Campaigners are calling on the company behind a major housing scheme to revisit a choice made several years ago.
The former Thoresby Colliery site in 2016, twelve months after shutting down (Image: Nottingham Post)
Beauty is indeed in the eye of the viewer – a phrase that seems particularly fitting when contemplating two large crimson wheels that once marked the entrance to one of Nottinghamshire’s largest current residential developments.
These two vivid red structures may have stirred little reaction among those travelling along the Ollerton Road toward Edwinstowe, yet for others their significance ran far deeper.
Former miner Mick Newton, now 63, described his connection to the structures, noting that whenever he passed them in his car, he would always watch out for them as they provided genuine reassurance.
An explanation for Mr Newton’s attachment could be found on the substantial metal nameplates bolted to each crimson wheel, which bore the inscription: Thoresby Colliery.
Visiting the location today reveals not only the absence of those nameplates but the complete disappearance of the two mining wheels themselves.
Pit wheels served as the winding mechanisms used to transport miners up and down shafts, yet since the closure of coal mines they have acquired considerably deeper symbolic meaning.
Mr Newton, who spent his working life at Thoresby Colliery, expressed the view that the community deserves to know what previously occupied this land and to witness its memorial.
The company responsible for the extensive Thoresby Vale residential scheme, built on the former colliery grounds, now faces accusations of attempting to conceal the region’s heritage by removing the mining wheels from where they originally stood.
One of the Thoresby Colliery wheels previously positioned at the entrance to the Thoresby Vale estate (Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
The removal occurred some years back, yet a local elected representative has recently initiated a campaign urging the construction company to respect the original intention for the wheels to remain in situ.
Construction at Thoresby Vale continues, with an additional 190 residences receiving approval in late 2025, supplementing the 800 homes already given the go-ahead.
Reform UK county councillor James Gamble, representing the Sherwood Forest division, suggests his campaign arrives at a pivotal moment in the site’s evolution.
Addressing the significance of the mining wheels, Councillor Gamble described the structures as an enduring tribute to the miners who established Edwinstowe and a permanent commemoration, given that some tragically perished while working there. He emphasised that this extends beyond merely safeguarding an artifact of industrial heritage; it involves preserving our sense of self.
A substantial mining wheel has been installed within Thoresby Vale Country Park, although local former miners maintain that this particular wheel actually originated from the Blidworth Colliery and remain uncertain about the current whereabouts of the two Thoresby examples.
The Harworth Group, the company constructing the Thoresby Vale estate, declined to confirm whether the country park wheel came from Blidworth.
Regardless of the wheel’s origin, it is the present positioning that concerns Mick Newton. He observed that no one can view it from the highway, as it is completely blocked from sight, and described the company’s actions as demonstrating a failure to respect the region’s historical identity.
That heritage carries immense weight for the communities surrounding Thoresby Vale, with Councillor Gamble noting that the majority of amenities present-day Edwinstowe residents enjoy would not exist without the colliery, including his own residence, a former miner’s dwelling constructed in 1927.
Thoresby became Nottinghamshire’s last operational coal mine when the Welbeck operation ceased in 2010.
UK Coal subsequently asserted that Thoresby had become financially unsustainable due to competition from less expensive American imports, leading to its shutdown in 2015.
The mine had earned the reputation of Nottinghamshire’s most prized operation thanks to its record-breaking output, at one point extracting in excess of two million tonnes of coal within a single year.
Achieving these remarkable figures came at considerable human cost, however, with 50 workers perishing at Thoresby Colliery from its inauguration in 1925.
The youngest victim, Richard Kirkland, was merely 16 when he became entangled in a haulage rope and died in 1938.
It is this profound and complex past that makes returning the pit wheels to their position at Thoresby Vale’s entrance so meaningful to numerous people.
Thoresby miners celebrate achieving one million tonnes again in September 1977 (Image: Nottingham Post)
Reflecting on the relocation of the wheels, Mr Newton described the removal as a betrayal, because that represented their heritage and there remain many retired miners and their relatives residing in Edwinstowe. He expressed dismay when they were relocated, believing they ought to be positioned at the end of the pit lane so that newcomers to the estate understand this was once home to Europe’s largest colliery.
Councillor Gamble’s campaign has already gathered more than 300 names, and he intends to personally deliver it to the Harworth Group’s offices shortly.
A Harworth representative stated that the company takes great pride in its collaborative efforts to transform the former Thoresby Colliery into the thriving, environmentally conscious new neighbourhood of Thoresby Vale. The representative explained that throughout planning and executing this scheme the company has remained dedicated to honouring this area’s significant industrial legacy, incorporating important historical elements, including portions of the former colliery, to establish meaningful communal areas. This is demonstrated through proposals to convert the colliery’s workshop building into a fresh community facility and the positioning of mining wheels within Thoresby Vale Country Park and throughout the development. The representative emphasised that the focus is on ensuring these elements are suitably located to enable public access and optimise recreational and learning benefits, assisting future residents in honouring Thoresby’s distinguished mining heritage.