Events

Work day at Barnsley Main and new Friends group

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / Leave a comment

Great to see volunteers getting stuck in at the Barnsley Main Colliery site in the Dearne Valley Park at Barnsley on Friday 5th August. Some familiar scenes to the Friends of Hemingfield colliery as the group got to grips with clearing back the old car park to the pit.

Fantastic teamwork from the Barnsley Central Area Team, Twiggs, Barnsley Parks Services, Barnsley Tesco Extra and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

http://discoverdearne.org.uk/barnsley-main-work-day/

Making new Friends

Also, it’s great to see that the DVLP and local partners the Barnsley Central Area Team are proposing to help establish a new Friends Group to protect and maintain the Barnsley Main site.

An inaugural meeting supported by the DVLP and the Barnsley Central Area Team will take place on Tuesday 9th August 2016 at Hoyle Mill Inn, from 6-8pm.

The outline aims of the meeting include:

  • Formation of part of the Friends of Barnsley Main committee
  • Organising events
  • Litter picking
  • Raising awareness
  • Encouraging regular use of the site for walks with family and friends

For more details and information, see:

http://discoverdearne.org.uk/events/friends-barnsley-main/

2nd Anniversary Open Day and celebration

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Happy Birthday to us!

Saturday 25th June marked the 2nd Birthday of the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery – that is two full, colourful, fun, eventful and challenging years since the Friends first took over the pit, and started the long and steady process of salvaging, clearing, conserving and researching the history of Hemingfield Colliery, from its earliest days in the 1840s, through the end of coal winding in May 1920, and into its life as a pumping station. Surviving Nationalisation in 1947 and Privatisation in 1994, its two shafts, winding engine house and Cornish engine house overlooking a purpose-built canal basin are a unique survival. And in celebrating all that’s been achieved so far, the Friends, volunteers and supporters are looking forward to the year ahead to make further progress and continue the mission of saving the site, and sharing its stories with the local community.

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Open Day and Working Party, Saturday 23rd January 2016

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THE FIRST WORKING PARTY OF THE NEW YEAR!

A grey, but mild, Saturday morning saw Friends Chair Steve catch the attention of an inquisitive, passing dog walker, as he opened up the heavy steel gates to the Hemingfield Colliery site in readiness for another productive working day. Steve duly treated the gentleman and his four-legged friend to an impromptu tour of the site and an explanation of the archaeological and reclamation work underway.

The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery warmly welcome visitors and are always happy to showcase and explain their work to interested guests and to share their exciting plans and aspirations for the future of the site.

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150th Anniversary of the Oaks Colliery Disaster

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Oaks Colliery Disaster 1866-2016

Thanks go to the Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership the following logo is available to users free for non-commercial use in materials relating to the disaster.

December 2016 will mark 150 years since the Oaks Disaster in which over 360 miners died.

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Open Day – Our 1st Anniversary!

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A Summer Celebration

On a gloriously sunny day, the Friends arrived on site early, eager to set-up and get ready for the first anniversary open day event – a chance for the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery to celebrate one year of progress since taking possession of the site on 27th June 2014. What a year it has been!

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Many Happy Returns! – Come and join us on our first birthday on Saturday 27th June

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Photo credit: Christine Cameron

The sun always shines in Hemingfield

Saturday 27th June 2015 is a very special date – the first birthday of the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery.

To mark the day we will be opening the site as a Open Day, enabling visitors to learn more about our work and future plans for the site. The site will be open from 10am until 5pm, so come and see us at any time during the day.

  • Visit the pit yard, with its two shafts down to the Barnsley seam, and see the 1840s winding engine house.
  • Meet the Friends who helped to save the site and are working hard to secure its future.
  • Join our current volunteers and supporters in celebrating what we have learned so far, and reflecting on what the future has to hold.

Please share your memories, photographs and any questions with us.

On the day you’ll find a diverse range of experienced specialists and people passionate about the site, its history, machinery, working life and its people.

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