Clipstone Mine Center The Clipstone Mine Center is a project situated at the abandoned Grade II Clipstone Colliery located at Clipstone Village, Nottingham. The colliery dates from the early C20 and went on to become one of the most productive pits in Britain. The Clipstone shafts are included as one of the two deepest shafts in the country, and the headstocks were the tallest such structures in Europe at that time.

 

The Clipstone Colliery ceased production in 2003 and the site has now been cleared of all the colliery structures and transportation systems with the exception of the winders, headstocks and powerhouse. The Clipstone village has since suffered the inevitable after effects of the Colliery closure which affected the overall structure and social side of the community provoked by the high unemployment and lack of opportunities.

 

The Clipstone Mine Center seeks to regenerate the mining community and bring back the value of the mining heritage, the project establish a new identity to the area by retaining one of the pit bank building, a building that was designed to house large items of machinery of which much of the associated equipment including the rails on which the colliery cars ran, and the turntables which allowed them to be manoeuvred, remain in situ. Besides the large machinery at the pit bank building it can be found one of the iconic headstocks which below of its structure is located a 900 m deep shaft where the mine tunnels are located. 

 

The Clipstone Mine Center offers a valuable and educational experience for people by bringing visitors close to these industrial habitats where miners used to work and to expose their senses to an imagined colliery settlement in operation.

 

It is intended that users move through the building as imitating the journey as the coal once did from the depth of the earth to top. As part of the experience at the first stage visitors are forced to descend to the 900 m deep shaft where visitors will sense the enormous amount of material that has been excavated underneath the village. A permanent exhibition is included at this area which has information correspondingly broad, ranging from the carbon age to the closing of collieries and importance Heritage data of East Midlands Collieries, also it will be access to the mine tunnels. Following to the subterranean experience users will be taken to the 60 m high headstock which is converted into a viewpoint where visitors will be exposed to the outdoor and have the opportunity to enjoy the panoramic views of the village.

 

The Clipstone Mine Center would preserve the region’s heritage, fostering a sense of collective identity for this region and it documents the development of a habitat in a unique manner, which was based on industrial growth through the efficient exploitation of natural resources and celebrates the achievement and hard work of the miners.