Chatterley Whitfield Underground Experience - Staffordshire

History

“Once the largest colliery working the North Staffordshire coalfield and an employer of over 4000 men during its peak. This colliery operated for around 40 years before it shut in 1977. A few years later, it opened its doors once moor as a mining museum. The museum would give visitors a unique experience into the working life as a coal miner offering guided tours down a headstock shaft into old workings where visitors would see the coal seems that defined the regions industrial heritage.

A nearby colliery a few miles away were still working the seams here via underground passageways until they shut, turning off their pumps. This resulted in the museum becoming unsafe due to rising water levels and the risk of dangerous gases. Following this, the national coal board raised over £1000000 to construct a simulated underground experience. This would later close in 1993 due to financial troubles. It was great to finally see these makeshift coal workings after being locked away underground for over 30 years”.