Bevercotes Colliery was the first fully automated mine. It went into production in July 1965. Located in

Bevercotes Bevercotes is a hamlet and civil parish in the Bassetlaw District, Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England, about six miles south of East Retford and five miles north-east of Ollerton. According to the 2001 United Kingdom census, 2001 cen ...

to the north of

Ollerton Ollerton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ollerton and Boughton, in the Newark and Sherwood district, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest in the area known as the Dukeries. The p ...

, the colliery was, alongside Cotgrave Colliery, one of two new collieries opened in the county of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

in the 1960s. The colliery was closed in 1993 and turned into a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

The mine was served by a single track, branch railway opened in June 1960.

Miners' strike 1984-5

During the

UK miners' strike (1984–85) UK miners' strike may refer to: * 1893 United Kingdom miners' strike * South Wales miners' strike (1910) * 1912 United Kingdom national coal strike * UK miners' strike (1921) * UK miners' strike (1953) * 1969 United Kingdom miners' strike, a widesp ...

, Bevercotes Colliery voted approximately two-to-one against strike action in a ballot held on 15–16 March 1984. During the strike, Chris Butcher, a miner from Bevercotes Colliery, became well known as 'Silver Birch' who was funded by the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'' to travel around the UK actively opposing the strike; he was also involved in organising legal action to block the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), who were running the strike. In October 1985, Bevercotes miners voted to leave the NUM in favour of the

Union of Democratic Mineworkers The Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM) was a British trade union for coal miners based in Nottinghamshire, England, established in 1985, following the 1984–85 miners' strike, when the Nottinghamshire Area of the National Union of Minewo ...

by 782 votes out of 1,372 cast (57%).

References

{{Reflist Coal mines in Nottinghamshire