Barrow Colliery Brass Band

Category	Music
Dates	Formed 1906 as Birdwell and District; Barrow Colliery 1931; stopped in the Second World War; re-formed 1946 as Birdwell Brass; Barrow Colliery again October 1953; colliery closed 1985; later Barnsley Building Society, then Barnsley Brass.

A brass band formed in 1906 as Birdwell and District, which took the name of Barrow Colliery at Worsbrough as the colliery's miners swelled its ranks, and which survives as Barnsley Brass.

The mining history in this record

The band was formed in 1906 as Birdwell and District. Members of the mining community at Barrow Colliery, the Barrow Haematite Steel Company's pit at Worsbrough, swelled its ranks, and in 1931 it became Barrow Colliery. It stopped during the Second World War, was re-formed in 1946 as Birdwell Brass, and in October 1953 took the Barrow Colliery name again.

People

Unknown.

Legacy today

Sponsorship from the colliery waned as coal mining in the area ran down, and Barrow Colliery closed in 1985. In the 1990s the band was sponsored by a local building society, as the Barnsley Building Society band, and then by the local paper. It survives as a self-funding band under the name Barnsley Brass.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

The band was formed in 1906 as Birdwell and District. (documented fact) ^1,2
Members of the mining community from Barrow Colliery swelled the band's ranks and it was renamed the Barrow Colliery Brass Band. (documented fact) ¹
The band became Barrow Colliery in 1931, was re-formed in 1946 as Birdwell Brass after stopping in the war, and became Barrow Colliery again in October 1953. (documented fact) ²
Colliery sponsorship waned as mining ran down; in the 1990s a local building society and then the local paper sponsored the band. (documented fact) ¹
The band survives as a self-funding band, now named Barnsley Brass. (documented fact) ^1,2

Mines

Barrow Colliery, Worsbrough — South Yorkshire
Barrow Colliery miners swelled the band's ranks and it carried the colliery's name from 1931 and again from 1953, with the colliery's sponsorship.

Real-world mining concepts used here

Coal, Colliery

Sources

(secondary) Barrow Colliery — Wikipedia
(secondary) Barrow Colliery (band) — Brass Band Results

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 19 October 2026