Click HERE to continue the history of Calverton Colliery
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Manager - Mr W.T. Elliott looking over plans
Visitors Document (1937-1978)
Archived by former Colliery Electrician,
Michael Buczko (press the picture to view)
Colliery Timeline:
1935 : Surface layout of the colliery designed by Geoffrey Jellicoe
1936 : Decision made to sink mine shaft in Calverton
1937 : An announcement is made by B.A. Collieries that it plans to have a coal mine at Calverton. They say the proposed mine should yield 100 million tonnes of coal. They also point out that men will be employed for over "125 years".
April : Road work and erection of temporary buildings
June 14 : Number 1 shaft - First sod cut by Captain C.B. Lancaster and Sir Hugh Seely
1938 : Proposal to build village to house mineworkers (500 houses)
February : Number 1 shaft reaches a depth of 64 yards
1939:
May 22 : Number 1 shaft final depth of 562 yards is reached
September : Baths, canteen and Lamp Cabin erected plus 22 houses near the pit
October : Housing estate of 500 houses proposed next to pit (Phase 2)
October/November : Number 1 shaft brought into operation for ventilation and manriding from Bestwood
In 1940 the architecture of the mine was published via a lovely pamphlet ----- view it by pressing here
1942 : Concert staged by ENSA in canteen
1944 :
December : Work started for sinking number 2 shaft and building a permanent winder and headgear
1945 :
February : Order placed for new winder with Messrs Fraser and Chalmers, Erith, Kent
April : Application made to LMS and LNER railways to supply railway service
May : Calverton borehole 1.25 miles east of shaft completed
1946 :
January 1 : Number 2 shaft, turf cutting ceremony hosted by Captain C.B. Lancaster. View Here
January 11: Miners arriving for work. View Here
January 12 : Start of second shaft
1947 : All U.K Collieries are nationalised and will now be run by the National Coal Board.
1950 : Underground drivages commenced in High Main Seam
August : Number 2 shaft has now reached a depth of 350 yards
1952 :
June 12 : Number 2 shaft, Final depth of 1688 ft reached at Top Hard Seam
September 24 : The mine is officially opened by Right Honourable Lord Leathers the Secretary of State for
Fuel and Power
1953 :
March : Main ventilation and skip winding equipment installed at Number 2 shaft - Also coal winding commenced from High Main (383 yards) at Number 2 shaft
September : First Longwall face opened out in North-Westerly direction
October : Second Longwall face commenced
1954 : Coal Preperation Plant commissioned early in the year
April 7: Visit by HRH Princess Margaret to see 9's Face. Click here for information.
Click here to download the visit of HRH Princess Margaret.
1956 :
June 18 : Russian mining engineers visit. Click here for information.
1957 : The mine currently employs 1332 people (1121 underground and 211 on the surface)
February : Installation on 41's coal face. This was the world's first full-face of self-advancing roof supports - Dowty Roofmasters. This was to revolutionise longwall coal mining.
June : Visit by Hugh Gaitskell
1960 : Davidson-Sirocco ventilation fan fitted
1961 : December : First million tonnes of coal produced in a year.
1968 :
February : Manager - Mr W.T. Elliott (above) departs from the colliery
September : Rapid loading Bunker completed
1969 : 600,000 pounds N.C.B. says is to be invested for new reserves.
1970 : Project began to develop Low Bright/Brinsley Seam
1972 :
September : Brinsley Seam - C1's face commenced
1973 :
November : Brinsley Seam - C2's face commenced
1975 : New Larger Baum Washboxes installed on the Coal Preperation Plant
March : Brinsley Seam - C4's face commenced
1977 :
December : Last production face in High Seam finished
1979 : 750 tonne surface bunker commissioned - Number 2 shaft has new headgear, pulley wheels and larger winding engine fitted and also its skip payload scheme is raised from 10.5 tonnes to 12.5
1980 :
January : Completion of the fitting of new ventilation fan and face drift
1982 : Now employs approximately 1500 men.
1988 : Given three months to improve performance, by British Coal, or face closure
1992 : Calverton Colliery, which now employs 749 men, along with 7 other Nottinghamshire mines, are to close British Coal announces. This coming in the same week that the pit broke the weekly production record of 40,500 tonnes.
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Colliers entering the cage going underground
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Shotfirer in action
At this time a documentary was made about the miners plight. It was filmed on location at Calverton. Press here to view the In the Black programme. Warning, these are miners working in extreme conditions so do not enter if swearing easily offends you.
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