South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation Grant

For online use

The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery are delighted to announce that we have received a grant of £950 from South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation (SYCF) to further help the development of the group and continue our work on site.

The grant is administered by SYCF and has been made from the AESSEAL Charitable Trust Grassroots Endowment Fund for South Yorkshire to whom FOHC would like to express our sincere thanks.

The grant is to help with the ongoing insurance costs for the site until October 2016, to develop promotional materials helping to raise awareness of the group’s activities, and to provide tools and equipment for volunteers to make real progress whilst on site.

About SYFC

South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation was founded in 1986, and over the past 30 years they have raised and distributed over £25m in grants to community and voluntary projects across South Yorkshire, and created an Endowment of over £10m providing a lasting legacy that will continue to support South Yorkshire for many years to come. Their work aims to demonstrate that:

  • Local giving can transform lives
  • Together we can build stronger communities
  • Together we can achieve economic, social and physical well-being across South Yorkshire
  • Everyone deserves the same opportunities to fulfill their potential, no matter where they live

About the Endowment

AESSEAL®, a Rotherham-based company specialising in the design and manufacture of mechanical seals and support systems, created a charitable endowment fund in response to the national Grassroots matched funding initiative from 2008-11. This endowment generates a sustainable source of funding which SYCF administer for the benefit of South Yorkshire.

14th November 2015 – Village Ramblings

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Heavy clouds signaled the start of what would be a very wet weekend in Hemingfield, and an unsettled one for South Yorkshire. Site director Glen and regular volunteers Phil and Chris arrived to continue the site clearance work, but with only the odd break in the cloud for company, they decided to sound the retreat and stay dry. This gave us a chance to go and explore – and what could be better than a historical village ramble in Elsecar!

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Hemingfield Colliery – Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership

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http://discoverdearne.org.uk/sites/hemingfield-colliery/

We’re featured amongst the sites working with the Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership on their excellent new website.

Read about their plans for the area over the next few years, and keep up with the amazing range of events and activities they are arranging and supporting to reconnect people with their local environment, built heritage and green spaces.

Open Day and working party – Saturday 31st October 2015

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Autumn comes to Wath Road

After a week of miserably wet weather, Saturday arrived with bright sunshine and spookily unseasonal warmth, as Site Director Glen unlocked the pit gates ready for our last Open day in October.  Just after ten o’clock a keen group of volunteers arrived on site ready for what would be a busy day of clearing the west end of the colliery, an area hidden by silver birch trees which sprang up over the last 20 years as the pit site was neglected and became overgrown. We certainly like a challenge!

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Working Party Weekend 19th-20th September 2015

Cornish Engine House and concrete headgear

Cornish Engine House (c.1843) and concrete headgear (c.1934), viewed from Pit Row on Wath Road

This weekend was a quieter one on site; a time for reflection and planning. On Saturday site manager Glen and volunteer Chris met and discussed further insights from the wonderful Beedan Collection. The Friends are arranging the papers and hope to share highlights from the material over the coming months. On Sunday the Friends Directors discussed current plans and worked on proposals to secure an economically viable future for the site.

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Working Party Weekend 22nd-23rd August 2015

Summer satisfaction: Sunshine, showers and slow but certain progress

Summer satisfaction: Sunshine, showers and slow but certain progress

Past, Present and Future

The Friends and volunteers arrived on site for a hot, humid and historic weekend of digging – literally and figuratively – into the past of Hemingfield Colliery. It made for a wonderful couple of working party sessions.

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Working Party Weekend, 8th-9th August 2015

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Summertime in South Yorkshire

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day in Hemingfield, and the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery were delighted to welcome a group of extra volunteers on site to get stuck in to tidying things up, but also continuing the gentle archaeology of the site – peeling back the top layer of soil and roots to reveal some of the former colliery’s features beneath.

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Working Party Weekend 25th-26th July

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Digging deeper

The Friends assembled for another working party weekend, bringing tools, talent and talk of recent research, together with a hint of excitement at the prospect of uncovering more features of the industrial archaeology of the site. Site Manager Glen, and Chair of the Friends Steve opened the gates to welcome volunteers Alan, John, Keith and Phil to the pit for what would be a fascinating day.

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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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