The Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in Staffordshire was built in the C19 & 20 and is Grade II*-listed and a Scheduled Monument.
Photo: Ian Tatlock for The Victorian Society.
On the outskirts of Chell in Staffordshire, stands an industrial monument of the utmost importance – the Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. The disused coal mine is considered to be the most comprehensive survival of a deep mine site in England from the industry’s period of peak production and it was the first colliery in the UK to produce 1,000,000 tons of saleable coal in a year. Following the closure of the mine, the buildings had served as a museum, which has long-since closed. The whole colliery site is now vacant and the buildings are in a very poor condition, it will need substantial public funding if it is to be rescued.
Christopher Costelloe, Director of the The Victorian Society, said: ‘The Industrial Revolution has left few more evocative sites than Chatterley Whitfield. Someone needs to think big here- King Coal was at the heart of our prosperity for centuries, and this complex is far too important to be lost.’