Kellingley Colliery, Yorkshire, UK

Kellingley Colliery was the last deep-level coal mine in the UK. It's closure in December 2015 marked an end for the UK coal industry.

Visited December 2015   Kellingley, Yorkshire, UK Closed

The end of an era.

An era which has been on the decline for a number of decades. An era that made Britain truly great. An era that saw many prosperous moments. An era that couldn’t sustain itself.

The era I’m talking about was Industrial Britain and the closure of Kellingley Colliery, the last deep level mine in the UK not only signifies the end of the UK coal industry as we know it, but puts a final end to the great industrial times Britain used to know.

Coal.

The life-blood of the industrial revolution was mined in great quantities from the plentiful seams throughout the North of England. Powering everything from a blacksmiths forge to the immense power stations that are now seeing out their final days, coal was solely responsible for powering the industrial past of the UK.

It’s no surprise then, that the decline of the coal industry and the downturn in heavy industry have gone hand-in-hand. No longer do we need to burn vast quantities of highly-polluting fuels, so the closure of the last coal mine is the final milestone of Industrial Britain. A point where we can look back at everything we have achieved, and celebrate the greatness of Britain. A moment to look to the future with wonder. Britain may have had a change in direction, but we are still world leaders in many, many sectors. We develop modern techniques and move with the times. It may be a sad day for the workers of Kellingley, but with a nod of respect to the past, we see the future of the nation in this closure and look towards a bright, clean future.

Long live Britain.