Denaby Main Colliery Village
Encyclopedia
Denaby Main is a village situated between Mexborough
and Conisbrough
in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
in South Yorkshire
, England
. It was built by the Denaby Main Colliery Company to house its workers and their families, and originally given the name Denaby Main Colliery Village, to distinguish it from the village of Denaby, situated about 1 km. away on the road to Hooton Roberts and Kilnhurst; from that time, the old village became known as Old Denaby. In due course the Colliery Village part of the name was lost, leaving the village to be known as Denaby Main.
Around the time the miners were reaching the Barnsley bed the colliery company began building housing to accommodate its workers and their families. A church, schools and a store were also company owned. The company pub, The Denaby Main Hotel, (locally known as "The Drum") is one of the few properties from that era still standing. However It is now (2008)a Balti restaurant.
The layout of the village was pure ‘Industrial Revolution’, parallel streets of terraced houses running away from the Mexborough to Conisbrough road which ran through the village, with, in its centre the library and park. It was possible from almost every street to look down to the colliery.
The village gained notoriety at the close of the nineteenth century as a result of a characterisation as "The Worst Village in England" in an edition of the magazine 'Christian Budget' This pejorative piece described somewhere,
The village miners became famous for their fortitude in the face of hard and ruthless employers who had proven their willingness to take risks by sinking the shafts to their required depth. Although there were no major accidents at Denaby (unlike its neighbour Cadeby Main) by the time of the closure of the mine in 1968, 203 miners had been killed. It was company policy to evict a dead miner's family from the company owned housing within weeks of bereavement. There is a long history of disputes at Denaby. In 1869 a six month strike over union recognition was ended by negotiation. In 1903 there was a strike because the mining company refused to pay miners for the muck that they had to get out in order to get at the coal. This became known as "The Bag Muck Strike". It lasted for weeks and the mine owners started to evict strikers and their families. Many of those evicted had to spend January 1903 in tents on open ground with only sheets and blankets for comfort and soup kitchens for food.
Other disputes in 1877 and 1885 also led to evictions. All of the coal at Denaby was "hand got", meaning that no machinery or conveyor belts were used. The Barnsley Seam coal was shovelled into corves for man handling along a track using pit ponies.
In 1863 alternative employment became available when Kilner Glass opened a factory in Denaby adjacent to the mine. This closed in 1936.
The village was served by two railway stations bearing its name, Denaby
, some distance away on the Dearne Valley Railway
and Denaby and Conisbrough
, the southern terminal of the South Yorkshire Junction Railway
. The nearest station nowadays is Conisbrough
.
In 1987 The Miners' Memorial Chapel in All Saints' Church, Denaby, opened, serving as a memorial to all those who had worked in the collieries of the area. It contains a pit wheel, salvaged from Cadeby Colliery, and the altar incorporates a 1 ton block of coal which came from Manvers Main Colliery.
The village did have a relatively successful non-league football side, Denaby United F.C.
but were forced to become defunct due to losing their ground in 2002, after Denaby and Cadeby Miners Welfare Scheme took it from them.
Mexborough
Mexborough is a town in the metropolitan borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, situated on the north bank of the River Don west of its confluence with the River Dearne...
and Conisbrough
Conisbrough
Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is located roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at...
in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire in Yorkshire and the Humber Region of England.In addition to the town of Doncaster, the borough covers Mexborough, Conisbrough, Thorne and Finningley....
in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was built by the Denaby Main Colliery Company to house its workers and their families, and originally given the name Denaby Main Colliery Village, to distinguish it from the village of Denaby, situated about 1 km. away on the road to Hooton Roberts and Kilnhurst; from that time, the old village became known as Old Denaby. In due course the Colliery Village part of the name was lost, leaving the village to be known as Denaby Main.
History
Around 1700 poor quality coal was found, close by the surface, just over the River Don from Mexborough and this, in time, led to the sinking of two shafts, in 1863, for Denaby Main Colliery Company, owned by Messrs Pope and Pearson. The Barnsley bed was reached in September 1867 at a depth of more than 422 yards. In 1893 the company also opened out Cadeby Main Colliery.Around the time the miners were reaching the Barnsley bed the colliery company began building housing to accommodate its workers and their families. A church, schools and a store were also company owned. The company pub, The Denaby Main Hotel, (locally known as "The Drum") is one of the few properties from that era still standing. However It is now (2008)a Balti restaurant.
