MineArchiveGoldthorpe Colliery
| Location | Goldthorpe, in the Dearne valley between Barnsley and Doncaster, South Yorkshire — 53.5350, -1.3050 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1909–1994 |
| Maximum depth | No reliable shaft depth has yet been located. |
| Operators | Henry Lodge Ltd (1909–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1994) |
Overview
A Dearne valley colliery with a long false start. Coal was worked at Goldthorpe from 1678, developed further as Marsden’s Goldthorpe Colliery in 1770 and given up in 1783. The ground was reopened as Goldthorpe Colliery in 1909, and the pit was later worked together with its neighbours Highgate and Hickleton before closing in 1994.
History
Coal mining took place in the Goldthorpe area from the seventeenth century, with a colliery opened in 1678. It was developed further as Marsden’s Goldthorpe Colliery in 1770, and the site closed in 1783. The ground was reopened as Goldthorpe Colliery in 1909. In its later years the pit was worked in combination with its neighbours: coal from Highgate was raised and processed at Goldthorpe, and Goldthorpe and Hickleton were run together as one mine in the 1980s. The colliery closed in 1994. The detail of those mergers, of the 1909 sinking and of the closure is not recorded here, because the only account of it found in this pass was a search-result summary of a Northern Mine Research Society page that could not be read — see internal_notes.
Geology
The Yorkshire coalfield in the Dearne valley. The Shafton seam was the one leased from Lord Halifax at the 1909 reopening.
Workings
A shaft colliery which in its later years served its neighbours as well, coal from Highgate being raised and processed here and the workings latterly run together with Hickleton. No detailed description of the shafts or underground layout has been established from the sources read.
Closure
The colliery closed in 1994. The circumstances — a placing on care and maintenance, a search for a buyer, and a final closure later the same year — appear in secondary summaries but could not be confirmed from any source read in this pass, and are not stated here as fact.
What remains
The colliery was demolished shortly after closure. Phoenix Park, community woodland between Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe, occupies former colliery ground nearby.
No colliery structure has been identified as surviving.
Nearby mines
- Hickleton Main Colliery — 0.7 km N
- Barnburgh Main Colliery — 2.1 km SE
- Manvers Main Colliery — 4.4 km SW
- Wath Main Colliery — 4.5 km SW
- Cadeby Main Colliery — 6.0 km SE
Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Coal mining took place in the Goldthorpe area from the seventeenth century, with a colliery opened in 1678. This was developed further as Marsden’s Goldthorpe Colliery in 1770. The site closed in 1783 but was reopened as Goldthorpe Colliery in 1909. 1
- The site closed in 1783 but was reopened as Goldthorpe Colliery in 1909. The mine closed in 1994. 1
- The National Archives holds National Coal Board photographs catalogued under "Goldthorpe/Highgate colliery, Yorkshire" — the compound name under which the two pits were run as one. 2
Photographs & further reading
A heritage account of the settlement setting the colliery in the history of the place, from the 1678 pit through Marsden’s colliery of 1770 to the 1909 reopening and the 1994 closure.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Goldthorpe — Story of the Dearne — Discover Dearne
- (primary) Goldthorpe/Highgate colliery, Yorkshire: photograph depicting a rapid loading bunker (National Coal Board records) — The National Archives
Record created: 8 September 2026 · Last researched: 8 September 2026