Clipstone

Clipstone is a small working class ex-coal mining village in north Nottinghamshire built on an old army base.

History
George Sitwell, Ironmaster mined iron locally and built a furnace here in the seventeenth century.

General description
Clipstone is split into Kings Clipstone (formerly known as Old Clipstone) and New Clipstone. New Clipstone has a few shops and is home to Vicar Water Country Park. Kings Clipstone is split into two parts one being home to old stone buildings, and the new Cavendish estate that is still being built. The village is built alongside the B6030 road.

Most of the village is in the Newark and Sherwood district council, with a small section in the west near Forest Town in the Mansfield council area. The Garibaldi College is just inside the Mansfield district. The local football team is Clipstone Welfare. The village is adjacent to Sherwood Forest.

Nearby is the medium-wave transmitter for Radio Nottingham.

South in the village is Vicars Water Country Park, developed out of Vicar Water and the former spoil tips from the colliery, forming a landscape of hills and ponds and contains the controversial "Golden Hand", said to represent the village,s mining heritage.

New Clipstone (commonly known as just Clipstone) is the village's most diverse area with both old and new homes, a library, primary school, village hall as well as a few shops and pubs, including Clipstone Welfare, which was used for scenes in the 2007 film Control. Clipstone colliery also lies within the New Clipstone area, home to Europe's largest headstocks.''

Kings Clipstone (previously known as Old Clipstone) is the older part of the joined villages and can be criticised for its virtually "undeveloped" area with only the local Dog and Duck pub as a social place to meet. There is also a slaughterhouse.

Both villages lie in the heart of Sherwood Forest, approximately four miles from Mansfield town.

Clipstone colliery
The pit closed in April 2003. Since 1993 it had been owned by RJB Mining (now UK Coal). The headstocks, grade two listed structures, are known to be the tallest in Europe and more recently the third tallest in the world. They can be seen from miles around. Despite this, there has been a number of appeals to demolish them due to the expense of the upkeep.