The nearest towns are Alfreton to the west and Sutton-in-Ashfield(where the population is included) to the east.

'B' Winning pit was named after the seam of coal being mined from Blackwell Colliery.

The village exists because of the pit, which was first sunk in the last part of the 19th century and was worked until 1964.

The Post Office, which also served as a general store, off-licence and video library closed in 2019.

Many of the houses in the village were built for the mineworkers by Blackwell Colliery Company[1] and are considered to be unique examples of this type of architecture and size of house for miners.