Between 2017 and 2020 TEP’s heritage team provided archaeological and heritage services in support of proposed development at Snibston Country Park, Coalville. Leicestershire. The former Snibston Colliery is a Scheduled Monument and considered one of the nation’s best surviving examples of a mining complex, dating from the British coal industry’s period of peak production. Detailed discussions and revisions to the scheme were undertaken with Historic England and District Conservation and Urban Design officers to ensure the proposals respected the monument and allowed safe and secure public access. As part of our heritage work TEP updated the Conservation Management Plan, in which we investigated and set out the significance of the asset, and those listed buildings contained within, and made recommendations for the future use, changes or repair to the asset, in line with the identified significance.
Following on from this work, TEP was commissioned to undertake a programme of historic building recording to Historic England Level 2 at the former Snibston Colliery. The survey comprised an overall descriptive record of the colliery site and extant structures with a more detailed investigation of Grade II Listed buildings such as the Locomotive Shed, and the Century Theatre, a rare 1950s mobile theatre which is presently housed on the former colliery site. The buildings recorded during this exercise covered a range of time periods, from the earliest origins of the site in 1864 through to the mid and late 20th century and relate to different phases of development and alteration at the colliery as it was adapted to new technology and working environments during operations. TEP undertook detailed archive research and met with a local heritage group to gather a detailed historic background to better understand the significance of each element of the survey to present in the final report and in order gain a broader understanding of the social significance of the colliery to the surrounding community.
