Fig 1: Moorgreen Colliery, near Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, in the early 1980’s. Photo Credit: MuBu Miner collection.

‘What’s Grayn’er than Gray’n? – Moorgray’n’: Moorgreen Colliery, 40th anniversary of closure.

“What’s Grayn’ er than Grayn – Moorgray’n!” was the local dialect saying which translated means “What’s Greener than Green – Moorgreen!”  Forty years ago, on 19th July 1985, Moorgreen Colliery, the last Eastwood pit, closed after one-hundred and twenty years. Along with the nearby Pye Hill Complex, which was to close a few weeks later, it brought deep coalmining on the old exposed coalfield of the Erewash Valley on the Nottinghamshire /Derbyshire border to an end.

Fig 2: Barber Walker & Co Ltd – The Colliery Year Book & Coal Trades Directory 1935.

Barber Walker and Co. Ltd.

Barber Walker and Co Ltd came into being in 1787, prior to this both families had a vested interest in coalmining in the Erewash Valley & around Bilborough with other business partners. The Barber family resided at Lamb Close House whilst the Walkers lived at Eastwood Hall (see Blog at  https://miningheritage.co.uk/eastwood-hall-the-walker-family-dynasty/  A ‘coach road’ connected the two family residences, parts of which still exists today.

Fig 3: Moorgreen Colliery in the early 20th century.

The advent of the industrial revolution in the mid-19th century and the need for more coal to fuel it saw the coal industry around Eastwood expand significantly. Moorgreen Colliery was one of several significant sinkings by the Company in the 1860-1875 period which would lay the foundations of the coal-industry locally for the next century. High Park, a state of the art colliery at the time, was sunk in 1860, followed by Moorgreen in 1865, Watnall in 1871, the redevelopment of Brinsley Colliery in 1872 and finally Selston Colliery (Underwood) in 1875. In the 1890’s manpower at the five collieries totalled 2,750, broken down as follows; Selston (Underwood) 450, Brinsley 300, Moorgreen 800, High Park 700 and Watnall 500.

Fig 4: Barber Walker Co collieries at Vesting Day, 1st January 1947.

Later in the early 20th century, Barber Walker Co. would expand its operations into the South Yorkshire coalfield at Bentley and Harworth collieries. Interestingly, at the time of the run up to nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947, two more Barber Walker collieries were planned on the South Yorkshire / North Nottinghamshire border which never came to fruition. (Fig 4).

Fig 5: 250 Years in Coal: The History of the Barber Walker and Co Ltd

Following nationalisation of the British coalmining industry in 1947, the Barber Walker Company was finally wound up in 1954 and it was left to the senior colliery surveyor, G.C.H. Whitelock, to write the company’s history. ‘250 Years in Coal: The History of the Barber Walker and Co Ltd’ was published as a limited edition in 1956. A copy of this rare book in the early 21st century will set you back in the region of £400!

Fig 6: Moorgreen records breakers in 1964. Photo Credit – MuBu Miner collection

Moorgreen Colliery – NCB days

Along with Selston and Pye Hill collieries, which became the Pye Hill Complex, Moorgreen was the last operating colliery in the former NCB East Midlands Division No.5 Area. At ‘Vesting Day’, No.5 Area had eighteen operating collieries, but following the closure programme between the late 1950’s and 1970 only the Pye Hill Complex and Moorgreen remained in production on the old exposed coalfield.

There was a strong ‘Derbyshire influence’ at the pit as many miners ended up working there as the No.5 Area contracted. In the 1960’s many transferred from pit to pit in a short time and became known as ‘Industrial Gypsies’. The dialect was ‘thee’s and thou’s’ as DH Lawrence had noted earlier in the century. Locally they were referred to as being from ‘over the brook’ i.e. Derbyshire. In the 1913 novel, Sons and Lovers, Moorgreen was referred to as Minton Colliery.

Fig 7: Moorgreen coal face in the 1970’s with a Trepanner coal cutting machine. Photo Credit – MuBu Miner collection

Maximum manpower of 1,719 was in 1953 with record production of 1,058,420 tons of coal being achieved in 1963. Locally collieries at High Park and Lodge closed and merged with Moorgreen as part of rationalisation in the coal industry in the 1950’s. In 1956, the surface drift was equipped with a 42 inch cable belt with a capacity of 550 to 600 tons per hour. By 1975, drifts (inclined roadways) between various coal seams, meant that the Blackshale seam coal could travel to the surface by conveyors. Following the abandonment of the Second Waterloo seam in 1976, all production for the final nine years was from the Blackshale seam.

