Colliery exploratory: Thoresby

In July Thoresby became the UK's third-last deep colliery to close.

Shafts were first sunk in 1925, then deepened in the 1950s to make way for access to more seams. At this time nearby Cockglode House was demolished and buried under the pit top. Exotic plant species can be found in the remaining parts of Cockglode Wood, a legacy of the Victorian gardener.

The pit produced up to 100,000t of coal per week, making profits of £50m a year. Following privatisation in the 1990s, ownership transfered from British Coal to RJB Mining, then UK Coal, before closure this year.

The clear up is ongoing. The site is covered in slime which is precarious to walk on. In an adjacent wood a British Coal sign reads "Tip restoration experiment utilising digested sewage cake & digested liquid sludge" - wellies are recommended.

Must be a victim of anionic solution in the chemical dosing tank.

The headstocks are simlar to those at Hatfield. Having climbed the concrete clad one there, it was decided to head to this one.

Conveyor shop / fitting shop

Primary target

Up we go

A grease covered metal grille blocks access to the very top.

At this point somebody shouted and a dog barked - it was time to descend.

Thanks for viewing!

Colliery exploratory: Hatfield

Hatfield's first deep shafts were sunk during WW1 by the Hatfield Main Colliery Company.

Ownership transferred to the Carlton Main Colliery Company in 1927 before it became part of the National Coal Board in 1947, closing under British Coal ownership in 1993. Hatfield Coal Company announced plans to reopen a year later and though it made a profit in its first year of operation, it eventually closed in 2001.

In the same year RJB Mining took over - its parent company Coalpower had plans to build a power station but problems led to Coalpower going into administration and closure in 2004.

Buoyed by rising coal prices, mining resumed under Powerfuel in 2006, who had plans for a carbon capture and storage power station which unfortunately also ran into problems and saw Powerfuel go into administration in 2010.

In December 2013 the employee-led Hatfield Colliery Partnership Limited bought the mine with plans to move production to a new pit face, but 18 months later factors such as "low coal price, a switch to renewable energy and large coals stocks" (BBC) saw it cease again, with HCPL wound up earlier this month.

An exploratory seemed appropriate.

Most main buildings seemed sealed but it was possible to inspect some of the machinery, conveyor belts and a headstock.

These belts would take coal away from the pit to be taken away by lorries or rail via the track further left.

Interesting switch box in the left-hand building above.

Headstock 1 seemed to have been the best maintained.

Everything here is covered in grease.

Including the steep stairs.

No. 2 Winding House - to be looked into.

That's all for now, thanks for viewing!

Exploring Sheffield part 2 of 2: Cannon Brewery

William Stones took the lease of the Neepsend Brewery in 1868 and renamed it Cannon Brewery, from where Stones Bitter was brewed.

Rebuilt in 1962, Bass took over in 1968 and in the 1970s and 1980s the Stones brand became one of the UK's most recognised.

As cask conditioned ale declined in popularity, Bass closed the brewery 1999 and it has remained vacant since.

The visit took in the 5 story brewhouse, an on-site underground pub (The Pig & Whistle), extensive cellars which run under the yard and various offices and stores.

Brewhouse

Yard

One of the roofs

The Pig & Whistle on-site pub 

Some kind of stores area

There's some excellent graffiti on display - the site is a hidden art gallery and living museum rolled into one.

coLor

coLor

Coloquix

Photographs below courtesy Amnesiac_radar.

Phlegm

Eugene Booms

Coloquix

?

?

coLor

Finally with a YouTube video of part of the tour:

Exploring Sheffield part 1 of 2: Firth Brown Medical Centre

The north east side of Sheffield was, and to an extent still is the heart of its steel industry.

The areas of Burngreave, Brightside, Darnall, Attercliffe, Newhall, Neepsend, Carbrook, Grimesthorpe, Meadowhall, Wincobank and Tinsley were full of big factories that must have made for a striking landscape in the industry's heyday.

Two extant works in Brightside: Firth Vickers (left) and Forgemasters (right)

One of the foremost companies was Firth Brown Steels, which occupied the Atlas & Norfolk works between Carlisle Street and Saville Street East / Brightside Lane, plus the Vickers Works (armaments) and Staybrite Works near Meadowhall, recently demolished.

It played a key role in the development of Stainless Steel and made products for the rail and shipbuilding industries.

The Atlas Works (shown in the old map below) was demolished in the 1980s, however one section remains, perhaps because it served as a WW2 air raid shelter for the works and nearby school and was bomb proof and hard to knock down.

1948

2014

It was a Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) during the war and continued for some time afterwards as a medical centre for the steel works, though it's not clear for how long.

Now it is shielded by a long wall and has a car park on top. Adjacent there is another building, maybe part of the same unit, but that one seems well sealed and filled.

Inside there are several rooms with furniture and relics such as fire extinguishers and empty cordial bottles.

One room has to be accessed via a hole in a wall that has been smashed through - one wonders whether there could be more to this murky space.

Newspaper dated April 1940

Photos courtesy Amnesiac_radar:

Thanks for reading, and if anyone has any more detailed information on this centre, do get in touch as I'd be interested in learning more.