Elsecar Collieries

The Elsecar Collieries were the coal mines sunk in and around Elsecar, a small village to the south of Barnsley in what is now South Yorkshire, but was traditionally in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The last operating mine, Elsecar Main, closed in 1983 and with its closure ended 230 years of mining in the village

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179 m

Elsecar goods station

Elsecar goods station was a goods facility constructed near the village of Elsecar, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, at the terminus of the South Yorkshire Railways branch line from Elsecar Junction on its Mexborough to Barnsley line. The total length of the line was 2 miles 1,204 yards (4.3 km). The line from Elsecar Junction followed closely that of the Elsecar Branch of the Dearne and Dove Canal to its terminus at Elsecar where the sidings of Earl Fitzwillian's Elsecar Colliery are alongside. Also joining the line are the exchange sidings of Lidgett Colliery, reached by an incline from a triangular junction in the yard. The route of this tramway can still be seen today running between the hedgerows towards its summit and the point where it turns towards the colliery. In 1930 the facilities in the yard included a goods shed with crane and sidings to the Elsecar Ironworks, the local gas works as well as the building containing Earl Fitzwilliam's private railway station and other warehouse facilities. The facilities were closed in the early 1970s.

Elsecar Ironworks

The Elsecar Ironworks opened in 1795 in the village of Elsecar near Barnsley, South Yorkshire. The company was bankrupted in 1827 and taken over by the Wentworth estate who owned the land it stood on. The buildings are now part of the Elsecar Heritage Centre.

330 m

Earl Fitzwilliam's private railway station

Earl Fitzwilliam's private railway station is a former private railway station in South Yorkshire, England, situated at the upper end of the Elsecar branch of the South Yorkshire Railway. The station was opened in 1870, after the line passed to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and was used by the Earl's parties visiting the St. Leger race meeting at Doncaster. The Earl's parties were conveyed by coach from Wentworth Woodhouse to the station to join these trains which were known, and shown in railway publications as "E.F.W. Specials". Works records of Elsecar show that these trains ran until 'the early years of the 20th century'. The M.S.& L.R. issued a 'Royal Standard' to the station to be flown when royalty was included in the party. The station was also host to other trains not connected to the St. Leger race meeting or usage by Earl Fitzwilliam. These were the seaside excursions operated for the pleasure of the villagers which were a regular feature of the summers before the First World War. Because of the length of journey and the suitability of the junction, meeting the main line in that direction, Cleethorpes was a popular destination. The building was of two storeys, the upper storey containing a waiting/drawing room where the Earl entertained his guests prior to departure. Still standing, the station is included within the site of the Elsecar Heritage Centre. The first mile of the line, northwards from the Heritage Centre toward Cortonwood, has been re-laid after it was closed in 1983 with the closure of Elsecar Main Colliery and is now operated by the Elsecar Steam Railway. The remainder of the line, from Cortonwood to Elsecar Junction near Brampton, was closed after the closure of Cortonwood colliery in 1985, and the track lifted.

364 m

Elsecar Heritage Centre

Elsecar Heritage Centre is a visitor attraction centre in Elsecar, Barnsley, England. Operated by Barnsley Museums, it has independent shops, studios, galleries and cafes in former Victorian engineering workshops. It also has a large antiques centre. A visitor centre and regular tours share the unique history of the village, an industrial estate village of ironworks and collieries, built for the Earls Fitzwilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse. Elsecar is now recognised to be of international significance, one of the UK's first model villages and a precursor to places like Saltaire. Close to the heritage centre, at the Elsecar New Colliery, is a Newcomen steam engine, the only such engine still in its original location and now understood to be the world's oldest steam engine still in situ.