Frickley Country Park - South Elmsall, UK - Mines on Waymarking.com

Frickley County Park

Over £7 million has been invested by the National Coalfields Programme to transform the derelict site into a safe and attractive open space. The transformation has been managed by Yorkshire Forward and Wakefield Council. The park now boasts water features, a bridleway, footpaths and cycleways, and extensive landscaped open space areas. Over 70,000 trees have been planted as part of the comprehensive landscaping scheme. It is a public recreation area and nature reserve for you to use and enjoy.

The Carlton Main Colliery Company sank the Frickley shaft in 1903 and the first Barnsley seam coal was mined in 1905, In its heyday the pit employed over 4,000 people. Following its closure in 1993 the pithead buildings were cleared and plans commenced for the creation of the country park. There are several features in the park recording its history and heritage.

A. The Timeline
The exact depth of the colliery shaft (652 metres - 2139 feet) is represented by a straight line path that allows visitors to walk from the 'bottom' of the no. 2 shaft (where it is capped) up the tip slope to the 'top'. By walking up The Timeline you are also moving forward in geological time towards the present day. The coal seams lower down the slope are older and were laid down before those higher up the slope. The four seams that were worked at Frickley Colliery are highlighted along the way at the exact depth at which they were mined.

B. Colliery Buildings - Footprints
Raised platforms mark the location of the former Frickley Colliery buildings around the shafts. On the site of the no. 2 shaft is a small hard-surfaced performance space with seating. This is also one end of The Timeline - the equivalent of the bottom of the shaft.

C. The Shale Disc
This is an area of exposed colliery spoil and shale providing a reminder of conditions before the reclamation took place. Over time natural vegetation will establish itself and reclaim the land to create a specialised habitat.

D. Drainage Ponds
There are a number of ponds along the southern edge of the park. as well as providing a habitat for wetland plants, animals and birds, the ponds are a vital part of the drainage system of the country park. The largest pond is designed to hold water that will reduce the rsik of flooding along the Frickley Beck. The ponds are fenced off to protect the plants and animals and to ensure the drainage system can work. Fishing is not permitted. Visotors to the park should be aware of the dangers of open water and not attempt to enter the water.

E. Stromalite Mounds
On the top of the former tip, seven 5m high grassed mounds represent the stromalites found in limestones in the Soth Emsall area. Stromalites are the remains of bluegreen bacteria that live in the sea. They have been present on the earth for at least 3000 million years, but the local limestone date from the Permian period and are about 280 million years old. This high point of the park, some 40m (130ft) above the Frickley Beck, provides excellent vies of the surrounding countryside.