LOCATION AND HISTORY:

Babbington colliery is situated approximately 3 miles North West of Nottingham. The colliery was developed in 1841/1842 when No’s 1 and 2 shafts were originally sunk to the Top Hard seam at a depth of 199 meters and diameter of 2.2 meters. The shafts were subsequently deepened to the Deep Soft horizon of 333 meters and are still in use for manriding and upcast air.

Between 1945 and 1942, No’s 3, 4, 5, and 6 shafts were sunk to exploit various horizons, a total of 11 seams having been worked at this colliery to date. In 1945 the No.4 shaft was enlarged to 5.5 meters diameter and deepened to the Deep Soft level and in 1952 the Low Bright and Hazles seams were developed from No. 6 shaft but only partially worked.

A ventilation re-organisation was undertaken in 1954 to deepen and connect Hucknall No. 2 shaft as a return for Babington which is still used as the No.7 shaft. Major surface, shaft and underground re-organisation was completed as part of a £5.5 million project to develop the Tupton seam in 1957. This seam is currently in production.

In 1972 the Blackshale seam was developed from the Tupton horizon and is still being worked at the present time.

As the 2 mines stand separately, then Babbington has only some 8/9 years of reducing life left. Hucknall has reserves for some 25 years or so. For the combined workforce of both mines, there would be about 20 year’s life ahead. Negotiations are continuing.

There is a small ‘parcel’ of reserves in the Piper seam in addition to those quoted in the Tupton and Blackshale seam which would be available to the ‘linked up’ mines, which would have no Mining Engineering problems to prevent them from being worked at some time in the future.

N.U.M. Comments:

Babbington as a producing mine has a limited life die to exhaustion of reserves. In 1981, the Board made proposals to ‘link up’ Babbington adjacent to Hucknall mine, by driving 2 drifts from Hucknall pit bottom into the present workings at Babbington, since the Babbington workings are along side Hucknall shaft pillar. This would mean that all coal transport and coal preparation would go from Babbington to Hucknall, and eventually, all Babbington workforce would be put into the pit via Hucknall shafts giving about 30 minutes increase in effective working time at the face.

As the 2 mines stand separately, then Babbington has only some 8/9 years of reducing life left. Hucknall has reserves for some 25 years or so. For the combined workforce of both mines, there would be about 20 years life ahead. Negotiations are continuing.

There is a small ‘parcel’ of reserves left in the Piper seam in addition to those quoted in the Tupton Blackshale seams which would be available to the ‘linked up’ mines, which would have no Mining Engineering problems to prevent them from being worked at some time in the future.