MineArchiveBulwell Colliery
| Location | Bulwell, north-west Nottingham, Nottinghamshire — 53.0073, -1.2108 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | By 1869–August 1944 |
| Maximum depth | 546 feet (Main Bright seam) |
| Operators | Babbington Coal Co. Ltd (?–1944), Babbington Coal Company |
Overview
A Babbington Coal Company pit at the top of Bulwell that worked the Top Hard until 1911 and then the Main Bright seam at 546 feet, closing in 1944.
History
Bulwell Colliery stood at the top of Bulwell, five miles north-west of Nottingham, near the entrance to the old stone quarries and the village pinfold. It belonged to the Babbington Coal Company, owners of Babbington Colliery at Cinderhill, and was at work by 1869, when William Walters, a 20-year-old collier, was killed in the shaft by a chain falling from the surface and the banksman was charged with manslaughter.
In 1894 171 men worked the Top Hard seam for manufacturing and steam coal. The Top Hard workings were abandoned on 24 March 1911, and by 1915 the colliery was working the Main Bright, also called the Bulwell Main, a seam three feet thick reached at a depth of 546 feet. Employment rose from 286 in 1915 to 917 in 1923, then fell to 578 in 1933 and 500 in 1940.
The Main Bright workings were abandoned on 26 August 1944, and by 1946 the colliery had closed.
Geology
Nottinghamshire Coal Measures. The colliery worked the Top Hard seam until 1911 and then the Main Bright or Bulwell Main, three feet thick at 546 feet.
Workings
A shaft colliery at the top of Bulwell beside the old stone quarries. The Top Hard workings were abandoned on 24 March 1911 and the Main Bright, worked from about 1915, on 26 August 1944.
Closure
The Main Bright workings were abandoned on 26 August 1944, and the colliery is described as closed by 1946.
What remains
Unknown.
Redevelopment
Unknown.
Related mines
- Babbington Colliery — Both were worked by the Babbington Coal Company.
Nearby mines
- Babbington Colliery — 1.4 miles (2.3 km) S
- Bestwood Colliery — 1.9 miles (3.0 km) NE
- Broxtowe Colliery — 1.9 miles (3.1 km) S
- Watnall Colliery — 1.9 miles (3.1 km) NW
- Hucknall Colliery — 2.1 miles (3.4 km) N
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- At the Bulwell Pit the Main Bright seam is reached at a depth of 546 feet and is three feet thick. 1
- By 1946 Bulwell Colliery, near the stone quarries and the village pinfold, had closed. 2
- The colliery employed 171 in 1894, 917 in 1923 and 500 in 1940, under the Babbington Coal Co. 3
- The Top Hard was worked from 1894 to 1910 and the Main Bright by 1915. 3
- The Top Hard workings at Bulwell were abandoned on 24 March 1911. 4
- The Main Bright or Bulwell Main workings were abandoned on 26 August 1944. 5
- In 1869 William Walters, collier, was killed in the shaft by a chain falling from the surface, and the banksman was charged with manslaughter. 3
Photographs & further reading
Owners, output, employment and seams from 1894 to 1940, and the names of those killed at the colliery.
View sourceMellors' account of Bulwell, with the depth of the Main Bright seam at the Bulwell pit.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Old Nottingham suburbs: then and now [Bulwell] (Robert Mellors, 1914) — Nottinghamshire History
- (secondary) Bulwell. Four essays towards a history of the manor and township (1946) — Nottinghamshire History
- (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Bulwell Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) BGS mine plans: Bulwell (Top Hard, abandoned 24 Mar 1911) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
- (primary) BGS mine plans: Bulwell (Main Bright or Bulwell Main, abandoned 26 Aug 1944) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 1 October 2026