Mine-craft the Prequel: The Photographic Story of East Midlands Coal
Mine-Craft the Prequel: The Photographic Story of East Midlands Coal
The Mine-craft the Prequel coalmining heritage project ran from 1st August 2023 to 31st July 2024 and was a collaboration between Nottingham Trent University (project lead), the Coal Authority, Derbyshire Record Office and Mine2Minds Education. It focused on both the tangible and intangible heritage of the coal mining industry in the East Midlands. The project was funded by Institute for Knowledge Exchange Practice at Nottingham Trent University.
Coalmining Heritage photos workshop event at the Coal Authority. Photo Credit: Paul Fillingham
The tangible heritage focused mainly on the photographic collection of the Coal Authority at its Mansfield HQ, which comprises around 60,000 digitised images of which 13,000 are from the East Midlands.
All of the images are part of the National Archives (PRO COAL 80 collection) and date mainly from the 1950’s to the 1980s. These iconic images cover a wide range of coal industry subjects including the industrial process, working practices, mining equipment, people and social history.
Many of these photographs lacked full and accurate information (meta-data) and the project planned to gather relevant information from the last generation of East Midlands coal miners and their families.
Markham Colliery photos and Database at the South Derbyshire Mining Preservation Group.
The intangible part of the proposed project included the knowledge capture of the working process, the living language / terminology and the social history connected with the coalmining industry. The iconic coal images helped aid memory recall in order that mining memories were be recorded via oral testimony.
Mine-craft the Prequel project finale at Pleasley Pit – July 2024.
A main aim of the project was to try and make the Coal Authority collection of coal images more accessible to a wider audience both on-line, in former coal communities and as an educational resource. Project workshops were held at Teversal Trails Visitors Centre, Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre, Snibston Colliery and Mansfield Library. A project finale was held at Pleasley Pit in July 2024 at which the Pleasley Pit Mining Museum digital trail was launched.
Mine-craft the Prequel project booklet – published September 2024.
A project booklet was produced to compliment the website posts. 200 copies were distributed at the coalmining heritage sites and to people who had participated in the project.
Mine-craft the Prequel project Case Studies
The project focused on six case studies all of which had significant anniversaries in 2023. These were Markham Colliery (closed 1993), Snibston Colliery (closed 1983), Whitwick Colliery (125th anniversary of the 1898 mining disaster), the Nottinghamshire Miners Gala (last one 1983), Pleasley Colliery (150th anniversary of sinking and 40th anniversary of closure) and Silverhill Colliery (officially closed 1993).
Markham Colliery – North Derbyshire Coalfield
Details of the Markham Colliery case study at https://miningheritage.co.uk/markham-colliery/
Markham Colliery, North Derbyshire in 1972. Photo Credit: Coal Authority
Coal face at Markham Colliery, North Derbyshire. Photo Credit: Coal Authority
Snibston Colliery – Leicestershire Coalfield
Details of the Snibston Colliery case study at https://miningheritage.co.uk/snibston-colliery/
Snibston Colliery, Coalville, Leicestershire, in 1973. Photo Credit: Coal Authority
Snibston miners loading up an hydraulic coalface support (chock) for transporting. Photo Credit: Coal Authority
Whitwick Colliery 1898 disaster – Leicestershire Coalfield
Details of the Whitwick Colliery disaster case study at https://miningheritage.co.uk/whitwick-colliery-mining-disaster-1898/
Whitwick Colliery 1898 mining disaster. Photo Credit: Coal Authority
Former Whitwick miner and pitman poet, Roger Cornish (left) and Stuart Warburton, Snibston Heritage Trust (right) at the Whitwick Colliery 1898 disaster memorial in 2024. Photo by David Amos
Nottinghamshire Miners Gala
Details of the Nottinghamshire Miners Gala case study at https://miningheritage.co.uk/nottinghamshire-miners-galas/
Nottinghamshire Miners Gala in the 1960’s. Photo Credit: Coal Authority
Nottinghamshire Miners Gala procession 1960’s, animation by Neil Pledger (Miner2Major project).
Pleasley Colliery – North Derbyshire Coalfield
Details of the Pleasley Colliery case study at https://miningheritage.co.uk/pleasley-colliery/
Pleasley Colliery, NCB North Derbyshire Area. Photo Credit: Coal Authority
Replica colliery stable at the preserved Pleasley Pit, 2023. Photo Credit: David Amos
Pleasley Pit Digital Trail
The Pleasley Colliery case study created a coalmining heritage digital trail around the preserved Pleasley pit site as part of the My Trails initiative by Mine2Minds Education. https://mytrail.co.uk/location-pleasley-pit/
Silverhill Colliery – Nottinghamshire Coalfield
Details of the Silverhill Colliery case study at https://miningheritage.co.uk/silverhill-colliery/
Silverhill Colliery, NCB North Nottinghamshire Area.
Special thanks go to Prof Natalie Braber, Nottingham Trent University, the Coal Authority (now called the Mining Remediation Authority), Chad Newspaper, Paul Fillingham (Thinkamigo), Dr Robert Bradley, Alan Batterham & the Silverhill Mining Memorial Group, David Reason, Adrian Hickling, Peter Thompson, Teversal Trails Visitors Centre, Snibston Heritage Trust, Stuart Warburton, Roger Cornish, Richard Allen, Ian Chambers, Gillian Smith, Chris Matchett, Kevin Kew, Markham Vale Heritage Group, Terry Butler, Peter Short, Roy Palmer, Miner2Major project, Nev Buckle, Tony Hursthouse & Friends of Pleasley Pit, and the Pleasley Pit Trust.
Posted by Mining Heritage admin
Original post – 12th August 2023
Updated 14th November 2025.