Colliery village … well planned on the lines of C20 city suburbs by Philip Brundell, 1922. (1)
Soon after the completion of the sinking (1910-1920), construction of the village of Bircotes was underway to provide housing for the employees of the new colliery (1920 -1930). A newspaper article dated to the early 1920s states that 80 of the planned 1500 houses were complete, with further plans for a church, club and institute with recreational grounds (Un-known newspaper article, c. 1920s). Metropolitan-Vickers (.undated) describe the village of Bircotes as ‘a modern village’ that will eventually contain 1000-1200 homes, 600 of which were completed and occupied. It further adds that the village has been ‘laid out on a very generous scale, the houses being supplied with water and electric light and placed in such a manner that large open spaces have been left which are converted into gardens and lawns’. The need for such substantial housing and associated facilities illustrates the impact the colliery had on the local area. By the OS map of 1938 depicts the village of Bircotes, and the houses on Colliery Road that lead to the gated entrance. Also shown on this map is a bath house for the miners. (2)

<1> Pevsner N, 1979, The Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire 2nd ed., p 138 (Monograph). SNT4.

<2> Wessex Archæology, 2015, Harworth Colliery - Historic Building Record (Unpublished document). SNT5828.