Monument record MDR12500 - Barlborough Collieries No. 2 Air Shaft (site and remains of), Coltsworth Lane, Barlborough

In 1896 the Staveley Coal and Iron Company decided to enlarge its 'take' in Barlborough and sank a new shaft. The official name was given as Barlborough No. 2, although it was normally referred to as 'Oxcroft No. 4' or by the local names of 'Peggers Pit' and 'Pebley Pit'. The shaft was initially sunk to the best steam-raising coal, the Top Hard seam, and the quality household coal, the High Hazel. No coal ever surfaced from the pit, however. It was principally used for transport of men and materials; coal continued to be taken via horse-drawn tubs via an underground drift to the No. 1 shaft (also known as Oxcroft No. 3) to be raised. No. 2 shaft also served as an upcast shaft for the mine ventilation through which fresh air was drawn into the workings, and it continued to serve this function until the closure of No. 1 pit in 1949. Buildings associated with the shaft in 1897 (as shown on the 2nd ed. 25" OS map of that date) included a power house with dynamos and ventilators, colliery offices, and a winding house and adjacent boiler house with chimney. There were two water tanks on the western edge of the site, and a powder house to the south-west. By 1914 the boiler house had been extended to the west by more than twice its original width, and a blacksmith's/fitter's shop and a carpenter's shop, possibly including a sawmill, had been built to the north. Further north, adjacent to the road, were a store, a small building that may have been a lodge or time office, and a block of cottages for important members of the colliery staff. A further block of stores and facilities was built on the eastern site edge. In 1925 the No 2 shaft was extended to a total depth of 1237 feet. At the same time the colliery was converted to electric power and, as a result, the boiler house with the coal store and the machines and fittings pertaining to the steam engines, was demolished. The carpenter's shop was also demolished during this period. The last seam worked via this shaft was the High Hazel which was abandoned in 1928 although, as noted above, Barlborough No. 2 continued as an upcast shaft for Barlborough No. 1 pit until its closure in April 1949. After 1928 a process of reduction of above-ground structures began with the result that now only the blacksmith's/fitter's shop and the cottages survive. However, none of the previous buildings were completely destroyed; they were either levelled or allowed to collapse so that their foundations and stretches of their wall bases remained in situ. In 2007, a watching brief was carried out on groundworks associated with the extension and conversion of the blacksmith's shop to a residential dwelling and the creation of a sunken garden. A record was made of the fabric of the blacksmith's shop, both interior and exterior, and the foundations of a number of features were recorded, including the carpenter's shop, the boiler house (which was found to have three distinct phases to its construction), the original square chimney, the water tanks, various conduits and a circular brick foundation of unknown function. (1)