Tribute To Bagworth Colliery And Its Proud Coal Miners At Leicestershires Last Coal Mine.

Subscribe to my youtube channel for 200+ coal mine tributes and counting. In February 1991, Bagworth Colliery closed, ending deep coal mining in the north-west Leicestershire coalfield. From 1986 to 1989 it was part of the Bagworth / Ellistown complex in the British Coal Corporation’s Central Area. Ellistown Colliery closed in February 1989. At 166 years old, Bagworth was by far the oldest colliery still operating in Britain at the time, the initial shafts dating from 1825. History of Bagworth Colliery (1825 - 1991)
Initial sinking of twin shafts began in 1825 by George Williamson, an experienced mining engineer from Church Gresley on land belonging to Viscount Maynard. Coal was initially reached in the nine feet thick Stone Smut seam at a depth of 360 feet and the Swannington seam at 373 feet. Owen states that little is known about the output, employment and technical development of the colliery in its early years. The shafts were deepened later to the Upper Main and Lower Main seams at depths of 724 feet and 942 feet respectively. Bagworth and Ibstock were the only centres of coalmining south of Coalville until the 1860’s. Bagworth and New Bagworth Colliery Companies.
Viscount Maynard died in 1866 and the lease of the colliery passed to executors acting on behalf of his great granddaughter, the Countess of Warwick, until 1870. The colliery then passed over to the Bagworth Colliery Company until that went into liquidation in 1880. The New Bagworth Colliery Company was formed in 1882 and revamped the coal operation. A new third shaft, known as Jacky, was sunk in 1885-1886 and a fourth shaft, complete with a Cornish style beam engine, was added later for minewater pumping purposes. The new third shaft became the new No. 2 shaft with the original No. 2 shaft reverting to No. 3. This shaft and fourth pumping shaft were filled and capped in 1948 and 1963 respectively. A brickyard opened in 1885 and remained in private ownership at nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947 but closed in 1956.
Seams worked at Bagworth during the long life of the colliery included: Upper Main, Lower Main or Roaster Spires, Middle Lount, Nether Lount, Yard Coal, High Main, New Main, Lower Main, Five Feet and the Minge seam. NCB Days at Bagworth Colliery.
At nationalisation in 1947 the colliery initially went into the NCB East Midlands No.8 Area. This later merged with the No.7 area to form one regional Area (No. 7) for the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire coalfields with the Area HQ being at Coleorton Hall. A pit canteen opened in the 1940s and major surface reorganisation took place in 1956 which included the buildings of a new surface medical centre and pit head baths.
In the NCB reorganisation of 1967, Bagworth went into the NCB South Midlands Area which included collieries in Leicestershire, South Derbyshire, Warwickshire and Kent! The year previous saw an underground connection completed with nearby Nailstone Colliery. From that time, winding of run of mine coal up Bagworth shafts finished and from 1967 all production went by underground conveyor to the coal preparation plant at Nailstone via the new surface drift. In 1971 Ellistown Colliery also became part of this colliery merger arrangement.A Jewel in the Leicestershire Crown.The steam winding engines where replaced by electric winding in 1970. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, Bagworth was the ‘Jewel in the Leicestershire Crown’, generating a profit of £8.5 million in 1982-83.
Bagworth production figures - NCB days.
Output (tons) Manpower OMS (cwt)
1950 408,000 829 40.1
1960 281,000 512 47.2
1970/71 766,000 770 83.4
1980/81 1,021,000 822 117.5 British Coal Corporation - final years at Bagworth.
In 1986 Bagworth fully merged with nearby Ellistown Colliery to form the Bagworth / Ellistown complex, being part of the newly formed Central Area of the British Coal Corporation. Following the closure of Whitwick and South Leicester collieries in the same year, the Bagworth / Ellistown complex had the distinction of being the last deep coal mines operating in the north-west Leicestershire coalfield. End of an Era.
The complex became a million tons a year operation, working at the highest rates of productivity and in 1988 it was estimated there would be around five years on economical coal reserves left. In reality it would be three years. The Ellistown part of the Complex finished production in February 1989 with final production at Bagworth being in February 1991.

[@bradhoult9664]

Thanks for the video. My late dad is in the photo at the time of 3.42. He is the one on the far right. I can confirm this is the last photo at Bagworth. it brought back so many memories.

[@JackMellor498]

Hi there. Jack from Burton here.
Just discovered your channel.
As a younger lad I’ve been fascinated by our coal mining history for some time.
Initially it was all about the visual side of it, the impressive sight of pithead winding gear whenever we went on family days out to Snibston Discovery Park, the landmark power station at Drakelow where much of the Derbyshire-Leicestershire coal was sent to power the Midlands.
Then recently I read Black Gold by Jeremy Paxman and came to respect so much about what these men did underground, the danger, the hard work and everything.
In my spare time, I’ve been around North West Leicestershire, South Derbyshire and parts of Yorkshire searching for any vestiges at all of the industry that made modern Britain.
And although none of my family were miners*, my great grandfather on my mother’s side (she was born in Griffydam near Coalville and was raised in Woodville near Swadlincote) was a statistician at the Coleorton Bug and Wink pit, and she enlightened me recently when she said that money earned from working that job at that pit, passed down from my great grandfather, likely when into purchasing my grandparents their bungalow, and since they died recently and we sold their house, we quite possibly own some of that wealth that was gained from working at that pit before it closed in 1933 and is now a grassy woodland.
Could you possibly do a video on the Coleorton pits, if you can find the resources, there isn’t a great deal, for the pit was on the smaller side, but if you could it’d mean a lot to me 😊
*Learned more recently that alongside my mother’s grandpa being the statistician at Coleorton Bug and Wink, my grandma’s father on my Dad’s side, was a miner at the Netherseal pit in South Derbyshire.

[@andyneale2287]

Good colliery with memories to match