AP shows several ring ditches with centre pits, possible bellpits. Parts of 2 enclosures, 1 with rounded right angle corner. (1) Later APs show series of bell pits. (3) (4)

A striking group of 11 bell pit sites can still be seen in the field behind the former Broad Oak Farm at Strelley. These have recently been surveyed prior to their probable destruction. Most of them consist of roughly circular hollows surrounded by low banks about 3 ft high. Others are flat mounds 2-3 ft high. The average size is a diameter of 50-60 ft. Examination of these mounds shows them to consist almost entirely of coal slack with only a very superficial layer of soil. In neighbouring ploughed fields the sites of these pits are easily seen in early spring. They show up as dark patches on the otherwise red soils, and the concentration of coal dust is so great that the farmer has to put down extra lime. (2)

Ploughed-out mound (bell pit) within the pipeline section with a great deal of coal dust and fragments of coal. The mound spread out over several metres and to a depth of around 0.4m. A shaft was clearly defined in the edge of the section. The shaft was backfilled with wood and turf after it fell out of use. (5)

The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of coal mine workings at Broad Oak Farm. Strelley colliery was named after the family which established it in the latter half of the 16th century. It remained productive at least into the later 17th century, helped by investment in technology by the prospector Huntingdon Beaumont. One of Beaumont's innovations was the installation in 1603 of a wagonway to transport coal from Strelley pits to a storage area. This was amongst the first railed wagonways in Britain. Beaumont took the idea to the north east, where wagonways later became commonplace. Strelley therefore has a significant place in the history of mining technology. Visible remains include a series of low level shaftmounds of up to 5 metres wide which represent the remains of coal workings. A vertical shaft was sunk to the coal level and the seam was worked out horizontally, giving the pit a bell-shaped profile and leaving a low collar of spoil at the shaft mouth. These undisturbed shaft mounds are rare survivals, and will include valuable technological evidence. Earthworks and buried remains will include further technological data, and include evidence of pit top features such as winding gear and of the early wagonway. Scheduled. (6) (7)

NB only a small part covered by scheduling.
See L8281 for continuation of this site, M5273 for tramway.

<1> Fairey Surveys, 1979, Vertical Air Photos (Aerial photograph). SNT683.

<2> EMG eds, 1969, East Midlands Geographer: part 7 , No 31, pp 428-9 (Serial). SNT1794.

<3> Bluesky International, 2004, Vertical Air photos (digital) 2004 (Aerial photograph). SNT2011.

<4> Bluesky International, 2007, Vertical Air photos (digital) 2007 (Aerial photograph). SNT2099.

<5> A. Beacock, 2007, A Watching Brief at Bilborough Road, Strelley, Nottinghamshire. (Unpublished document). SNT4737.

<6> Historic England, 2021, National Record of Historic Environment (Digital archive). SNT5271.

<7> Historic England, 1998, Scheduled Monument Notification (Unpublished document). SNT6356.