Brief Introduction to Savile Colliery Video.
The movie commences with a shot of the colliery offices. This building was originally the old lamp room and was converted in 1957 some two years after construction of the pit head baths building which then incorporated the new lamp room.
Next we see home coals being loaded near to the landsale onto the Geo Davies delivery truck. The loading area was sectionalised at the back into one ton capacity segments for tipping outside miner’s houses. On average underground workers received one load every five weeks.
The camera now pans round to take in the two shaft headgears and fan house prior to a shot of the gantry access from the baths to the man riding shaft top. To the left of this is the baths building visible with smoke issuing from its boiler room.
Next is the upturned view of the Savile Park headgear. Then the view returns back to the colliery offices and shows a close up of the then cost clerk (Peter Glover) entering the building.
Another upward view now of the materials yard floodlight column. It’s always windy up there, even on a still day.
Following that we see a long shot of the canal basin cut to the loading staithe, this offering a distance view of the donkey bridge (constructed to enable horse drawn barges to proceed.
Then on view are a number of barges in loading position followed by shots of the conveyor feed gantries clearing the coal to the barges. Continuation of the view displays the side elevation of the old colliery screens not now in use following the introduction of washing facilities and the switch from domestic to power station fuel.
A run of full coal wagons and the steam loco (Airedale) being driven by Ronnie Hare and Charlie Oddy is next. Along with this picture is a view of the ancient steam powered crane and then into view appear the Jubilee side tipping trucks with stone and washer residuals ready to be hauled up to the surface dirt disposal area (Colliery Tip). More views of the surface buildings bring us to the rear of the pit head baths and the end of the short video.
I am indebted to John Sigsworth for permission to display this moving picture of Savile pit taken in the late 1960’s.