Site of the former Eastern United Colliery

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Another jewel in the crown of the Forest of Deans coal mines.Owned and operated by the Crawshay family until nationalisation in 1947. Despite a difficult start due to geological problems Eastern United became a very productive and profitable colliery.Closure of this very profitable mine in 1959 came as a great surprise to the Forest of Dean particularly as a huge new district of coal had been found and was under very promising development. The site is now an industrial estate with a few of the original buildings still in existence and use. The 2 deep drifts are now walled up behind the much later warehouses built in the 1960s and 70s. A deep shaft above the colliery on the hillside was part of the old Walmers Engine Colliery that was on the site long before Eastern United opened around 1908. The shaft was retained during Easterns life for maintenance and ventilation purposes although it is due to be filed and re-capped in the summer of 2009 by the Coal Authority.