Fitwilliam Country Park - Fitwilliam, UK - Mines on Waymarking.com

There is a car park at the south west entrance to the country park and also Fitwilliam Railway Station.

Near the entrance is a replica of a pit wheel, a memorial bench, a silhouette welcome sign and an information board.

The information board has the following information about the former mine.

Fitzwilliam Country Park owes its existence to the coal mining industry that once dominated the local landscape, formerly the site of Hemsworth Colliery which began producing coal in 1877.
br> By 1903 the pit employed 1651 workers, many of them living within the local mining communities of Kinsley and Fitzwilliam.

Hemsworth Colliery merged with South Kirkby Colliery in 1967, but the pit closed in 1969. Soon after Kinsley Drift Mine was opened on part of the site and mining continued until its closure in the late 1980s. In 1991 work began to reclaim and redevelop the former colliery site originally as a golf course. However as reclamation went on it became clear that the site's true value would be as a haven for nature.The seeded and planed areas and new ponds soon became home to a range of species such as Skylark, Meadow Brown butterfly, dragonflies and many other types of plants and animals.

Slowly the site evolved into a valuable green space enjoyed by the local community for leisure and recreation. In November 2000, a group of these miners got together to form the 'Fitzwilliam Country Park Group' with the aim of developing and managing the site for all the community to use and enjoy.

This small group of enthusiastic people continues to help transform this site into a safe and pleasant area that not only benefits local people and schools, but by creating a diverse range of habitats within the park they are encouraging both common and endangered species to use it as well.

Mine Type: Abandoned Mine Mineral Collecting: Not Known Material Mined: Coal, Lignite Operation: Underground Mine Surface Features: No KNOWN DANGERS: Open water Any associated website: [Web Link] Any Other information: The Brackenhill Light Railway ran from Fitzwilliam through the site of the coal mine to Brackenhill Junction on The Sheffield to York Line with a short spur to Ackworth Moor. Goods trains ran from 1901 to 1961 and the lines were lifted in 1963. The route of the line can still be followed from the south west corner of the park to the north west corner but is not signposted. From the north west corner there is a sign post that simply says Acworth and this is the continuation of the line and can be followed. From Doncaster Road the route becomes the Dando Way and passes through housing and the route is now obvious.

Visit Instructions:
Optional photograph welcomed.

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