| Entry Type | Corporate |
| Corporate Name | Mansfield Colliery |
| Parent Body | Bolsover Colliery Company (1904-1947) |
| National Coal Board (1947-1988) |
| Also Known As | Crown Farm Colliery |
| Crownie Colliery |
| Place | Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire |
| Epithet | coal mine |
| Dates | 1904-1988 |
| History | Mansfield colliery was located 2 miles outside of Mansfield on land that was first leased from the Duke of Portland in 1899. The pit was first sunk in 1904 and coal was found within a year. As it was located close to a farm known as Crown Farm, it was also nicknamed Crown Farm or Crownie Colliery in its early days of production. During this early period, it was once known for being one of the largest coal producing mine in the country. It's daily output by 1909 had risen to nearly 5,000 tons. It worked the Top Hard coal seam. Onsite railway sidings connected the site to the Midland Railway's Mansfield to Southwell district line. A signalbox was specifically built for these sidings in 1906. In 1936, pithead baths were constructed to provide onsite washing facilites for workers, alongside a canteen offering light refreshments. A washery was also built at the same time. The nearby pit village of Forest Town was provided for the workers. The village included churches, a school and shops. Some of the sports provided included hockey and bowls. A miner employed by Mansfield Colliery by the name of T. Taylor became a county champion in table tennis in the 1920s. Trams were provided to take the miners to work and for those who preferred to cycle, bicycle storage was provided. There was also a nearby mines rescue station, which served not just Mansfield Colliery, but also many other colleries in the Nottinghamshire coalfield. The colliery was taken over by the National Coal Board in 1947 during the nationalisation of the coal industry. It closed in 1988. |
| Key Events | 1904: Pit sunk
1905: Coal reached
1936: Construction of pithead baths, canteen and washery
1947: Nationalisation
1988: Closed |
| Source | Mansfield Colliery', http://www.miningheritage.co.uk/mansfield-colliery-30th-anniversary-of-closure/#:~:text=Mansfield%20Colliery%20was%20known%20locally,in%20the%20North%20Nottinghamshire%20coalfield.
Bolsover Colliery Company Limited, Bolsover: Jubilee Souvenir, 1889-1939 (1939)
Bolsover Colliery Company Limited, Bolsover: The Company and its Coal (1940)
Bolsover Colliery Company Limited, The Monthly News: A Social Magazine for the Employees of the Bolsover Colliery Company Limited, no 5 (May 1923)
Bridgewater, A. N., North Derbyshire Collieries (2009) https://www.aditnow.co.uk/documents/Doe-Lea-Coal-Mine/North20Derbyshire20Collieries20Small20Update.pdf
Marples, P., 'Mansfield (Crown Farm Colliery)', Our Mansfield & Area, https://www.ourmansfieldandarea.org.uk/content/topics/business/industry/mining/mansfield-crown-farm-colliery-2
Weiss, M., Coal Mines Remembered 2 (2011) |
| Authorised Form of Name | Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire; Mansfield Colliery; 1904-1988; coal mine |
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