For the last open day weekend in September, the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery gathered in numbers. Site Manager Glen was joined by Friends Chair Steve, and regular volunteers Nigel, Alan, John, together with John, Phil, Chris, Mike and another Phil – a very full crew.
Full house. Catching up with Friends and volunteers
Hemingfield Colliery Heritage Open Days
Come along and visit our wonderful Victorian coal mine site. See its 1840s winding engine house, two headgears and shafts disappearing into the depths from which the Barnsley seam coal was wrought.
Our team of volunteers will be on site to explain more about Hemingfield Colliery, and provide tours to visitors.
Join us on Saturday 9th or Sunday 10th September, between 10am and 4pm
Address:
Hemingfield Colliery
Wath Road/ opposite Pit Row
Hemingfield
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S73 0NX
Another year flies around and suddenly it’s the first weekend in September once again. Time for the Elsecar by the Sea festival.
A community gala, a great beer festival and a weekend of public activities, including railway trips, live music, entertainers and fairground rides all celebrating the promenading wonders of Elsecar by the Sea.
The origins of the celebration date to the turn of the Twentieth century when the summer charms of Elsecar’s reservoir were promoted to Sheffield city dwellers as a ‘seaside’ escape from the industrial grime and smog.
View of the winding engine house in the July sunshine
A bright and beautiful day welcomed the Friends and volunteers to Hemingfield Colliery on Saturday, as the crew returned to do some regular maintenance of the site, as well a continuing the recent excavation on the lower terrace, a pleasing piece of industrial archaeology revealing more of the original stone paving of the colliery.
The pit site on its third anniversary under the care of the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery
On Saturday 24th June, The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery gathered at the pit to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the date that the Friends finally received the keys to the site and could begin the journey which has brought us all to where we are today.
The May Day bank holiday weekend saw a busy day down at Hemingfield Colliery, as the Friends and a good crew of volunteers arrived on site, thankfully blessed with a bright and pleasant day.
2017 has arrived. We made it. Happy New Year to all of the Friends, volunteers, supporters and local partners who helped to make a real difference to saving and protecting our heritage last year: May 2017 be full of fun, new friendships and further progress. There’s much to do!
The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery began the year by setting out the programme of events for the whole year ahead, so there’s plenty of opportunities for people to visit and see what’s happening. We’re always pleased to see and hear from above interesting in the site, the local area, its people, environment and history.
Whether through a family connection, mining memories, or curiosity, there’s much to discover at Hemingfield and throughout the surrounding area, from Elsecar up to Wentworth; from Barnsley to Rotherham we are fortunate to live in a semi-rural district with strong industrial and transport links to the big regional cities. It provides a beautiful balance, and the Friends would be delighted to hear from anyone, as well as sharing our knowledge of the site, it helps us to understand the development and impact of the colliery over time.
So, as 2016 retreats into memory, cards and decorations come down, and cruelly-uprooted evergreen guests are ousted for another year, it’s time for the new year to get underway: life in Hemingfield very much goes on.
After a cloudy and unpromising start to the weekend, the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery were treated to a glorious autumnal day, with blue skies and sunshine smiling on the pit yard. Site Manager Glen and Friends Chair Steve opened the gates to catch up on the progress in the restoration of the roof of the winding engine house, and welcome regular volunteers, Nigel, Alan, John, Keith and Chris to another day’s working party activities.
Works in Progress
Saturday was a busy day at Hemingfield, ushering in the first working party in November. Following a week filled with US election drama and the sombre reflections of remembrance day, Site Manager Glen opened the pit gates, joined by Directors Ian and Christine. Chairman Steve and regular volunteers John and Chris were also on hand as the Friends welcomed a number of new visitors to the site, all eager to see the progress in the winding engine house roof, and to discuss some exciting opportunities throughout the valley.
On Friday 4th November the University of Sheffield School of Architecture (SSoA) welcomed students, clients, partners and the public to the Vestry Hall (Israac Centre) on Cemetery Road Sheffield for the public presentations of the 2016 Live Projects www.liveprojects.org.
Live Projects are 6 week projects where Masters Architecture students from the SSoA work with local community, voluntary and arts-based groups on real-world client briefs producing high quality innovative design and build, feasibility, strategy, public engagement and other outputs to support and advance the work of their clients. The project groups work to agreed briefs on a tight schedule. The ideas, designs, documents, models and final presentations are always creative and engaging. The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery themselves benefited from a Live Project in 2014 and so are delighted to see the outcomes of the EHR Live work.
Friends of Hemingfield Colliery 