Having been bred from collier stock and growing up smack bang in the middle of the Warwickshire coal field it is little wonder I developed an interest in the coal industry. I can trace colliers in my family up to five generations ago, in the small pit villages around County Durham. I have a hazy recollection of being taken to Easington Colliery as a small child to meet elderly relatives in back to back houses, virtually in the shadow of Easington pit.
As asylum fever swept through the UE scene in 2005 - 06 there were very few people taking any notice of the epic industry that was around at that time. I owe a great debt to @Dave W & @Joe. who were there at the very early days battering this stuff. My first coal related explore was with them at the Selby Complex... I was hooked...
Over the next few years Turk and I drove to every scrap of the coal industry that we cold find. It became a bit of an obsession to try and capture what remained before it was all gone. Other than the few mining museums dotted around it became apparent that little of the industry would end up preserved (as we have recently seen at Snibston even the structures that were retained are not guaranteed to be around forever.)
The recent round of closures marks the end of an iconic industry. While it's been fantastic to see some new sites, one cannot help feeling a tinge of sadness, not just for the industry and the workers, but also that there will be very little to see in the future... no new headstocks to climb, no lamp rooms to rummage in. This is the last of the last.
So, below are a few images from the past decade's efforts. I've just been playing at it in comparison to Dave and Joe, but none the less I am reasonably proud of what I managed to get to see...
First colliery explore with Dave and Joe...
My first headstock, Pleasley colliery 2006.
A rare treat for me, tiled engine hall at Penallta
Shot firer's canister
Kiveton baths, a little seen jem which was demolished a few years ago...
Rossington, in my opinion the most attractive headstocks
As asylum fever swept through the UE scene in 2005 - 06 there were very few people taking any notice of the epic industry that was around at that time. I owe a great debt to @Dave W & @Joe. who were there at the very early days battering this stuff. My first coal related explore was with them at the Selby Complex... I was hooked...
Over the next few years Turk and I drove to every scrap of the coal industry that we cold find. It became a bit of an obsession to try and capture what remained before it was all gone. Other than the few mining museums dotted around it became apparent that little of the industry would end up preserved (as we have recently seen at Snibston even the structures that were retained are not guaranteed to be around forever.)
The recent round of closures marks the end of an iconic industry. While it's been fantastic to see some new sites, one cannot help feeling a tinge of sadness, not just for the industry and the workers, but also that there will be very little to see in the future... no new headstocks to climb, no lamp rooms to rummage in. This is the last of the last.
So, below are a few images from the past decade's efforts. I've just been playing at it in comparison to Dave and Joe, but none the less I am reasonably proud of what I managed to get to see...
First colliery explore with Dave and Joe...
My first headstock, Pleasley colliery 2006.
A rare treat for me, tiled engine hall at Penallta
Shot firer's canister
Kiveton baths, a little seen jem which was demolished a few years ago...
Rossington, in my opinion the most attractive headstocks