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Snibston is a former coal mining village in Coalville, north west Leicestershire, in the English Midlands, now part of the civil parish of Ravenstone with Snibston. Its 13th-century church of St Mary is the smallest church still in use for regular worship in England.〔http://www.achurchnearyou.com/snibston-st-mary〕 The area is now dominated by the Snibston Discovery Museum (now closed), built on the site of the former colliery and consisting of an award-winning interactive museum, scheduled ancient colliery buildings, the Century Theatre, and a country park and nature reserve. It is located within the National Forest. Snibston and Snibston Discovery Museum are managed by Leicestershire County Council and supported by Next, The National Forest. ==History of Snibston== John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1872) described Snibston as a 'hamlet in Packington parish, Leicester; near the Swannington railway, 4½ miles SE of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Pop., 595. Houses, 110. The manor belongs to Lady Edith Hastings. Coal is extensively worked. There is a very old chapel of ease.'〔 http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=23428〕 Snibston Colliery was one of three coal mines sunk in the 1820s and 1830s that helped create the town of Coalville in north-west Leicestershire. Snibston Colliery was created by the famous engineers George, and Robert Stephenson and produced coal continuously from 1833 to 1983. When it finally closed in 1985, the site was bought by Leicestershire County Council with the aim of preserving the most important buildings, turning the rest of the derelict site into a recreational area and building a major new museum of science and working life. The Discovery Park opened in 1992. Snibston Colliery's railway is one of the earliest ever built in Britain. It was constructed by Robert Stephenson between 1833 and 1836 to connect the colliery with the Leicester and Swannington Railway, built by his father George Stephenson on the east side of Coalville.〔(Official Snibston Website )〕 This railway was created to carry coal, not passengers. After Snibston Colliery closed in 1983 the railway line was partially dismantled and abandoned. However the section of line from the mine to the centre of Coalville was restored between 1998 and 2001. Many of the historic mining buildings are now very rare survivals of this once-widespread industry and have been designated as scheduled ancient monuments by the Government. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Snibston」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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