Bilsthorpe Colliery was a colliery in north

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 ...

. From when work started in 1925 to the pits closure in 1997, 77 people died at the pit.

History

The pit began in July 1925 with two shafts. The mine was completed in 1928. On 1 March 1927, fourteen miners were killed. On 26 July 1934, nine miners were killed.

1993 disaster

On 18 August 1993, a roof collapsed killing 26-year old Bill McCulloch (from

Rainworth Rainworth is a village in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. It is split between the local government districts of Newark and Sherwood and Mansfield.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): To th ...

), 50-year-old Peter Alcock and an under-manager, 31-year-old David Shelton (from Blyth). A team from the Mansfield-based Mines Rescue Service searched for survivors. A 1994 report was produced by the

HM Inspectorate of Mines The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in Great B ...

. The disaster was caused by unsafe roof bolting.

Closure

It closed in 1997. A memorial was unveiled in October 2011. The site is now Bilsthorpe Business park. A new energy centre is planned.

Ownership

On 1 January 1947 it was taken over by the National Coal Board. From 1986 it was run by

British Coal The British Coal Corporation was a nationalised corporation responsible for the mining of coal in the United Kingdom from 1987 until it was effectively dissolved in 1997. The corporation was created by renaming its predecessor, the National Co ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Safe application of mine roadway support systems

Mining Atlas
1927 establishments in England 1997 disestablishments in England 1993 mining disasters 1993 disasters in the United Kingdom Coal mines in Nottinghamshire Coal mining disasters in England Underground mines in England Bilsthorpe