Snibston Colliery in Leicestershire

From the collection of

MACE is the strategic lead organisation for screen heritage for the East and West Midlands regions. An independent charity based at University of Lincoln, MACE preserves and makes accessible a collection of more than 100,000 historic moving images representative of the diverse cultures and histories of communities throughout the heart of England from the Lincolnshire coast to the Welsh border.

Snibston Colliery in Leicestershire

Media Archive for Central England
Snibston
1983-12-01
Sound

A closure not worth fighting for? The end of Snibston Colliery.

In December 1983 the closure was announced of Snibston Colliery at Coalville in Leicestershire. A few months later the NUM would call a strike on the issue of pit closures but, in this case, the union knew that the writing was on the wall for the 150-year-old pit after they'd called in their own engineers to confirm the findings of the NCB on the colliery's reserves.Despite this setback, the Leicestershire branch of the union remained positive, even though the five other pits in the county were being wound down. They had their eyes on a bright future of the so called 'super pit' at Asfordby near Melton Mowbray. However, little did they know that this troubled white elephant, which eventually went into production in 1992, would close five years later due to unforeseen geological problems ending all deep mining in Leicestershire.

Workers at Snibston Colliery in Leicestershire face an uncertain future when its closure is announced shortly before Christmas 1983.

The Final Hooter: A Farewell to Midlands Industry

A reminder that the Midlands was once a global industrial force that was brought to its knees by recession and government policies in the 1980s.

The 1980s saw the industrial landscape of the UK change forever. A deep economic recession, combined with a drive to develop the country’s financial sector meant the end-of-the-line for many famous firms across the country, a fair proportion of them based in the Midlands. Nationally, there were upwards of 3 million people unemployed between 1982 and 1986 – 12.5% of the population. In the Midlands the gates closed on pits, mills and foundries - big employers that had provided work for generations of families. Smaller enterprises fared no better, with working men’s clubs and bingo halls finding themselves out of step with a younger generation that wasn’t interested in their parents’ and grandparents’ idea of a night out. This collection is an often poignant look at the final days of Victorian industrial giants and small family run businesses. It includes interviews with people about to, or having just lost their jobs, their anger and sadness palpable. In spite of this, there are some bright patches against the grey – as doors close we see the Midlanders’ innate capacity for change come to the fore, looking into the future, not the past.