Mechanical Landscapes

  • #659 – Price and Kensington Bottle kiln

    #659 – Price and Kensington Bottle kiln

    Stoke is somewhere I only ever drive through on the A50 while trying to get somewhere else. Other than a couple of visits to Chatterley Whitfield Colliery on the outskirts, I’ve never had cause to stop and explore. But as I was heading down to the East Midlands and had some time to spare, I…

  • #658 – Ratcliffe Power Station 2

    #658 – Ratcliffe Power Station 2

    It’s possible to see the cooling towers from the south and the west, so I had a quick look round to get a few different perspectives. There are eight in total, neatly arranged in two rows of four. I found that the most interesting composition was the one above, with the sun over my shoulder…

  • #657 – Ratcliffe Power Station 1

    #657 – Ratcliffe Power Station 1

    Ratcliffe Power Station was one of many built in Britain in the 1960s and 1970’s but it’s claim to fame was that when it closed at the end of September 2024 it was the last coal burning station in the country. Positioned to take advantage of the abundance of coal that was mined by the…

  • #656 – Brierfield Gas Holder 2

    #656 – Brierfield Gas Holder 2

    I’ve not got much by way of history, but there again it’s a gasholder – they aren’t the most storied of things. What I’ve found online is that it was built by the Tunstill’s (owners of Brierfield Mills which is just a stone’s throw away) and taken over by the Nelson Local Board in 1888…

  • #655 – Brierfield Gas Holder 1

    #655 – Brierfield Gas Holder 1

    I last went here in 2015 when I was accompanying my friend Katriina around a few places in Lancashire and we had a quick look here. It was around this time that the National Grid were accelerating their removal of gas holders and I regret not photographing more. I had it in my head that…

  • #654 – Clipstone Colliery Revisit Part 2

    #654 – Clipstone Colliery Revisit Part 2

    There were three main areas visited – the winding engine hall, the adjacent power house and the heapstead under the upcast. The winding engine hall is now used as an events venue and has a large collection of mining memorabilia which was interesting but not what I wanted to photograph. The power house was more…

  • #653 – Clipstone Colliery Revisit Part 1

    #653 – Clipstone Colliery Revisit Part 1

    I’d last visited Clipstone Colliery in March 2009, not long after the site had been cleared, leaving just the magnificent grade 2 listed headstocks and power house standing alone in a recently graded field. In fact there were still piles of rubble round the back and the fence had not been erected around the buildings.…

  • #652 – Clipstone Colliery 2009

    #652 – Clipstone Colliery 2009

    These are some photographs that I’ve never published on this blog, although if you follow me on social media you will have seen them, and the colour versions appear on theviewfromthenorth.org. I visited here in 2009, and the site had just been cleared of all the surface buildings. All that was left was the grade…

  • #651 – Pleasley Colliery Revisit

    #651 – Pleasley Colliery Revisit

    I first visited both Clipstone and Pleasley Colliery on the same day in March 2009 and while Clipstone was my priority this time I thought I’d pay a quick visit to Pleasley as it was only 25 minutes away. Back in 2009 I was years away from starting my headgear typology but while I had…

  • #650 – Imperial Mill Blackburn 2

    #650 – Imperial Mill Blackburn 2

    As I moved out of Blackburn in 2004 and stopped working there in 2006, I rarely go back unless I have to. It’s a town I have mixed memories of, and as I wasn’t born there, and most of my friends from there have also moved elsewhere, so there’s little to take me back. Nonetheless,…

  • #649 – Imperial Mill Blackburn

    #649 – Imperial Mill Blackburn

    I lived in Blackburn for a few years in the late 90’s / early 2000’s and used to work near this place, Imperial Mill. I took some photographs of it that I don’t think I’ve ever put on here but you might have seen the one above on my website if you’ve ever visited it.…

  • #648 – Vine Mill, Oswaldtwistle

    I was in ‘Ossy’ on the way back from somewhere else, so I thought I’d swing by this place as it’s been in my list for a while. It’s not the most visually interesting mill, so I took a couple of record photographs and then went down a lane at the side to see if…

  • #647 – Stonebridge Mill, Oswaldtwistle 2

    #647 – Stonebridge Mill, Oswaldtwistle 2

    In days gone by, a mill at the end of the street was a common site in Lancashire and Yorkshire, with the terraced housing being built for the mill workers. Let’s not romanticise it though – these places were noisy and had smoke billowing out of the chimney 24/7 so I can’t imagine they were…

  • #646 – Stonebridge Mill, Oswaldtwistle

    Oswaldtwistle is one of those northern towns like Slaithwaite (Slawit) and Barnoldswick (Barlick) that is not pronounced as it is spelt. Locally it is pronounced ‘Ozuldtwissle’ or just ‘Ozzy’ if you’re really local. Actually, it’s not really a town, it’s more a suburb of Accrington (which is pronounced as it is spelt, although generally abbreviated…

  • #645 South Wales Road Trip Part 13 – Big Pit

    Big Pit was my last port of call as it was the most easterly pit and therefore – technically – on the way home. It’s the home of the Welsh Mining Museum so like all museums is free to enter, but they do charge £5 to park so regard that as an entry fee of…

  • #644 – South Wales Road Trip Part 12 – Lewis Merthyr

    #644 – South Wales Road Trip Part 12 – Lewis Merthyr

    Unlike Cefn Coed, the colliery museum at Lewis Merthyr remains open. Mine was a flying visit and I didn’t have time for the guided tour round the buildings as I wanted to look at a photographic exhibition that was being held there as well so I had to balance the time I had between making…

  • #643 – South Wales Road Trip Part 11 – Great Western Colliery

    This was a brief stop. The site wasn’t open and a small sign on the gate said it open Sundays 2-4 so I was 24 hours too early and I planned to be on the way home when it was open, so I just had a look from the pavement. And that’s quite easy to…

  • #642 – South Wales Road Trip Part 10 – Tower Colliery

    I’m not sure if you’re allowed in without a booking for one of the rides, but I thought I’d chance my arm – you don’t get if you don’t ask. The lovely girl on the desk was slightly perplexed by my request but agreed that I could go in as long as I stayed in…

  • #641 – South Wales Road Trip Part 9 – Cefn Coed Colliery

    The primary reason for my Wales trip was to photograph the remaining mines for my typology and I have opted to photograph them all from the same side on perspective. This is easier said than done, and not all of the remaining headgears can be photographed side on, but I was going to do my…

  • #640 – South Wales Road Trip Part 8 Cefn Coed Colliery

    Cefn Coed was on my list of places to see on my original, cancelled trip in 2021 but at that time one or both of the headgears were being rebuilt and in pieces. So I suppose one of the benefits of postponing was the ability to see both in a fully restored condition, and they…

  • #639 – South Wales Road Trip Part 7 – Port Talbot

    #639 – South Wales Road Trip Part 7 – Port Talbot

    I’d seen a few views of Port Talbot taken from the hills that overlook the town so wanted to go and have a look at the view myself. My contact who knew the area well warned me that the path up from the town was steep and boy was he right! After a good number…