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.
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.
Summertime had certainly arrived in Hemingfield, with the village Gala taking place at the Ellis Church of England Primary School, over the canal, across the valley from the colliery at the top of Tingle Bridge Lane. Friends Director and Site Manager Glen opened the pit gates and put out the signing-in sheets ready for what would be a bright and busy, somewhat muggy, but memorable day.
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!
The sun always shines in Hemingfield
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.
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.
The start of Summer can only mean one thing – torrential downpours. Perhaps predictably Saturday was something of a washout. On Sunday, however, the Friends and Volunteers gathered early once more. Site manager Glen welcomed John, Nigel and Amanda, and Chris. Phil and Frank joined the troops later during the day.
The Friends returned to Hemingfield ready for another busy weekend of site clearance, material reclamation, and more than a dash of industrial archaeology. Discussions on everything from future developments, the history of the site and the physical structure of cast iron could be heard around the pit yard as the volunteers continued to get stuck into the work of bringing life back to the site.
Saturday was another bright day to open what would be a very busy working party weekend with Friends, volunteers and visitors in and around the site on both days. As usual Friends Glen (Director and Site manager) and Steve (Chair of the Friends) were the first to appear, opening up the colliery gates and preparing the plan of action for the first of two days of volunteer work as the site comes alive once more.
At the beginning of January 2015, The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery were delighted to be joined on site by contractors who completed the installation of 4 roller shutters and a security door.
Over the course of two days, the site’s historic buildings had their security enhanced with metal security shutters and doors. These installations were made possible through the generous support of the Northern Mine Research Society (NMRS), via their Project Grants scheme.
The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery offer their sincere thanks and gratitude to NMRS for this assistance which marks a great start to the new year for Hemingfield.
NMRS is dedicated to the preservation and recording of mining history. Through its Project Grants scheme the society seeks to advance the education of the public in, and encourage the study of, all historical and technical aspects of mining and associated subjects.
Securing the standing structures and controlling access to the site is crucial to ensuring the long-term preservation of the buildings. By helping to safeguard the unique features of this rare survival, NMRS are directly supporting the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery build a firm future for the whole site and the stories it holds.
Yesterday evening was certainly a bit different!
A large part of this project has been about increasing the awareness of this site within the local community, encouraging people to engage in the rich history as well as future potential of this site.
Last night we took a step in that direction by illuminating the iconic headgear on the site, tying in with Halloween events going on up and down the valley.
We hope you got a chance to see this spectacle in person, but if not then these photos certainly do it justice.
View of the headgear from on site.
View of the headgear from Wath Road/B6097
View of the headgear from the Trans Pennine Trail, it really stood out on the hillside!
We hope that this will not be a one off event, and would love for this to become a usual sight against the nights sky over Hemingfield. This will only be possible with the sustainable redevelopment of this site…
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Friends of Hemingfield Colliery 