Barnburgh Main Colliery

Overview

A Dearne Valley colliery sunk from 1911 as an extension of the neighbouring Manvers Main complex, marked by a 1942 floor collapse that trapped eighteen men and a 1957 explosion that killed six, before closing in 1989 after a planned revival of its Newhill seam fell through.

History

Barnburgh Main Colliery was developed by the Manvers Main Collieries Ltd, of Wath-upon-Dearne, as the fifth and sixth shafts of its wider Manvers complex. Sinking began in 1911, paused in 1912 while surface plant was built, and resumed from 1913 until the Thorncliffe seam was cut at 720 metres in 1915; the Barnsley seam was reached in 1914, and a third shaft reached the Shafton seam in 1913 for water supply. A 3.5km mineral railway connected the colliery to Manvers Colliery and cokeworks by 1930, with direct access to the LMSR's Dearne Valley Railway. Eight-ton capacity skips installed at No. 6 shaft in 1937 were among the first used at any British colliery, followed by an electric winder in 1950; the shafts were later deepened, reaching 1,788 yards by 1954. The colliery worked the Barnsley, Parkgate, Shafton, Haigh Moor (Swallow Wood), Newhill, Thorncliffe and Meltonfield seams at different periods, and passed to the National Coal Board at nationalisation in 1947. On 24 April 1942, a sudden floor collapse in the Parkgate seam trapped eighteen miners; four died, and the last two bodies were not recovered until 30 April. A far larger disaster struck on 26 June 1957, when an explosion killed six men (see Disasters, below). A further death, that of Reginald Canham, 57, occurred in 1981 shortly before the colliery's eventual closure. Barnburgh closed on 16 June 1989, with the loss of around 750 jobs, after a planned revival of the Newhill seam fell through and a proposed drift mine project never got under way.

Workings

Two main shafts sunk 1911-15, reaching the Barnsley seam in 1914 and the Thorncliffe seam at 720 metres in 1915, later deepened to 1,788 yards by 1954; worked the Barnsley, Parkgate, Shafton, Haigh Moor, Newhill, Thorncliffe and Meltonfield seams at different periods.

Closure

Closed 16 June 1989, with the loss of around 750 jobs, after a planned Newhill seam revival fell through.

What remains

No specific present-day surface condition was established from the sources checked for this pass.

No specific surviving colliery structures were established from the sources checked for this pass.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Disasters & major incidents

• Barnburgh Main Colliery explosion, 1957
  26 June 1957 · Explosion · 6 fatalities
  A firedamp explosion at 3pm on 26 June 1957 in the Newhill seam's North West 1 District at Barnburgh Main Colliery killed six men and injured fourteen others, after a shot-firing blast brought down a stone that damaged a power cable, producing a flash that ignited gas escaping from a break in the roof 73 yards away.

Recorded claims

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

• Barnburgh Main Colliery was developed by the Manvers Main Collieries Ltd as the fifth and sixth shafts of its wider complex, sinking beginning in 1911 and reaching the Barnsley seam in 1914 and the Thorncliffe seam at 720 metres in 1915. ¹
• Eight-ton capacity skips installed at No. 6 shaft in 1937 were among the first used at any British colliery. ¹
• On 24 April 1942, a sudden floor collapse in the Parkgate seam trapped eighteen miners; four died, and the last two bodies were not recovered until 30 April. ²
• The colliery closed on 16 June 1989, with the loss of around 750 jobs, after a planned revival of the Newhill seam fell through and a proposed drift mine project never began. ^1,2

Sources

1. (secondary) Barnburgh or Barnborough Main Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Barnburgh Main Colliery — Wikipedia

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 27 August 2026