Bestwood Winding Engine House is a restored 1876 colliery winding engine, part of the once extensive Bestwood Colliery site.
The colliery closed in 1967, and the building fell into disrepair until a group of determined volunteers worked to restore the engine in the mid 1990’s. In 2009 Nottinghamshire County Council received major lottery funding to complete the restoration and make the building more accessible.
In 2013, lottery funded Heritage Development Officers were appointed to engage the public with the site and develop the volunteer team. Our regular Mini Miners event is on the first Saturday of each month, when smaller children can dig for real coal in our pop up tunnels. This low cost event has been successful in embedding us in the local community and raising the profile of the site as a fun and low cost family destination.
Our central attraction, though, is the Winding Engine House, which visitors can tour with a volunteer guide on Saturday mornings. Over the last year, our volunteer engineers have worked tirelessly to repair the electric motor which now turns the mighty engine. It is quite an experience to see it turning inside the engine house. People were delighted to see the wheels on the headstocks turning again in the former colliery village community.
Would you like to volunteer?
If you would like to visit us, or find out more about volunteering opportunities, contact Adele Williams, Heritage Development Officer at adele.williams@nottinghamshire.gov.uk or call her on 0115 976 2422.
For information on visiting Bestwood Winding Engine House, visit the Nottinghamshire County Council website.
