South Normanton Colliery

Overview

The South Normanton Colliery Company's Winterbank pit at South Normanton, near Alfreton, sunk in 1893-94 to the Top Hard and later working the Waterloo and Dunsil. It employed over 700 in 1910, lost eight men in an explosion in 1937 and closed in the 1950s; the site is now a designer outlet.

History

Coal had been dug around South Normanton since the 1600s, but the village grew with the Blackwell company's A Winning (1871) and B Winning (1875) collieries. South Normanton Colliery, known locally as the Winterbank or Wincobank pit, was sunk in 1893-94 and brought more miners into the village, for whom terraces were built around Victoria Street, Peel Street, South Street and Albert Street. It worked the Top Hard, adding the Waterloo and Dunsil seams by 1900, and raised manufacturing and steam coal. Employment grew from 157 in 1894 to 711 in 1910 and stayed at about 620 through the 1920s and early 1930s.

On 15 February 1937 two explosions in the Waterloo seam killed eight men. The National Coal Board took over in 1947, when 420 worked there and the pit raised 108,000 tons. It closed in 1952 by one account and 1957 by another. The neighbouring Castlewood land became the transport base for the NCB's No. 4 Area, a depot until 1988, and the McArthurGlen designer outlet opened there in October 1998.

Geology

Derbyshire Coal Measures: the Top Hard, Waterloo and Dunsil seams.

Workings

The Winterbank shaft colliery; in 1937 the Waterloo seam was being worked with other seams below it taken by a neighbouring company.

Closure

Closed in 1952 or 1957; the adjoining Castlewood land stayed in NCB use as a transport depot until 1988.

What remains

The site is occupied by the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet East Midlands near junction 28 of the M1, where a memorial to the 1937 explosion stands.

Redevelopment

NCB No. 4 Area transport depot until 1988; McArthurGlen designer outlet from October 1998.

Disasters & major incidents

• South Normanton Colliery explosion, 1937
  15 February 1937 · Explosion · 8 fatalities
  At about 9 p.m. on 15 February 1937 two explosions tore through the Waterloo seam of South Normanton Colliery's Winterbank pit, killing eight men and seriously burning three. Part of a cigarette was found by one of the dead, and smoking or a struck match was suggested as the cause.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The colliery closed in 1952. (disputed) ⁴
• The Winterbank pit closed in 1957. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• South Normanton Colliery, the Winterbank or Wincobank pit, was sunk in 1893-94. ^1,2
• Employment rose from 157 in 1894 to 711 in 1910; in 1947 it employed 420 and raised 108,000 tons. ³
• Explosions in the Waterloo seam on 15 February 1937 killed eight. ^2,3
• The colliery closed in 1952. (disputed) ⁴
• The Winterbank pit closed in 1957. (disputed) ²
• The former NCB depot land became the McArthurGlen designer outlet, opened in October 1998. ^2,5

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) South Normanton Colliery Explosion - Alfreton - 1937 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Village History — South Normanton Parish Council
3. (primary) South Normanton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) South Normanton — Wikipedia
5. (secondary) South Normanton Mining Disaster Memorial — South Normanton Parish Council

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026