Description:This view taken from the old railway bridge looks north along Midland Road, Swadlincote. On the left in the distance there is a newly built property that would become W. Wilkinson’s fruit and vegetable supplier's shop.
In the centre the colliery was known locally as Shoddy Pit or “Owd Shoddy” which mined coal from a coalfield where the seams were close to the surface. The pit bank can be seen on the right of the pit head winding gear. Over the years the site had several names. In the early 1880s it was Swadlincote Colliery and in the early 1900s it was Cartwright’s Colliery named after the owner, Moses Cartwright. It was said to be a difficult pit to work because of flooding, faults, short seams and pit shaft failures.
On the right there is a part view of the tram depot of the Burton and Ashby Light Railway. When the tram system closed the former tram sheds were used to accommodate Thomson’s fair from 1935 to the 1940s and then for munitions during the Second World War. In later years a large part of this area was redeveloped with housing, flats and the Eureka Park.