Barley Hall Colliery

Overview

A Newton, Chambers shaft near Thorpe Hesley, sunk in 1886–87 and used for most of its life to ventilate, pump and serve the Thorncliffe collieries. It became a colliery in its own right when Thorncliffe closed in 1955, raised up to 250,000 tons a year under the National Coal Board, and closed on 31 May 1974.

History

Barley Hall Colliery stood close to Thorpe Hesley, about six miles north of Sheffield. For most of its life it was not a colliery at all but one shaft of Newton, Chambers and Co.'s Thorncliffe pits. Sinking of the 12-foot shaft began in June 1886 and reached the Silkstone seam at 165 yards in January 1887, and a Walker fan was put in to draw air through the workings from the nearby Norfolk Colliery. When the Smithy Wood drift mine opened in 1890 Barley Hall became its upcast as well. From 1914 it was the upcast and service shaft of Thorncliffe Colliery: the fan was electrified, an electric winder raised men and materials in single-deck cages, and the shaft pumped water from the old Norfolk workings.

In 1924 a drift 305 yards long was driven at 1 in 4 to the Parkgate seam as a second intake for Thorncliffe, and named the Wembley Drift after the stadium opened that year. Pithead baths for 750 men were built in 1939. In 1946 the shaft was deepened to 270 yards, with a pit bottom at 233 yards for the 31-inch Whinmoor seam.

Thorncliffe Colliery closed in 1955. Its men were transferred to Barley Hall, which then became a colliery in its own right under the National Coal Board. Work in the Whinmoor ended in 1958. From 1961 many men came from Grange Colliery, by then marked for closure, and Barley Hall settled at 200,000 to 250,000 tons a year with upwards of 400 men. From 1963 its coal no longer came up the Wembley Drift but travelled underground to the surface at Smithy Wood, and after Smithy Wood closed in December 1972, to Skiers Spring at Rockingham Colliery.

The Silkstone seam was abandoned in February 1968 and the Thorncliffe in January 1970. In March 1973 the colliery had 374 men and raised 232,000 tons from the Fenton seam, but its reserves were exhausted and it closed on 31 May 1974. Of the 380 men then employed, 250 went to other local pits and 130 were made redundant.

Geology

South Yorkshire Coal Measures. The shaft reached the Silkstone seam at 165 yards and, after deepening, the 31-inch Whinmoor seam from a pit bottom at 233 yards. The colliery also worked the Parkgate, reached by a drift, the Thorncliffe and the Fenton, which supplied all its coal at the end.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

A single shaft 12 feet in diameter, 165 yards deep to the Silkstone seam and deepened in 1946 to 270 yards. It served as the upcast for Norfolk, Smithy Wood and Thorncliffe collieries in turn, with a Walker fan, later electrified, and an electric winder with single-deck cages. The Wembley Drift, 305 yards long at 1 in 4 to the Parkgate seam, was driven in 1924 and brought coal out until 1963; after that the coal travelled underground to Smithy Wood and, from the end of 1972, to Skiers Spring.

Closure

Closed on 31 May 1974 with its reserves exhausted. The Silkstone seam had been abandoned on 12 February 1968 and the Thorncliffe on 13 January 1970; the plans of the Parkgate and Fenton seams are dated 30 May 1975 and those of the spoil tips December 1976.

What remains

Unknown.

Related mines

• Rockingham Colliery — After Smithy Wood closed in December 1972 Barley Hall's coal was conveyed underground to Skiers Spring, part of Rockingham Colliery.
• Smithy Wood Colliery — Barley Hall was Smithy Wood's upcast shaft from 1890, and from 1963 its coal went underground to the Smithy Wood surface.
• Thorncliffe Colliery — Barley Hall was Thorncliffe Colliery's upcast and service shaft from 1914 and took its workforce when it closed in 1955.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Sinking of the 12-foot shaft began in June 1886 and reached the Silkstone seam at 165 yards in January 1887. ¹
• From 1914 the Barley Hall shaft was the upcast and service shaft for Thorncliffe Colliery. ^2,1
• A 305-yard drift at 1 in 4 to the Parkgate seam was driven in 1924 and named the Wembley Drift. ^2,1
• In 1946 the shaft was deepened to 270 yards with a pit bottom at 233 yards for the Whinmoor seam. ¹
• Thorncliffe Colliery closed in 1955 and its workforce transferred to Barley Hall, which became Barley Hall Colliery. ^2,1
• From 1961 the colliery produced between 200,000 and 250,000 tons a year with upwards of 400 men. ¹
• Barley Hall Colliery closed on 31 May 1974, its reserves exhausted; 250 of its 380 men were transferred and 130 made redundant. ¹
• The Silkstone seam was abandoned on 12 February 1968; plans of the Parkgate and Fenton seams are dated 30 May 1975. ^3,4
• Plans of the Barley Hall spoil tips are dated December 1976. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Barley Hall Colliery - Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Thorncliffe Colliery - Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Mine plan: BARLEY HALL (FORMERLY THORNCLIFFE), Silkstone seam, abandoned 12 February 1968 (feature 21881974) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans catalogue
4. (primary) Mine plan: BARLEY HALL (FORMERLY THORNCLIFFE), Parkgate seam, abandoned 30 May 1975 (feature 21879095) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans catalogue
5. (primary) Mine plan: BARLEY HALL - TANKERSLEY PARK, spoil tip, abandoned 31 December 1976 (feature 21870800) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans catalogue

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026