Clipstone or Mansfield

These photograph were given me sometime ago, and they were marked as ‘Crownie’ photos 1952. It has since been suggested they are of Clipstone Colliery, can anyone confirm this, or add more information about each photo?

No 1
No 2
No 3
No 4
No 5

Comments about this page

  • Sherwood pit had a winding room like that in pic 3 but it is not it. My stepfather Len Fisher was a winder at Sherwood during the 1960’s and 70’s. As a boy I would take his snap to him as we only lived a couple of hundred yards from the winding house at 3a Sherwood Drive. No one ever stopped me walking through the pit yard. I remember the winding engines well, huge, beautiful steam ones that Len kept in tip top condition and the strong smell of grease and oil. He sat on a high chair rather than the low one in the picture and operated the engines with a lever and foot pedal. The sound and sight of the wheels begining to revolve and pick up speed was quite frightening when I first visited but he operated them with such skill, one man, hauling men and machinery using steam, wire and steel, it really was impressive. He would watch a large clock type face and govern the power to match the indicator as it moved around the dial showing where the cage was in the shaft. In between winding he would go round the engine with a oil can and a rag, and sometimes a tin with oil and a brush in it. 

    By Glenn Sutcliffe (12/06/2017)
  • Photo 1 is definitely the winding engineman. The controls he is sitting at are for a Koepe winder (as opposed to a drum winder) and therefore it must be Clipstone and not Crownie.

    By Eric Hill (30/05/2013)
  • The reason I ask is that I have a member of my family history (John Fareham) who was a banks man at clipstone colliery and had the misfortune, in 1956, of falling down the shaft due to a fault with the cage platform. I was wondering if this man pictured could be doing the same job as he did.

    By Caz Harris (23/05/2013)
  • He was possibly the most trusted man at the pit Caz, the Winding Engine Driver, responsible for getting the cages up and down the shaft without any drama or heart stopping moments!

    By Berisford Jones (23/05/2013)
  • The man in the photo was a winder who operated the engine that powered the cages in the shaft. A banksman was the person who supervised the loading / unloading of the cage at pit top level with either people or materials.

    By STEPHEN WALKER (23/05/2013)
  • What job would the man in picture 1 be doing?

    By Caz Harris (22/05/2013)
  • Sherwood was still on steam until mid to late eighties before converting to electric. Not really strange that winding engines were steam driven, after all it was coal that was mined at these pits.

    By Andy Bennett (03/05/2013)
  • I think you are correct there Joe, certainly looks like something to do with the winding engines. Looking at your Mansfield Colliery comment puts me in mind of a local colliery ‘tour’ I did in the very early 70’s to look at the remaining steam winders. There were a few but the only location I remember for sure is Ollerton. Blidworth also, but I can’t be 100%. Looking back it seems strange that (if the 1951 Mansfield date is correct) so many pits kept their steam winders so late?

    By Berisford Jones (30/12/2012)
  • I’m sure these are pictures showing the demolition of Clipstone Collierys old steam winders in preperation for all electric motor generator sets.

    By Joe (25/12/2012)
  • Pictures 2 and 4 were definitely Clipsone pit, I used to live on Intake road in the prefabs’ at number 20

    By Harry Hall (29/08/2012)
  • Pics 2 and 4 are definitely Clipstone I lived in the prefabs on Intake Rd from 1954 when I was born, to 1966 when we moved to the new houses. Intake Rd is clearly seen.

    By barry heath (20/08/2012)
  • No4 is also Clipstone, the canteen, baths & medical centre clearly visible with the main road in front running past. Note also the prefabs in the background. Not sure if they were built by the Bolsover company but they did last a long time!

    By Berisford Jones (15/07/2011)
  • Pic 2 is definitely Clipstone Colliery, you can confirm this on the aditnow.co.uk website which has masses of info and pictures of collieries up and down all of Britain

    By John P (12/07/2011)

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