Barnsley Pit Head 2023

Disused colliery winding engine house and pit head structures of circa 1900 origin, but modernised 1956. Last significant surviving structures with a historical connection to the 1866 Oaks Colliery Disaster, England's worst mining accident.
The colliery closed and re-opened many times from 1929 until closure in 1966. In the 1970s No.2 shaft was re-used for man-riding (with the coal being brought to the surface at Barrow Colliery). Barnsley Main finally ceased production in 1991, followed by clearance of the buildings and general landscaping. No.2 Shaft with its headstocks and winding engine house was retained and passed into the ownership of the local authority. Openings were subsequently bricked up to secure the structures from unauthorised entry and vandalism.
Source - Historic England
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