Description:Before steel headgear, wooden headgear was normally used. This photograph clearly shows the wooden headgear at Engine pit, Chatterley Whitfield colliery.
The headgear is built for winding the cage from the pit head to the pit bottom and vice versa. It is generally built with four main legs designed to carry the weight of the winding wheels. The two back legs are angled to counter the pressure exerted by the winding ropes.