MineArchive
Sharlston Colliery Band
| Category | Music |
|---|---|
| Dates | Contest results 1987-1997; photographed at practice 20 January 1993; colliery closed July 1993. |
The brass band of Sharlston Colliery, near Wakefield, which practised at the pit and competed in the Yorkshire Area and National Mineworkers contests. It was photographed at practice in January 1993, months before the colliery closed, and later played under a series of sponsors' names before it folded.
The mining history in this record
Sharlston Colliery worked from 1858 until July 1993, and its band carried the pit's name. In the late 1980s and 1990s it competed in the Yorkshire Area contests, between the First and Fourth sections, in the National Mineworkers contests and the CISWO Yorkshire contests run by the coal industry's welfare organisation, and at Hartlepool, under its conductor Malcolm Simpson among others.
On 20 January 1993 James O. Davies of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England photographed the band at practice at Sharlston Colliery; the colliery shut that July.
People
Malcolm Simpson, conductor.
Legacy today
At various times the band was also known as Sharlston Colliery Welfare Band, Sharlston Colliery (Mobil) Band, Yorkshire Evening Post Sharlston, West Yorkshire Motors and East Yorkshire Motors (Sharlston), and AMI Laser Restoration Sharlston. It no longer exists. The colliery's own memorial is its salvaged pit wheel, set up in the village.
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.
- James O. Davies of the RCHME photographed the band at practice at Sharlston Colliery on 20 January 1993. (documented fact) 1
- The band competed in the Yorkshire Area, National Mineworkers and CISWO Yorkshire contests between 1987 and 1997. (documented fact) 2
- The band was also known as Sharlston Colliery Welfare Band, Sharlston Colliery (Mobil) Band, Yorkshire Evening Post Sharlston and AMI Laser Restoration Sharlston, among other names. (documented fact) 2
- The band no longer exists. (documented fact) 2
Mines
- Sharlston Colliery — West Yorkshire
The colliery's brass band, photographed at practice at Sharlston Colliery in January 1993 (Historic England Archive, Brass Band Results).
Sources
- (primary) Band practice, Sharlston Collieries Band, Sharlston Colliery, Sharlston, Wakefield (Historic England Archive AA93/03714) — Google Arts & Culture (Historic England Archive)
- (secondary) Sharlston Colliery Band — Brass Band Results
Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026