HERITAGE
From this part of the Hall the pit’s winding gear –
now defunct, of course – is clearly visible
above a line of oaks and beeches
a mile or so across fields and hedges.
A narrow coal seam was opened up
nearly a quarter of a mile below,
and subsidence, now fixed, cracked the chapel walls.
Visitors note the different shades of plaster,
and that the stained glass windows were undamaged –
then stroll among flower beds, along
espaliered walks, across well-tended lawns
loud with children’s cries. Hundreds of yards beneath
are abandoned tunnels, unworked coal seams.
