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History of Severn Valley Country Park

Now an oasis of peace and tranquility, this part of the Severn Valley used to be a centre of industry.

Sandstone quarried from the area was shaped in to grindstones as well as being used as building stone. For example, local sandstone was used to build part of Worcester Cathedral. Coal mining started in Highley in 1878. Production was switched to Alveley in 1936 and at this point, the Miners’ Bridge across the river was built.n At its peak the mine employed over 1000 men and produced over 300,000 tonnes of coal a year.

Due to changes in demand, production shut down in 1969 and the spoil heaps and mine site lay derelict until 1986 when the project to create Severn Valley Country Park was instigated. The project saw the reclamation of land, installation of drainage ditches, re-grading of the spoil heaps and planting of trees leading to the official opening of the park in 1992.

Download a leaflet about the transformation from colliery to country park. The leaflet was produced as part of the Severn Valley Lives in the Landscape project funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, Shropshire Council and The Jean Jackson Charitable Trust.