In our last episode, you watched us breach one of the most complete mining collieries
in Europe, entering the grandest building on site and climbing one of the impressive
headstocks.
However, there was too many structures to see in one day, so we aimed to come back as
soon as we could to experience more of the historical site.
One week later we are back at the immense compound, ready to continue searching for
lost remnants of British industry that make the mine so special.
Although there were some changes to our entry from the previous visit, we found our way
onsite much more efficiently this time.
It might be hard to see through the claustrophobic foliage, but there are buildings surrounding
us, and soon enough we find an access point to one of them.
This one roomed building is very important as it would have pushed the oxygen into the
deep level shafts, so the miners could breathe fairly comfortably.
Above the tree line you can make out the curved tunnel that would transport the air downwards
with this blue fan generating it’s movement.
With no time to spare, we headed to one of the largest structures in the grounds, the
locomotive shed, which happened to require a comedy entrance.
The
property consisted of two massive rooms with increasing levels of decay, mainly for storage
and maintenance.
Though very interesting, our focus quickly adhered to a large shape that suddenly flew
over our heads.
With the owl endangering itself due to the smashed glass in the windows of the warehouse,
we were seriously debating calling the RSPCA.
Just then, it managed to escape through the roof and we didn’t see it again, so hopefully
it is still living now.
As we stated in part 1 of this lengthy exploration, the colliery shut in the late 1970s, and became
a museum not long after.
The reason why many surface buildings still boast their machinery is because it was restored
to it’s original condition.
The museum wanted to show a realistic portrayal of a functional coal mine and it’s workers,
so the public could see most of the unique properties on site.
At the beginning, it operated well with a peak of 70,000 visitors a year.
Following some safety hazards in the early 90s, involving the deep level regions of the
shafts that were open for viewing, the museum was placed in liquidation and was closed in
the same year.
It is sad that a scheme that wanted to save the heritage of the property failed and even
the restored machines and structures have degraded back to a deteriorated state.
This was a small workshop to treat broken or rundown mine carts.
It appears that the locomotive shed has received some of the most natural decay off all of
the buildings, with fully grown trees developed inside.
Next up on our hit list was one of the reasons we had been so enticed by the site, a totally
intact mine cart track that sits away from the majority of
the complex.
Carts would have been lifted upwards from the shafts by the largest headstock on site
to move around this circuit, depositing their coal into collection.
One of the most intriguing parts of the mine is the unexpected amount of buildings on site
for what you might consider a simple process.
So much horsepower or electricity was necessary for everything
to function.
'Coal - the most important fuel in use today.
Great Britain has the richest coal seams in the world and this basic wealth played a major
part in industrial expansion.
More and more seams were opened up below the countryside and around the mines, Britain's
industries and towns converged.
After 200 years of enterprise, Britain had world markets for the coal.
At home in the industrial areas, there were 3000 coal mines spread across the countryside.
These mines employed 1,250,000 men.
In Britain, there were coal mines, giant industries and busy towns, but all had been created with
little thought for the country as a whole, for it's social amenities.
But that's an old story, and now here's a new one.'
It was a gigantic part of industrial England to produce coal for the world, and this area
was where the process would come to an end.
Here, the blue contraptions would flip each cart upside down, emptying it’s contents
into a wagon below, more than likely the larger ones we saw earlier in the locomotive shed.
At the beginning of the first half of coverage we gave the site, you can see us walking underneath
this area, and you might also notice that there are larger tracks on the ground floor,
presumably where the large wagons would transport the coal to a safe storage location.
It was now time to ascend the tallest headstock in the colliery with the exposure providing
fierce winds to deal with the higher we got.
One of the final sections we wished to see was the facility part of the mine.
No machinery resides in here, as this was where the workers of the colliery could come
to eat, shower and collect their personal belongings after a long day below ground.
Immediately inside, we notice the excessive decay contrasted with old architecture in
the likes of Modernist era staircases combined with layers of peeled back paint.
We believe this structure was one of the newest built amidst the site, which doesn’t say
much as it was constructed sometime in the 1930s.
Upstairs were the corridors upon corridors of lockers, one of the only furnishings remaining
in the building.
The skylights above had allowed strong deterioration to take place in the hall, meaning that beautiful
colours had formed from years of neglect.
To contrast in the shower block next door, to prevent trespass the skylight had been
boarded shut, so the tiles remained in reasonable condition.
A final surprise laid downstairs: the canteen for the colliery.
Museum era signs were up making it seem that the space had been repurposed during that
period of time, yet the murals of coal-related iconography was great to see.
Following another full day inside the iconic site, it was time to take our leave.
The menu found in the canteen didn’t help as we had no food supplies so that was the
only thing on our minds as we headed out of the property.
Looking back on the exploration from Summer, it is a perfect example of the lack of care
through the general public for our history.
Even though the coal mine was restored, it failed to stay protected and at this stage,
I doubt any restoration could bring it back to the appearance it boasted during it’s
prime.
There is a pattern between the number of vacant industrial premises like this, and their listed
title.
With the funds our government has, structures like this should have been preserved rather
than being left to rot, which sadly is the the case time and time again.
Here are some of our photographs from the second visit to the massive, abandoned mining
colliery.
If you like the look of them, feel free to check out our Instagram and other social media
with the links below, where we post images of the places we visit months before they
are showcased on YouTube.
There is a small but architecturally stunning gem trapped in time in one of England’s
city centres.
With a failed restoration project, the building has been forced to decay and have it’s detail
break down and fall to the ballroom floor.
Thanks for watching our latest video!
Keep on the lookout for a giveaway as a thank you for 10,000 subscribers.
We will be speaking about it on our social media.
See you next time!