Searching for a former coal mine
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- čas přidán 13. 05. 2021
- Hello and welcome to another video!
This week we are in north west Leicestershire, searching for a former coal mine known as Lount colliery.
This day and age, the colliery, that was opened in 1924, and closed in 1968, is a beautiful nature reserve.
It was actually one of the last collieries to be sunk in the area, because the area itself had been mined for centuries before hand, and this was actually started as a bit of a "mop up job" to remove coal that had been previously untouched.
I also couldn't come to this area without a revisit the Newbold Tunnel, which was designed by the great Robert Stephenson in 1833. The Tunnel, which was a horse drawn tramway, was made redundent in the 1870's, but then in 1924, when the Lount colliery was sunk, they needed to use the tunnel to transport coal to the nearby Derby and Ashby branch railway.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this video! Cheers, Steve x
Interesting video steve
Thank you Paul. And thanks for watching.
Another very interesting video Steve. I love finding out about our local history so keep them coming :o)
Thank you very much! We have a lot of it round here
Must be part of the Whitwick and Snibston mines that how close they are, I’ve work down Whitwick and Snibston, these may even stretch out towards Desford, Merry Lees, which are are on the fringe of Bagworth, Ellistown and South Leics. Collieries. South Leics was a very wet pit, I can remember wadding through water up to my knees in some areas.
Generally the Leicestershire coal field wasn’t very big so there could be connections all over, the odd one out which didn’t know which area it was in was Asfordby.
We love a walk around new lount nature reserve, fab bit of history on our doorstep.
Thank you...it's a wonderful reserve these days.
Keep em coming Steve...got part one lined up for Saturday night!
Cheers mate! You'll be sorted for next week as well now!
That could be the actuall mine shaft now filled in of course with the rails coming up to it with the headgear aswell
Love your intro including the raspberry for us all
I'm a very random, daft lad lol
brilliant steve mate lount colliery
Thank you david
Narrow gauge railway were usually used internally at collieries for the coal tubs then transferred to wide gauge railway
Thanks steve great video again 👏🏻
Thank you mate! It's you lot the keep me out there making them!
Them narrow gauge line would have been for the tubs they loaded coal in if u follow em should take u to the shaft lol
Too bad that us in the United States do not really have that much that is that old,but 1800s is just last week for you all,thanks for sharing,love the videos 😊
Thank you Mike. It's great to know that people across the pond are watching these videos to. Yes, we are lucky over here, with the amount of history that we have left to explore, although I would love to go and explore the states some day! Thanks for watching.
Nice video, this describes pretty much where I live. I'd like to point out a couple of observations which I find problematic with our historical mining narrative. If you've ever visited a old slate mine you'll recall how remnants of slate still litter the ground and it's obvious what was mined because the evidence is everywhere. In this video we find brick buildings, railway tracks, and concrete hard standing but what we don't see and yet was supposedly prevalent enough to sustain two centuries of industrial activity, is a single piece of coal. This is the exact situation where I live and I cannot reconcile how finding nothing, fits.
Thank you...yes, your absolutely right, I've had the same conversation before. The only place I can think of off the top of my head, is south Leicester Colliery at Ellistown, which has pretty much all gone, but the only bit of evidence is the slag heaps of waste that remain, no real legit coal as it were. It is strange. As you say, if you were to go to a slate place, you would see a lot of it still there.
Good morning me ol' china. Good vid but once again none of us have a foo-king clue lol ;-)
I know I know...neither do I lol
A up mate, you just commented on my latest vid, but I've deleted it due to issues as you've noticed, ill try and get it uploaded again mate
Steve, I might be wrong so I'm willing to be corrected on this, but from what I've read neither this Newbold tunnel, nor the Coleorton tunnel further down the line were the work of Robert Stephenson. He engineered the Leicester to Swannington Railway (completed 1833), but that ended at the base of the Swannington incline further to the south, which is also where Stephenson's involvement ended (I think).
