Architecture Update: Mine monument

THE FIRST colliery to be scheduled as an ancient monument is Chatterly Whitfield in the north Staffordshire coal field. The colliery ceased production in 1977 and became a museum two years later. Scheduled monuments, for which permission to demolish is rarely given, include castles, abbeys and Stonehenge. The Secretary of State for National Heritage, Peter Brooke, agreed to the scheduling of Chatterly Whitfield in the same week as liquidators Touche Ross failed in an attempt to find a buyer for the museum, which has the best collection of mining-related artefacts in Britain.