" in the late 70's (possibly one of the first stations to do so) and could therefore handle higher sulphur coal.

[mick2me 3,033]

Thanks Cliff,

Is there a connection with Sir Robert Clifton and Clifton pit?

[Cliff Ton 10,464]

He seems to have been the person who started the pit (although I doubt he actually did any digging). Seems he also built the first Wilford Toll Bridge

Take a look HERE and scroll down a bit

[BulwellBrian 107]

Also power stations were designed for a particular grade or quality of coal - including things like BTu, sulphur content, ash content and, as mentioned, ash fusion temperature. However, the newer stations, like Ratcliffe, could tolerate a greater variation in coal quality and especially sulphur content. Ratcliffe was updated with sulphur "scrubbers" in the late 70's (possibly one of the first stations to do so) and could therefore handle higher sulphur coal.

The scrubbers of course removed Sulphur Dioxide from the flue gases. Sometimes high Chlorine caused more trouble than high Sulphur.

[dgbrit 258]

I had a few Scrubbers in my time !rotfl!

Mostly from the Locarno

[taxi ray 170]

Thanks Ray Robert Peel It was.

I am sure "Marketside" was Sir Robert Clifton Late 60s early 70s?

I seen this the other day and I remembered this thread.

[mick2me 3,033]

Thanks Ray, I seem to remember also a panelled sign covering that in later years.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Mentioning Sir Robert Clifton, he was a well liked prominent politician, large land owner, and as some mentioned, he had the toll bridge built and started the sinking of Clifton Colliery to pay his heavy gambling debts off...He died before the mine tirned any coal.

I believe he owned Clifton Hall and the surrounding lands too.

[Smiffy49 590]

Robert Clifton,

Not sure if it still there, but I remember there was a statue of him positioned just past the embankment gates adjacent to the toll bridge (we called it the ha'penny bridge).

Both sets of my grandparents lived next to each other in this vicinity at the junction of Wilford Road and Colliery Road. They were right outside the trolley bus terminus (40 & 47).

I remember a large red post box near to the bus terminus clock. My Grandfathers privet hedge was right outside the bus stop. He had planted it alternate green and yellow and would cut it every weekend throughout the summer. He also had an allotment garden located over the Toll bridge and then left along Coronation Avenue and under the railway bridge in Wilford. We would be transported there in a large gardening barrow, happy memories.... Being only very young lads my brother and I truly believed his story that Robert Clifton's statue came to life at night and would chase any wayward children foolish enough to be still out after dusk....

Walsall Conduits was positioned across the road to the right from my Grandfather's house and the Cremorne pub across the road to the left. From the top floor of these three storey houses you could see (to a young boy) lots of interesting sights. The GCR line and railway bridge over the Trent, an overhead travelling crane in what was F&W's wood yard, a blue police box at the entrance to the embankment. At the bottom of Colliery Road there was a corner shop, I can still hear the bell ringing when you entered or left.

A few events that also stick in my mind:- A real robbery on a dark and foggy night at the Toll Bridge and watching the Forest bus come along Queens Drive with the FA cup in 1959. Not sure of the year of the robbery?

I do remember that you could walk from this area around the back of the old colliery and past the "gun factory" to a railway bridge next to the midland line at Lenton. It was a sort of rough passageway flanked by concrete panelled walls. Whenever we went down that way we were warned "not to talk to strangers"..... My own Father has told me that he remembers a stick of German bombs dropping into the river near here, one did not explode and was never found...

Smiffy

[Cliff Ton 10,464]

Robert Clifton, Not sure if it still there, but I remember there was a statue of him positioned just past the embankment gates adjacent to the toll bridge (we called it the ha'penny bridge).

Still there, but currently surrounded by tram works.

And there are a few references and repeats on the subject in this thread http://nottstalgia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5022&page=3 from #44 onwards

[Bilboro-lad 294]

It looks like he's pinched some of that building rubble and is hiding it behind his back. I bet he thought he'd get away with it.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I lived down Briar Street just before Walsall Conduits Warehouse was built, I don't recall a shop on the corner at the end of Colliery Road, Hawthorne Street, but there was one on the corner of Briar Street, general grocer. There was also Annie Keelings off license on the corner of Briar St and Bosworth Road opposite a pub on the other corner.

[Smiffy49 590]

Could be wrong as it's a long time ago, but as I remember it the shop was at the end of Colliery Road at the junction with Briar Street. Can't remember exactly which side of the road it was on or if this was classed as Briar Street or Colliery Road, but it was where the two met up.

We were sent on "errands" to this shop as it was only a quick sprint to the corner with the instructions that if it was closed we should turn right down Briar Street to the other shop at the Bosworth Road junction. I can remember Walsall Conduits being built too, but can't remember what was there before?? My Dad has told me about a funfair situated somewhere near to the Cremorne pub during the war. During a raid a bomb dropped somewhere near and someone was blown over the top of the houses from this fairground.

Smiffy

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Pre Walsall Conduits, it was waste land, Colliery road went past Briar Street and ended with Hawthorne Street.

I think there's some photos of the corner shop you're on about on Picture The past site.

I started my apprenticeship with the NCB when I still lived off Briar Street, a terrace opposite the Hosene Works.

Shortly after I'd started with the NCB my parents moved us to Kirke-White Street East, so after my basic training, I had quite a walk to Clifton Colliery, where I worked right up to closure in 1968, then it was off to Cotgrave every shift.

[Cliff Ton 10,464]

This might answer a few questions - from the 1920s. The site of Walsall Conduits seems to have been a laundry.

This is from the 1950s, probably closer to your era ! Apologies for the lousy resolution, due to the Old Maps site being non-user-friendly these days. The Walsall Conduits site is a black blob here, but looking at the original I can tell you it says Nottingham & District Technical College, Wilford Bridge xxxx .........And to the left and below of the main building it says Laundry and Dye Works

[Smiffy49 590]

Lovely stuff !

My Grandparents lived at the point where it says LB on the maps. I will ask my Dad at the weekend about the shop to check my memory and also about the Laundry.

230 & 228 Wilford Road, these seem to be tram lines on the map (trolley buses when they lived there) they left around 1963?

Smiffy

[Cliff Ton 10,464]

And I'd forgotten it's just visible on Britain from Above.

Zooming in on that view, you get this.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Wow, that was a large piece of land when the laundry was on it, a lot of that land went when they upgraded the road to the Clifton Bridge.

The corner shop is visable too on the corner of Briar Street.