This 2 1/2 mile section that includes these tunnels was a different line known as the Coleorton Railway. It connected Stephenson's Leicester - Swannington Railway (at the south end) to the Cloud Hill branch of the Ashby Canal Tramway (at the north end). This was a project driven forward primarily by Sir George Beaumont who owned collieries in Coleorton and Peggs Green, and he wanted an extension of the Leicester - Swannington Railway to serve his collieries. However, the plans were taken even further north beyond that to link with the Ashby Canal Tramway, so as to also serve the interests of other parties already using the Ashby tramway - Sir George Crewe for his Ticknall Limeworks, the Earl of Stamford and Warrington for his Cloud Hill Quarry, and Lord Ferrers mine in Staunton Harold.
The section plans of the Coleorton Railway were drawn up by Samuel Green, the engineer was William Dicken (not Stephenson) and the contractors who built it and the two tunnels were messrs Nowell & Son. It was completed in 1835, two years after Stephenson's Leicester - Swannington line opened.
Despite officially being called a railway, with standard gauge (4ft 8 1/2in) edge rail track, it was always a horse drawn tramway and never saw steam engines. It was basically isolated from steam engines because of the incline at the south end, and also the fact that the Ashby Tramway at the north end was also horse drawn, but ran on 4ft 2in gauge L-shaped plateway. Because of this the two tramways didn't directly connect, but ran alongside each other for a short distance and loads were transferred across from one to the other.
The Coleorton Railway (tramway) survived for around 40 years, but closed when the Derby to Ashby Railway replaced the Ashby Canal Tramway in 1874 (when the Worthington to Ashby section of the line opened).
The small section serving New Lount Colliery through Newbold tunnel was re-opened (using steam engines) in 1928, and closed in 1968.
I don't mean to sound like I'm criticising. A great video like all your others.
Good comment...you may be right about the newbold tunnel actually. I know 100% about nowell and sons contractors, they did a lot of canal work before the railways. The coleorton railway, yes, never seen steam loccos untill 1924 when lount opened. I may actually be going in glenfield tunnel soon
@@LeiceExplore Cheers Steve. Reading Mike Christensen's book The Melbourne Military Railway part 2, he says that although Lount Colliery first opened in 1924, the railway spur to it didn't open until 1928. Again, sorry if it sounds like I'm being a pedantic so and so, I'm really not. You do ask for people's comments so I'm just thinking I'm helping. Cheers.
@@johnbillett8233 I did know that but didn't point it out lol...I looked at the old maps
Were is my vid? have you got the Clangers move into that spot on your loaf of bread herb pmsl ;-)
Bloody hell spawn you've had a vid this weekend lol!!! The funny thing is I'm literally just editing one that I didn't plan on making today, so you'll have summat to rant at later lol
@@LeiceExplore good show ol boy keep up the good work ;-) x
@@spawnofwessex128 I reckon you've been on the fookin source me lad!!!!
@@LeiceExplore £160 a bottle Brandy LOVELY HERBERTX
@@spawnofwessex128 OMG LOL!!!
What is that on your 'ed son, wouldnt want be with in ten miles of that when it blows, it's like mount Vesuvius and that took out 2000 in Pompeii, back in the day pmsl ;-) x
It now has national park status, I may do a Noseh there, and give myself a rollakin for trespassing lol
@@LeiceExplore I would put a cable car on that and charge people to go skiing, Nev could be a rescue dog lmfao ha ha ;-) X
@@spawnofwessex128 Although that is a great idea, it has now shrunk lol...but I still have my snout! That's like a ski ramp, and ain't going anywhere soon! Lol
@@LeiceExplore Come on be honest, the fire brigade lanced it with a supertanker, becauce it was flight hazard resembling Bleaklow moor lol ;-) .
@@spawnofwessex128 lol...effin ell spawny, what is this? National Tek the hit and miss outta Steve pickers forred day or summat! Lol