Chatterley Whitfield: Walker fan house and drift (27)

Chatterley Whitfield is a former colliery fan house and drift built around 1958. The fan house features a brick base and is constructed with a steel frame and profiled metal cladding, with the roof also covered in metal sheeting. The ventilation shaft has a fabricated steel casing, while the fan drift is covered with mass concrete slabs.

The building has a rectangular plan and consists of three attached structures: the fan house, which houses the fan motors and other equipment; the ventilation shaft, known as the evaseé; and the fan drift located to the south.

On the north side of the fan house, there is a large entrance with continuous glazing made up of fifteen lights above. The west elevation has metal-framed windows, and an exhaust pipe is located on the east side of the building. The rear or south side features the evaseé, which is constructed with welded steel ribs and plates, forming a four-sided tower that flares outwards above mid-height. The concrete-covered drift has a projecting flat-roofed entrance with steel doors, which are boarded over, on the west elevation. This entrance is accessed by concrete steps with railings on three sides, and there is a large steel door on the east side.

The interior has not been inspected since 2013, but it is understood to contain an electrically-powered fan, a DC generator, a fan motor mounted on a concrete plinth, a gearbox, and pumps. Much of the floor in the fan house is finished with red quarry tiles, and a staircase within the drift leads down to tunnels.