The Story of Barnsley Main

The Barnsley Main Heritage Group is delighted to present this documentary detailing the Story of Barnsley Main, as well as relating the experiences of volunteers and recording the memories of ex-miners and their families. Funded by Heritage Lottery, the documentary was researched, written and presented by Yorkshire historian and filmmaker Joshua Daniels. Barnsley Main, once known as the Oaks Colliery, was the site of England's worst mining disaster: in 1866, between December 12th and 13th, 383 lives were lost in a series of underground explosions. The mine closed in 1991 and the site came into the care of the Barnsley Main Heritage Group in 2016. The present building and headgear are Grade II listed. Though it's not possible to enter the building, a pop-up museum is open between Easter and October whenever volunteers are on site. Check our Facebook page for information. The full interviews of our volunteers and the mining stories will appear on this channel in due course. Please subscribe so you can be notified of future content.