Houghton Main Colliery Band

The brass band of Houghton Main Colliery, near Barnsley, re-formed under that name in 1906 from the Wombwell Temperance Band. It won the Daily Herald national third section in 1945 under James Thompson, and in 1955, under Winston Moore, took first prizes at the CISWO Yorkshire, Yorkshire Area and Belle Vue senior trophy contests on its way to the national finals. Its recorded contesting runs to 1985, latterly as Darfield and District.

The mining history in this record

The band began as the Wombwell Temperance Band and was re-formed in 1906 under the name of Houghton Main Colliery, the Darfield pit sunk from 1873. Its first season under the new name was a full one: contests at Elsecar, Hemsworth, Bradford, Hull, Chapeltown and Sheffield, with first prizes at Hemsworth, Hull and Chapeltown under William Heap, and a place in the Grand Shield at the Crystal Palace that September. By 1909 it was engaging the leading professional William Halliwell, and under him it won Class B at the Belle Vue July contest in 1910 and played in the British Open at Belle Vue in 1910, 1911 and 1912.

The band's fortunes varied after the First World War. Under James Thompson it rose again, winning the Yorkshire Area third section in June 1945 and then, on 29 September 1945, the Daily Herald National Championship third section final, a day the band counted the proudest in its history; Thompson later became Odhams' Press bandmaster. Herbert Boothroyd conducted in 1954. Under his successor Winston Moore, who had played with Grimethorpe and Creswell and conducted Barrow, 1955 was the band's best year on record: first in the second section at the CISWO colliery band contest at Sheffield in March, first in the third section at the Daily Herald area championship at Bradford on 23 April, beating eight other Yorkshire colliery bands and fifteen others, first in the senior trophy at Belle Vue in May, and third in the national third section final in London on 29 October. In 1956 it won the Yorkshire Area second section and came third in the national second section final.

In 1955 the band was a family affair. The colliery manager, T. H. Sumpter, was its honorary president and his uncle Tom one of its cornets; three fathers played beside their sons, Fred Haigh and Keith, Bill Jacques and Frank, Jack Brennan and Jack; the trombonist Tony Moore was the bandmaster's son. The oldest player, Ben Rogers on B-flat bass, was 73 and had been in colliery banding for more than sixty years, from the Castleford Subscription Band in 1890 and Wombwell Temperance from 1900, and had played at the first brass band contest held at the Crystal Palace. The bandsmen pooled their playing fees for the band's funds and paid their own expenses.

People

James Thompson, conductor of the 1945 national third section winners, later Odhams' Press bandmaster. Herbert Boothroyd, conductor in 1954. Winston (Win) Moore, bandmaster from 1955 into the 1960s, formerly a player with Grimethorpe and Creswell and conductor of Barrow Colliery Band. William Heap (1906–07) and William Halliwell (1909–12), its early conductors. Tom Paulin, conductor in the 1980s. T. H. Sumpter, colliery manager and the band's honorary president in 1955. Ben Rogers, B-flat bass, the band's veteran at 73 in 1955 after sixty years of colliery banding.

Legacy today

The band contested under Winston Moore into the 1960s and is recorded again from 1977 to 1985, by then in the fourth section under Tom Paulin, as Darfield and District or Darfield Brass as well as Houghton Main: a national fourth section final in October 1983, a CISWO Yorkshire win the same year, and a last recorded contest at the CISWO Yorkshire in March 1985. Darfield Main was merged into Houghton Main in 1986–89, and Houghton Main itself closed in 1993. The band is listed today as non-competing, rehearsing on Wednesdays. It still plays: a video shows it at a miners' gala in 2025 as Houghton Brass Band.

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 re-formed under the Houghton Main Colliery name in 1906, having originally been the Wombwell Temperance Band. (contemporary account) ^1,2
• In 1906, under William Heap, the band won at Hemsworth, Hull and Chapeltown and played in the Grand Shield at the Crystal Palace. (documented fact) ¹
• Under William Halliwell the band won Class B at the Belle Vue July contest in 1910 and competed in the British Open in 1910, 1911 and 1912. (documented fact) ¹
• The band won the Daily Herald National Championship third section final on 29 September 1945, conducted by James Thompson. (documented fact) ^1,2
• In 1955 the band won the CISWO Yorkshire second section, the Yorkshire Area third section at Bradford on 23 April and the Belle Vue senior trophy, and came third in the national third section final on 29 October. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The 1955 bandmaster Winston Moore had played with Grimethorpe and Creswell colliery bands and conducted Barrow Colliery Band before Houghton Main. (contemporary account) ²
• In 1955 the band had three father-and-son pairs, the colliery manager as honorary president, and a 73-year-old bass player, Ben Rogers, with more than sixty years of colliery banding. (contemporary account) ²
• In 1956 the band won the Yorkshire Area second section and came third in the national second section final. (documented fact) ¹
• From 1977 to 1985 the band contested in the fourth section under Tom Paulin, also known as Darfield and District, with a national fourth section final in October 1983 and a last recorded contest on 3 March 1985. (documented fact) ¹
• The band is listed as non-competing. (documented fact) ¹
• The band played at a miners' gala in 2025 as Houghton Brass Band. (contemporary account) ³

Mines

• Darfield Main Colliery — South Yorkshire
  The band contested as Darfield and District and Darfield Main Colliery Band in its later years; Darfield Main was merged into Houghton Main in 1986-89.
• Houghton Main Colliery — South Yorkshire
  The colliery's band from 1906, when the Wombwell Temperance Band was re-formed under its name; in 1955 the colliery manager was its honorary president and its players were pit families.

Sources

1. (secondary) Houghton Main Colliery (band) — Brass Band Results
2. (primary) COAL, November 1955, p. 6: 'Mining's Musicians: 9 - Houghton Main Colliery Band', story by Leonard Halls, pictures by Hayward Smead — COAL (National Coal Board)
3. (observational) Houghton Brass Band at the Miners Gala 2025 (video) — YouTube

Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026