Common Hawkweed is just one of the many beautiful wild flowers thriving on the Hemingfield Colliery site this June
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Open Day and Working Party June 11th 2016
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Industrial Archaeology
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Open Day and Working Party Weekend, 28th May 2016
Elsecar Heritage Railway steam loco Birkenhead shuttling up and down the line, with Hemingfield village across the fields in the background.
Bank Holiday Weekend fun
The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery returned to the pit on Saturday at the start of a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend. The sun was shining and it was a great day to be outdoors.
Site Director Glen and Friends’ Chair Steve were on site early ready for work, trimming back the lush grass which has shot up over the past couple of weeks. They were joined by Peak volunteers John, Eric and Chris, with regular volunteer Chris arriving later in the morning.
Open Day and Working Party Weekend, 5th March 2016
A Winter’s Tale
The Hemingfield Colliery Friends and volunteers were anticipating what the weather might bring, as they met up on Saturday morning for another productive working day. Continue reading
Open Day and Working Party, 6th February 2016
Falling Skies
The Friends and their doubty volunteers looked skywards this past weekend as the heavens opened and the water descended. There was every likelihood that the weather would indeed stop play. However, our volunteers are most definitely made of sterner stuff, and donning waterproofs and not a modicum of plucky determination, they set forth to Hemingfield, to get stuck in to another day of site clearance activity. Continue reading
Open Day and Working Party, Saturday 23rd January 2016
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.
South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation Grant
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.
Working Party Weekend 17th October 2015
Autumn Archaeology
The weekend saw a smaller working party than usual convene at Hemingfield Colliery, as Site Director Glen met with volunteers Nigel and Chris on an overcast Saturday morning. The team itself was far from overcast, however, and a bright and jolly mood pervaded as the work began.
Working Party Weekend 3rd and 4th October 2015
Headgear in autumn sun
Autumn had arrived at Hemingfield Colliery and the rustling silver birch leaves were glistening golden-ochre as regular Friends and volunteers Alan, John, Phil, Chris, Nigel, Amanda and Site Director Glen met at the start of another working weekend.
Working Party Weekend, 8th-9th August 2015
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.
Working Party Weekend 25th-26th July
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.
