I am indebted to Mr. Alfred Shaw of Park Farm, Mapperley Village for his assistance with the following account and to Joe Henshaw for getting it to me.
Mapperley Colliery (closed 1965), in common with its neighbours Coppice (closed 1966), Stanley (closed 1961), and Woodside (also closed 1966) had fallen foul of the energy economics of the day, where more coal was being produced than could be sold. However, after closure, with huge coal reserves remaining in the area, and the nearby Shipley opencast sites coming to their conclusion, the 500-acre Whitehouse opencast coal scheme was developed from April 1977. This scheme continued until the mid-1980s with similar spectacular production levels/limited overheads to the Shipley schemes. With this, virtually all trace of the Mapperley coal industry was swept away, with the usual massive environmental impact never seen with the deep mining industry itself. |
The scrubby area in the distance above the stile is the remains of the Shipley
Coppice Colliery pit tip.
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Alf, whose land was heavily affected, was saddened by the legacy of this so-called "reclamation" scheme, which saw the destruction of many wildlife habitats and the creation of a featureless landscape. Despite many miles of land drains being laid during restoration, drainage on the site remains appalling. The opencast activity badly disrupted the site's hydrogeology, partially due to the redistribution of almost impervious blue bind excavated by the works. Additionally, one farm to the West, Cotgreave, completely disappeared during the scheme, never to be rebuilt.
To Alf and many others, the old pit site, even with its slagheaps and derelict buildings, was more appealing than what was to replace it.
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The end of the now truncated Mapperley Pit Lane, looking North from the rear of Park Farm. Through the right hand gate is "Daffodilly", once an area locally famed for its beauty. Since the Whitehouse opencast scheme, there isn't a daffodil (or much else for that matter) to be seen between here and Abbot's Rough in the bottom of the valley half a mile away.
The pattern of opencast mining within the take of Mapperley Colliery has continued, with Club Room Farm, a site previously worked to lesser depths, being recently revisited. True to form, opencast workings here again plumbed depths once exploited by the deep mines, evidenced by the uncovering of machinery idle since the 1960s. Again, it will be decades before the restored site attains a semblance of its former self, and leaves many locals wondering after 60 years of opencast mining in the vicinity, where, and when, it will all end.
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Looking West from the old stable boy quarters to the site of Mapperley pit, now devoid of any remains. The mudflow emerging from the gateway has been a routine feature since the Whitehouse scheme finished over 15 years ago, even during moderate rainfall . The problem is exacerbated by the number of horses now grazing this field even when the ground is sodden.
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In the mid-1990s, with privatisation of the coal industry and its assets, Alf was finally able to purchase Park Farm, which had previously passed from Drury Lowe to the NCB. Although an achievement Alf is sad that his parents did not live to see it. The purchase meant the sale of "Cow Flat" to help finance the deal, but in retirement has consolidated the Park Farm land around Alf's home.
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Park Farm, Mapperley from Park Hall (aka.Simon) Lane. The tiny stable boy quarters are attached to the left of the main building.
Now in his early seventies, Alf concentrates his farming efforts on fattening the odd Hereford calf, his free-range hens, and his vegetable garden.
Mr. Alfred Shaw heading for his vegetable garden. |
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Identifying site boundaries, a visual check of the areas in question should give a good indication. Typically land that has been opencast (whether 5 or 50 years ago) will exhibit certain features:
1) Hedgerows without any mature trees, low in biodiversity
2) Hedgerows missing, or in poor condition
3) Hedegrows replaced by fencing, including concrete post/barbed wire where this would not normally be seen
4) Double-fenced ditched field boundaries
5) Poorly draining land or land that cracks or ruts easily
6) Small "whippy" copses instead of mature trees - closely spaced, one or two species dominating, and all of approximately the same height.
7) Low biodiversity in pasture land
8) Discoluration of vegetation - onset earlier in Autumn, and late to recover in Spring
9) Defined margins visible between opencast and non-opencast areas exhibiting some/all of the above features.
10) Excessive stone or coal-measure material (binds, clays, shales, cannel, etc.) obvious in newly ploughed fields.
11) Large concrete drinking troughs
12) Large numbers of immature trees and shrubs of specific species not normally expected in these numbers.
13) Isn't opencast great.....
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