Asfordby Colliery

Asfordby Colliery was a coal mine located in the village of Asfordby, near to Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. It was the last deep coal mine to be sunk in England in 1987 and was expected to coal for many years, but closed within a few years with geological problems being cited as the issue.

Asfordby was one of three Super-pits proposed by Michael Heseltine, but eventually only Asfordby was sunk. Objections to the minesites locations because of the natural beauty and rurality in those areas led to only Asfordby being started as it was already in an industrial area with a rail connection very close by. Preparatory work began on the mine in 1984, but physical building did not start until 1987, with coaling operations beginning in 1991. Two shafts over 1,500 feet deep were dug into the coal seams. In 1994, British Coal was wound up and the Asfordby site was purchased by RJB Mining. The first coal left the mine by train in 1991 and geological problems meant production had ceased by 1997. British Coal invested over £300 million in the pit and after privatisation in 1994, a further £40 million was invested. At is peak, the mine employed 490 personnel. When the closure notice came in, it was partially lamented locally, but it was commented upon by the miners themselves as well as the locals, that the blow would not be felt in the same way as traditional pit villages as most of the men who worked in the pit were from outside the Melton Mowbray area and had taken the jobs at Asfordby when their own mines had been closed down.

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