Site History

Snibston takes its name from one of the three coal mines sunk in the 1820s and 1830s that helped create the town of Coalville in north-west Leicestershire.

Snibston Colliery was created by the famous engineers George and Robert Stephenson and it produced coal continuously between 1833 and 1983. When it finally closed in 1985 the site was purchased by Leicestershire County Council with the aim of preserving the most important buildings, turning the rest of the derelict site into a recreational area and building a major new museum of science and working life. The Discovery Park opened in 1992 and since then has welcomed over one and a half million visitors from throughout the Midlands.

2007 marks a special year for Snibston as it is our 15th Birthday since opening. There are plans for a range of activities and events to celebrate this birthday. Details of which will be updated on our Events Pages when they happen.

Many of the historic mining buildings are now very rare survivals of this once - widespread industry and have been designated as scheduled ancient monuments by the Government.

Coal has been mined in north-west Leicestershire for centuries, but around 200 years ago the huge changes of the Industrial Revolution vastly increased demand for coal and caused many more collieries to be dug in this area.

In 1828 the famous engineer George Stephenson was invited to build a railway from Leicester to Swannington. This railway passed through an area called ‘Long Lane’, which was later to become Coalville. While in the area, George Stephenson’s attention turned to coal mining and with a group of partners he bought the Snibston estate in 1831. Snibston Colliery was built in 1832, and, with its rail link to Leicester, Snibston colliery flourished along with the growing settlement of miners’ houses nearby which developed into the town of Coalville.

The market for coal grew rapidly and in 1915 a new shaft was sunk at Snibston. It was named the ‘Stephenson shaft’, after the founder of the colliery.

When the coal industry was nationalised in 1947, resources became available to develop productive mines like Snibston and in the 1950s and 1960s most mines in the area underwent greater mechanisation to increase productivity. Between 1961 and 1963 a drift mine was sunk at Snibston. This was a long, tunnelled ramp rather than a vertical shaft, down to the coal seam. A massive coal preparation plant was also built, which opened in 1964. The South Leicester and Whitwick mines were later linked to Snibston underground and from 1966 coal from all three pits was brought to the surface via the drift.

On the 16th of December 1983, the last coal from Snibston Colliery was brought to the surface, so ending a 150 years of mining here. In 1986 both South Leicester and Whitwick collieries nearby were closed.

Snibston Colliery’s railway is one of the earliest ever built in Britain. It was constructed by Robert Stephenson between 1833 and 1836 to connect the colliery with the Leicester to Swannington railway, built by his father on the east side of Coalville. The railway was created to carry coal and not passengers.

This colliery railway allowed coal to be transported cheaply to Leicester for sale and was an essential part of the pit’s success during its 150 years of operation. Before the 1830s Leicester was supplied with coal from Derbyshire, carried first by packhorse and later by canal boats,

After Snibston Colliery closed in 1983 the railway line was partially dismantled and abandoned. However the section of line from the mine to the centre of Coalville was restored between 1998 and 2001.