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An advertisement in a 1928 newspaper read:
Thoresby Colliery, ‘a pit set amongst the silver birches’
Located in the heart of Sherwood Forest, Thoresby Colliery was the last Nottinghamshire colliery to be sunk by the former Bolsover Colliery Company between 1925-28.
It was the first pit in the country to be built with electric winding. The first pit without a chimney. In 1951, Thoresby became the first nationalised mine to exceed a million tons output in one year. One of the most productive and profitable coal mines in Europe for many years, in 1988 went on to produce two million tons in 43 working weeks.
During the early 1980s, Thoresby had a workforce of almost 1,500 men with the majority living in Edwinstowe, by 1994, the colliery workforce had reduced to 850, by 2008 just 40 out of a workforce of 500 had an Edwinstowe post code.
Friday July 10 2015, Thoresby was the last mine to be closed in the Nottinghamshire coalfield. The end of an era for the coal mine sunk amongst the birches of Sherwood Forest, known as a record breaking ‘Jewel in the Crown’.Record Producing Coal Mine,Commonly Referred To As "Big Hitters". Tribute includes an underground visit on October 1947 by Lord Field Marshall Montgomery. The first two shafts in 1925 were sunk to 690 metres (2,260 ft). The shafts were deepended by 109 metres (358 ft) in the 1950s. After privatization of the National Coal Board in the 1990s the mine was taken over by RJB Mining (later UK Coal as UK Coal Thoresby Ltd).
Coal seams worked by or available to the pit included the Top Hard seam, the Parkgate seam (after closure of Ollerton Colliery in 1994); the Deep Soft seam; and the High Hazels seam (working ceased 1983).On w.e. 9th July 1988 two more European records were broken at Thoresby (North Nottinghamshire), when the output soared to 64,453 tonnes for the week, with 61,718 tonnes from 147s ‘Grand Prix’ retreat face in the 2.3m thick Parkgate seam which retreated 75m or up to 20.2 miles of cutting with an AM17 double-ended shearer, the face panzer had Parsons chain twin inboard 26mm panzer chain. The face was equipped with a Pitcraft chainless haulage and IFS chocks and 400hp gear boxes at each end of the face and a 300hp motor.
In April 2014 it was announced that the pit would close July 2015. The colliery's 600 employees had been reduced to 360 by the time of the closure in July 2015. Sadly Thoresby Colliery recorded 47 fatalities During its 90 year history.
21 июн 2020
