Bestwood Country Park

I first noticed the top of the colliery as I passed by on my way home from Mansfield
Couldn't resist a snoop round it was so interesting
It is so good these old things are being restored to their former glory so future generations can see what it was like in days gone by......

The Winding Engine

Today Bestwood Country Park is a peaceful green oasis, but once this area was a sprawling industrial site. At its heart stood Bestwood Colliery - one of the busiest coal mines in Nottinghamshire.

The Winding Engine House is the last remaining part of that vanished colliery. The winding engine lowered colliers into the mine shaft, and winched mined coal up to the surface.

The tall brick building houses a huge winding engine. Originally it was powered by steam, but today's visitors see the massive engine moved by an electrical motor.

The engine dates back to 1876, the heyday of Victorian industrial engineering.