Fig 8: Moorgreen Workshops under construction 1949 – Photo Credit – Coal Authority

Moorgreen Workshops, adjacent to the colliery, opened in 1949 on the site of the old Barber Walker Co. wagon works. This was part of the company’s colliery railway, a standard gauge mineral line, which linked up its Eastwood district collieries to the Midland and Great Northern railway lines at either end. Underground machinery for the No.5 Area and the NCB South Nottinghamshire Area was refurbished and maintained at the workshops. It closed in 1989, later becoming Caunton Engineering.

Fig 9: Margaret Thatcher when Leader of the Opposition on an underground visit at Moorgreen Colliery in 1976. Photo Credit – MuBu Miner collection                                                                          

At the NCB reorganisation in April 1967, Moorgreen Colliery became part of the NCB South Nottinghamshire Area, the No.5 Area having been wound up the previous year.  It was one of seventeen collieries that made up the Area with the HQ being based at Bestwood. By 1980 the NCB South Nottinghamshire Area was down to twelve operating collieries following several colliery closures in the late 1960’s.  Margaret Thatcher, then Leader of the Opposition, made an underground visit to the colliery in 1976 (Fig 9).

Fig 10: Looking north-west from the headstocks in 1984, the year prior to closure. Photo Credit – K. Bestwick collection

Closure of Moorgreen Colliery

Agreement for the closure of Moorgreen Colliery due to exhaustion of viable reserves was agreed between the local NCB and the Nottingham Area NUM in May 1983. A gradual rundown of the workforce started with older miners over 50 taking advantage of enhanced redundancy payments and miners under 50 transferring to other Nottinghamshire collieries.

Fig 11: Last production shift at Moorgreen Colliery on 19th July 1985.  Photo Credit – MuBu Miner collection

Final production was on 19th July 1985 and on the that day, the ‘Pit Klaxon’ was blown for the final time as the last miners from K77’s coalface arrived at the surface. Normally it was only blown at the time of a serious pit accident or incident.140 men out of the final production workforce of 350 were kept on for salvage work. The author worked with many former Moorgreen miners who transferred to Annesley Colliery.

Fig 12: NCB Moorgreen Colliery booklet 1985. Photo Credit – MuBu Miner collection.

Closure Booklet and a Moorgreen Colliery / DH Lawrence Commemorative Plate!

In the 1980’s the NCB South Nottinghamshire Area produced a series of booklets as pit closures took place. These were distributed to the workforce as a momento. A booklet for Moorgreen was produced in 1985 which gave a potted history of the pit along with some iconic images (Fig 12).

Fig 13: 1985 Moorgreen Colliery / DH Lawrence centenary of birth commemorative plate. Photo Credit – MuBu Miner collection.

With great irony, as Moorgreen Colliery finished production in 1985 and brought to an end Eastwood’s long and proud association with coal mining, it coincided with the centenary birth of author and poet, D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930). A special Centenary Festival organised by the DH Lawrence Society took place at Eastwood during September 1985 and to link the two events a special commemorative plate was produced (Fig 13).

Fig 14: Demolition of one of the headstocks at Moorgreen Colliery in 1986. Photo Credit – MuBu Miner collection.

Black to Green

Following salvage operations and filling of the shafts during 1985-1986, the Moorgreen Colliery site was eventually converted to use for light industry as Moorgreen Industrial Park and Colliers Wood, a nature park and green space with pleasant walks. Caunton Engineering took over the former Moorgreen Workshops following its closure in 1989 and significantly expanded its operations in the early twenty-first century.

Fig 15: Colliers Wood mining memorial in 2022. Photo Credit – MuBu Miner

Commemorative half headstocks wheels to link with the parks industrial past were installed at Colliers Wood in 2019. A site information leaflet is on-line at https://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/media/4461/colliers-wood-informational-leaflet.pdf

Fig 16: Moorgreen Colliery wall mural at Queens Road North, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire in March 2025. Photo Credit – MuBu Miner

Blog by David Amos

Heritage Resources Officer

Mine2Minds Education

Posted 25th May 2025

References

Bradley R, Notes on A History of Coalmining around Eastwood, unpublished.

Moore, R, Community and Conflict in Eastwood: A Study from the Nottinghamshire Coalfield before 1914, Occasional Paper No.7, Dept. of Education, University of Nottingham, 1995

NCB South Nottinghamshire Area, Moorgreen Colliery 1865 – 1985, 1985.

The Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory 1935.

Whitelock, G.C.H., 250 Years in Coal: The History of the Barber Walker Co and Ltd, 1956.