New Fancy was a colliery on the

Forest of Dean Coalfield The Forest of Dean Coalfield, underlying the Forest of Dean, in west Gloucestershire, is one of the smaller coalfields in the British Isles, although intensive mining during the 19th and 20th centuries has had enormous influence on the landscape, ...

near Parkend in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England. After the colliery closed its

spoil heap A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quan ...

was landscaped. The site has a picnic area, and viewing site from where goshawks can be seen. It is linked to the Forest of Dean Family Cycle Trail.

History

New Fancy colliery was opened by Edward Protheroe in 1827, as part of the Park End Coal Company in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

. By 1860 it was owned by Sully & Company and in 1885 was sold to the Parkend & New Fancy Collieries Company. It remained in operation until 1944. In 1880 the colliery produced 8,382 tons of coal. In 1900 the colliery site contained a wooden headframe, a Cornish-type

engine house __NOTOC__ An engine house is a building or other structure that holds one or more engines. It is often practical to bring engines together for common maintenance, as when train locomotives are brought together. Types of engine houses include: * m ...

with an external egg-ended boiler built in the 1840s and a hand-operated windlass for raising and lowering items in the shaft. The winding gear was converted to electricity in 1916. Its site is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Bird watching

The top of the old coal mine spoil heap has been converted into a viewing site for

birdwatcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

s, and gives panoramas over an extensive forested area. It is best known for viewing

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on ...

s, especially goshawks, best seen from late morning onwards in February and March. In February 1998, a female two-barred crossbill was present in a

crossbill The crossbill is a genus, ''Loxia'', of birds in the finch family (Fringillidae), with six species. These birds are characterised by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange in ...

flock, drawing birdwatchers from across Britain.

Sculpture

The ''Roll of Honour'' sculpture was commissioned by the Forest of Dean Local History Society to honour those who worked and were killed or injured in the mines and quarries of the Forest of Dean. It was constructed by Graham Tyler and John Wakefield and was unveiled in 2005. It consists of three elements - stone, iron (represented by rusted steel), and coal (represented by carved and blackened local

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

) - and stands around high. Stainless steel discs set into the sculpture represent the tokens carried by miners to determine who was below ground in the event of accidents. The ''Forest of Dean Geomap'', a sculpture of the geology and mines of the area, was unveiled at the New Fancy picnic site in May 2008. It was commissioned by the local history society, who received a grant from

DEFRA DEFRA may refer to: * Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law * Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department {{Disambiguation ...

’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, and was constructed by sculptor David Yeates of

Mitcheldean Mitcheldean is a market town in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. History Mitcheldean was a thriving community for many centuries due to the town's proximity to iron ore deposits. During the 19th century, the town grew due to revenu ...

before being assembled on site. The rock strata depicted are built from samples of the rock they represent. Metal discs represent the locations of the main iron and coal mines and quarries, with black lines to represent coal seams and white lines for railway routes. It is flat and polished, but not shiny, and is intended to be walked on.

References

Footnotes Bibliography * {{refend

External links

NewFancy Forestry England- New Fancy

Forest of Dean Underground mines in England Coal mines in Gloucestershire