Coalville: Northwest Leicestershire Mining Town Reinventing Itself After the Pits Closed
Coalville does what it says on the tin. The town was built on coal extraction, and the name was adopted in the 1830s when the mines around Whitwick and Snibston were at full production. Snibston Colliery, sunk in 1831 by William Stenson and Robert Stephenson (son of George), was one of the first deep mines in Leicestershire. The Snibston Discovery Museum occupied the former colliery site until its controversial closure in 2015. The population is around 36,000 for the wider Coalville urban area. The town sits in the North West Leicestershire district, about 16 miles northwest of Leicester and close to the M1 at junction 22.
The town centre on Hotel Street and High Street has a market on Fridays. The Belvoir Shopping Centre handles the chain retail. Coalville is in the National Forest area, and the Hicks Lodge cycling centre nearby provides off-road routes through new woodland. Donington Park racing circuit is about eight miles to the north, and East Midlands Airport is a similar distance. Coalville does not have a railway station; the nearest is Loughborough. The A511 connects to the M1 and onward to Leicester. For those interested in adult companionship in northwest Leicestershire, Coalville's M1 access puts Leicester, Loughborough, and the wider East Midlands within a short drive.
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Coalville does what it says on the tin. The town was built on coal extraction, and the name was adopted in the 1830s when the mines around Whitwick and Snibston were at full production. Snibston Colliery, sunk in 1831 by William Stenson and Robert Stephenson (son of George), was one of the first deep mines in Leicestershire. The Snibston Discovery Museum occupied the former colliery site until its controversial closure in 2015. The population is around 36,000 for the wider Coalville urban area. The town sits in the North West Leicestershire district, about 16 miles northwest of Leicester and close to the M1 at junction 22.
The town centre on Hotel Street and High Street has a market on Fridays. The Belvoir Shopping Centre handles the chain retail. Coalville is in the National Forest area, and the Hicks Lodge cycling centre nearby provides off-road routes through new woodland. Donington Park racing circuit is about eight miles to the north, and East Midlands Airport is a similar distance. Coalville does not have a railway station; the nearest is Loughborough. The A511 connects to the M1 and onward to Leicester. For those interested in adult companionship in northwest Leicestershire, Coalville's M1 access puts Leicester, Loughborough, and the wider East Midlands within a short drive.
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