I last visited this place six years ago. Still pretty much the same, although access is more difficult. The remains are in a remote, rural location and that's probably why so much has survived.
Kinlet Colliery was one of a number of coal mines in the Highley area.
The site has no road access, so a railway line was constructed from the Severn Valley along the valley of the Borle Brook which served this mine and nearby Billingsley.
Despite early optimism, Kinlet Colliery was something of a disappointment. Production started in the late 1890s, with the completion of the railway. The mine had a lavish 15' diameter production shaft, and with a huge engine house and steam winder.
It grew from employing about 150 men at the turn of the century to twice that by the start of the First World War with an output of about 50,000 tons a year.
The colliery was abandoned in September 1937. The mine had proved impossible to mechanise, and there were continued problems with basalt having burnt out the coal; ironically, at the time of closure, the workings entered some of the best ground ever encountered at the mine.
The most impressive remains are those of the Engine House which dates from 1894. Although now roofless and overgrown with trees and scrub, this is still an impressive and beautiful brick structure, with some massive stone detailing still remaining.
Foundations remain of the fan house, a second winding engine, boilers, workshops, screens and the locomotive shed although it's hard to work out what's what. The shafts have been capped with concrete and fenced off.
Collapsed bridge taking tramway over a stream. The tramway connected the colliery to the line running along the Borle Brook, and can be traced quite easily.
Front view of the massive engine house. The two shafts are at opposite ends of it.
Side view
From the inside
Danger - Keep Out
The site slopes steeply. This huge buttress is directly below one of the shafts and presumably supported the headstock
Metalwork protruding from top of buttress. There was a second tramway nearby that looked like it went to the spoil heap (now overgrown)
Blocked up tunnel/archway. May have led directly to shaft to allow for coal to be loaded directly onto trucks.
Apologies for usual shonky photos taken with phone. Memo to self. Don't wear shorts next time.
Kinlet Colliery was one of a number of coal mines in the Highley area.
The site has no road access, so a railway line was constructed from the Severn Valley along the valley of the Borle Brook which served this mine and nearby Billingsley.
Despite early optimism, Kinlet Colliery was something of a disappointment. Production started in the late 1890s, with the completion of the railway. The mine had a lavish 15' diameter production shaft, and with a huge engine house and steam winder.
It grew from employing about 150 men at the turn of the century to twice that by the start of the First World War with an output of about 50,000 tons a year.
The colliery was abandoned in September 1937. The mine had proved impossible to mechanise, and there were continued problems with basalt having burnt out the coal; ironically, at the time of closure, the workings entered some of the best ground ever encountered at the mine.
The most impressive remains are those of the Engine House which dates from 1894. Although now roofless and overgrown with trees and scrub, this is still an impressive and beautiful brick structure, with some massive stone detailing still remaining.
Foundations remain of the fan house, a second winding engine, boilers, workshops, screens and the locomotive shed although it's hard to work out what's what. The shafts have been capped with concrete and fenced off.
Collapsed bridge taking tramway over a stream. The tramway connected the colliery to the line running along the Borle Brook, and can be traced quite easily.
Front view of the massive engine house. The two shafts are at opposite ends of it.
Side view
From the inside
Danger - Keep Out
The site slopes steeply. This huge buttress is directly below one of the shafts and presumably supported the headstock
Metalwork protruding from top of buttress. There was a second tramway nearby that looked like it went to the spoil heap (now overgrown)
Blocked up tunnel/archway. May have led directly to shaft to allow for coal to be loaded directly onto trucks.
Apologies for usual shonky photos taken with phone. Memo to self. Don't wear shorts next time.