The layout of the village was pure ‘Industrial Revolution’, parallel streets of terraced houses running away from the Mexborough to Conisbrough road which ran through the village, with, in its centre the library and park. It was possible from almost every street to look down to the colliery.
The village gained notoriety at the close of the nineteenth century as a result of a characterisation as "The Worst Village in England" in an edition of the magazine 'Christian Budget' This pejorative piece described somewhere,
...so repulsive that many who have never been near it will probably refuse to credit the story...[where]...nearly all the men, and most of the women, devote their high wages to betting, where religion is forgotten, home life is shattered where immorality and intemperance are rife, where wives are sold like cattle, and children are neglected.(1899 )
The village miners became famous for their fortitude in the face of hard and ruthless employers who had proven their willingness to take risks by sinking the shafts to their required depth. Although there were no major accidents at Denaby (unlike its neighbour Cadeby Main) by the time of the closure of the mine in 1968, 203 miners had been killed. It was company policy to evict a dead miner's family from the company owned housing within weeks of bereavement. There is a long history of disputes at Denaby. In 1869 a six month strike over union recognition was ended by negotiation. In 1903 there was a strike because the mining company refused to pay miners for the muck that they had to get out in order to get at the coal. This became known as "The Bag Muck Strike". It lasted for weeks and the mine owners started to evict strikers and their families. Many of those evicted had to spend January 1903 in tents on open ground with only sheets and blankets for comfort and soup kitchens for food.
Other disputes in 1877 and 1885 also led to evictions. All of the coal at Denaby was "hand got", meaning that no machinery or conveyor belts were used. The Barnsley Seam coal was shovelled into corves for man handling along a track using pit ponies.
In 1863 alternative employment became available when Kilner Glass opened a factory in Denaby adjacent to the mine. This closed in 1936.
The village was served by two railway stations bearing its name, Denaby
Denaby railway halt
Denaby Halt was a small railway station on the Dearne Valley Railway , intended to serve the mining community of Denaby Main in South Yorkshire, England although it was positioned some distance from there, in what was described as 'a marshy wilderness'. The station was opened on 3 June 1912. Its...
, some distance away on the Dearne Valley Railway
Dearne Valley Railway
The Dearne Valley Railway was a railway line which ran through the valley of the River Dearne in South Yorkshire. It was incorporated by an Act of Parliament on 6 August 1897 to build a line between Brierley Junction, on the main line of the Hull and Barnsley Railway, to junctions with the Great...
and Denaby and Conisbrough
Denaby and Conisbrough railway station
Denaby and Conisbrough railway station was a small station, the southern terminus of the South Yorkshire Junction Railway branch from Wrangbrook Junction...
, the southern terminal of the South Yorkshire Junction Railway
South Yorkshire Junction Railway
The South Yorkshire Junction Railway is a railway which ran from Wrangbrook Junction on the main line of the Hull and Barnsley Railway to near Denaby in South Yorkshire. It was nominally an independent company sponsored by the Denaby and Cadeby Colliery Company but was worked by the Hull and...
. The nearest station nowadays is Conisbrough
Conisbrough railway station
Conisbrough railway station is a railway station in Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, England. The station is south west of Doncaster towards Sheffield...
.
Rebuilding
Denaby Main colliery drew its last coal in 1968 and Cadeby Main in 1987. Following these closures the rebuilding of the village took place. All the terraced houses were demolished and replaced with modern semi-detached properties on an open-plan scheme.In 1987 The Miners' Memorial Chapel in All Saints' Church, Denaby, opened, serving as a memorial to all those who had worked in the collieries of the area. It contains a pit wheel, salvaged from Cadeby Colliery, and the altar incorporates a 1 ton block of coal which came from Manvers Main Colliery.
The village did have a relatively successful non-league football side, Denaby United F.C.
Denaby United F.C.
Denaby United F.C. are an English football club that originally folded in 2002 following eviction from their ground by the Denaby & Cadeby Miners' Welfare, but have since re-appeared in the Doncaster and District Senior League Division One for the 2011-12 season...
but were forced to become defunct due to losing their ground in 2002, after Denaby and Cadeby Miners Welfare Scheme took it from them.