The Leicestershire Oilfield

The British Pathé website holds many treasures.

This newsreel from 1954 (just click on the photo) shows men drilling for oil at Plungar in Leicestershire.

The well does not seem to be open today, although the book Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology, which was published in 2000, says that a "nodding donkey" could be seen at Plungar.

Oil is, however, still extracted in Leicesterhire. Earlier this year the Leicester Mercury reported that Star Energy Oil & Gas has been given permission to continue operating the county's only two wells. They are in the Stilton country at Long Clawson, near Melton Mowbray.

The newspaper quoted the chairman of the parish council as saying:

"The wells aren't in the village. I've lived here 17 years and the only activity is when they carry out maintenance. 

"It's very well screened and if you asked 90% of people in the village where the oil well was they wouldn't know, it's so unobtrusive."

You can find a picture of one of the Long Clawson wells on Geograph.

It is interesting that whoever wrote the newsreel did not know about the Nottinghamshire oilfield that flourished during World War II. It had been a secret then and was probably not widely discussed 10 years later.