Hucknall pit

[plantfit 7,087]

I know most of you have probably seen this tribute to the Hucknall colliery miners but I thought it was worth posting all the same, unfortunately our coal heritage has all but gone and all thats left of the collieries as a reminder is usually a section of the old winding wheel stuck in the ground at what was the entrance to the colliery but i find this one a fitting tribute, any thoughts?

Rog

Thought you would be interested John

[mick2me 3,029]

I was not aware of this and live a few miles down the motorway from it.

How many more such similar items are there that we dont know about?

Thanks for the post Rog.

[Scriv 168]

Quite impressive; an imaginative change from the usual rusty coal-tubs and winding wheels.

Mind you, anything that helps to smarten Hucknall up would be a bonus!

[.... 23]

I took a visitor to the area on the tram last week and we got on at the Hucknall terminus. She remarked at what a fine tribute the statue was. I agree, I think it's a very smart monument to the town's former industry and happens to be in a fitting spot on the old site where people can now view it. I like it.

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

I found a few like that one on my searches Roger. I even found one dedicated to John Anderton that used to sit outside the Manchester NCB HQ. John Anderton was credited with the "invention" of the Anderton Power Loader, or as we know it today, the shearer.

I keep asking my Sister to take the short trip up Watnall Road to Eastwood and get me a few pics of Brinsley Colliery headstocks. Another tribute to the Erewash Valley miners. If you'd gone to Bestwood Village, you'd have seen the wrought iron headstocks and vertical winder of the old Bestwood Colliery.

[plantfit 7,087]

Ayup John, Not much doing around here today so if the missus agrees we'll have a drive over and get you some pictures

Rog

[Limey 240]

Blast - I could have got you a picture of Brinsley Headstocks the other week - drove past them several times going to and from my Aunt's. There is a decent photo of them HERE.

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

Yep, and all copyright Eric!! Much obliged Roger, DON'T reduce the file size when you email them to me, keep them as scanned or loaded in to your computer, helps me to size them for the web page without getting some horrible diagonal lines or crosshatching. Brinsley is set in a small park, the headstocks sit over the old shafts, capped of course, and was the pit DH Lawrence's Father worked down.

[Fynger 841]

Just up the road from us.

[mick2me 3,029]

There used to be a Pit where the American Adventure was.

Got some excellent shots of the Headstocks,

Cant find the images or remember the name of the place!

If In do I will let you have them.

[rob237 89]

Shipley/Shipley Hall...

Cheers

Robt P.

[Limey 240]

Shipley/Shipley Hall...

That's right - and in one to the best demonstrations of poetic justice I have ever come across, Shipley Hall, home of the Mundy family who owned many of the coal mines in the area, had to be demolished due to subsidence caused by their own mines!

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

I somehow think it won't be long before lots of Nottingham, city area and suburbs, start to show the effects of mining. Clifton, Wollaton, Radford and some long forgotten pits have old workings, albeit, bord and pillar, under most of the city and suburbs! All that water must be deteriorating the old workings by now. Some going back to the early 1800's!

[mick2me 3,029]

Shipley/Shipley Hall...

Nope that wasnt the name of the pit that I remember?

[.... 23]

If you'd gone to Bestwood Village, you'd have seen the wrought iron headstocks and vertical winder of the old Bestwood Colliery.

I went past there this afternoon and some good progress seems to be being made on the refurbishment up there. The headstocks look to have a new coat of paint on them and stand out quite well against the backdrop of the country park. Great to see this piece of local history getting the treatment.

[mick2me 3,029]

The reason the name sounded wrong can be seen in the Picture I just found on the net.

[plantfit 7,087]

Looks like the old headstocks at Bestwood are being renovated, got this shot on me way to Brinsley.

John can you PM me your email address so I can forward pics on?

Rog

[plantfit 7,087]

Headstocks at Brinsley as promised.

I've had a bit of a Nottstalgia weekend/easter, took Stu's advise and visited Eakring oil wells, took a few pics of Hucknall miner, nipped over again today for some pics of Bestwood and Brinsley headstock, also got some pics of Honeysuckle cottage (Cossall) and a headstone picture of a light infantry soldier who perished at Waterloo also at Cossall,

All in All a cracking weekend thanks to Nottstalgia and some of the most interesting topics on the net

Rog

[plantfit 7,087]

Don't know whether this is good new or not but, up at Cap house colliery (national coal mining museum) they are having meetings about using the pumped water from the mine to create energy, they say they pump over a million gallons of "warm" water from the mine either each day or each week to keep the mine open, some boffin from Holland say's it's possible to turn that water to good use by providing heating for the museum giving them a saving of around £100.000 per year, if successful it could be that all the old mines could be pumped that way giving them a new lease of life but in a different form to what we know.

Info from Radio 4 this afternoon on me way to Nottingham

Rog

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

There's a couple of ways to extract heat from both water and air Roger!!

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

Looks like the old headstocks at Bestwood are being renovated, got this shot on me way to Brinsley.

John can you PM me your email address so I can forward pics on?

Rog

I've ridden that shaft once during my underground training. We were taken on a visit to see a working face, the Cablebelt they had at Bestwood and other things. Our underground training was done at the Hucknall Number 1 colliery up Watnall Road next to RR.

[Ashley 288]

Our underground training was done at the Hucknall Number 1 colliery up Watnall Road next to RR.

Did you get the tale of "The Ghost of Windy Ridge" treatment?

One memento not mentioned so far is Calverton's, stuck right outside a council tip! along with a memorial to miner's who died there

As regards subsidence next time you go along Western Boulevard heading west between Aspley Lane and Nutthall Rd theres a house (no.595) "different" from the rest, used to be the same, till owners came back from holiday and found it had "turned into a bungalow"! the whole house dropping into a hole type of thing. Told built over a road or whatever from the old Newcastle pit, had to be pulled down and new one erected, also on that stretch of Boulevard just before houses start after the school can be seen route of the old mineral railway that ran from Newcastle, Babbo, Broxtowe etc pits to the canal at side of Crown Island

[Ayupmeducks 1,728]

No don't recall that one Ashley. There's was a lot of housing damage around Hucknall from the old Number 1 workings and I believe Gedling had a lot from active workings from Gedling colliery.

West Bridgeford, to the west side should be showing a fair amount fo subsidence from Cliftons workings by now! At least two seams were extracted under it.

There used to be evidence of Cliftons workings pretty close to Clifton Bridge on the south bank east side. One could see the "pattern" of a couple of longwall faces when upstairs on the bus in the farmland. Last face in Deep hard finished near Ruddington, old 12's with 10's on it's east side, then 52's and 53's in Tupton going under those at right angles.

[rob237 89]

As regards subsidence next time you go along Western Boulevard heading west between Aspley Lane and Nutthall Rd...

During the 50's, in pre-compensation days, several properties on Newlyn Drive (parallel with the above location) became badly affected by subsidence. Many of them were supported by huge beams, propped against side walls.

My Uncle lived in one such, and became so tormented by the phenomenon that he rapidly sold up, at a considerable loss.

Cheers

Robt P.

[Limey 240]

A little off-topic, but in line with the "Miner's Memorials" - give a thought for the families of 25 miners killed in West Virginia yesterday and a prayer for the four still missing that they might, by some giant stroke of luck, get out alive.