Sixteen heritage buildings in Fitzwilliam family's village of Elsecar given new or upgraded listed status

Historic England have listed six buildings in the village of Elsecar, near Barnsley, for the first time and upgraded the protection status of a further 10.
Offices and stores on the Central Workshops siteOffices and stores on the Central Workshops site
Offices and stores on the Central Workshops site

The listings are a result of a project by Historic England to research the industrial village's role in 18th and 19th century social history and have now been approved by the government.

Elsecar was owned entirely by the Earls Fitzwilliam, whose seat was at nearby Wentworth Woodhouse, and was home to collieries, a large ironworks and other manufacturing sites that generated the family's wealth.

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The project revealed that Elsecar played a part in major world events thanks to its iron's use in the construction of Royal Navy warships.

The former rolling mill site at the Elsecar IronworksThe former rolling mill site at the Elsecar Ironworks
The former rolling mill site at the Elsecar Ironworks

The Fitzwilliams were unusual in choosing to locate their industrial interests close to their country seat, and their workers lived in estate villages. Although many landed families invested in trade, it was a key part of the public image of the Earls, and they did not seek to discreetly hide their association with heavy industry.

The fourth Earl, who died in 1833, invested in social housing, education and churches for his workforce, and this altruistic foundation pre-dates the building of more famous model villages such as Saltaire, near Bradford.

He supported the abolition of the slave trade, and his son, the fifth Earl, backed the Great Reform Act to widen the franchise and allow poorer men to vote.

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Historic England have worked with Barnsley Council as part of the three-year Heritage Action Zone project.

The Earl Fitzwilliam's private railway station is now a children's nurseryThe Earl Fitzwilliam's private railway station is now a children's nursery
The Earl Fitzwilliam's private railway station is now a children's nursery

The buildings newly listed at or upgraded to Grade II include the ironworks themselves, which provided the armour plating for HMS Warrior; Hemingfield Colliery; a school; and the personal railway station built by the sixth Earl, from which he would travel to the races at Doncaster.

Historic England listing team leader Veronica Fiorato said: “What is remarkable about Elsecar is that so much of its rich industrial heritage survives today. Not only can we see many of the remains of its collieries and ironworks but also the community that was built around it - the school, the workers' cottages and the church. These new listings will both help to raise the profile of Elsecar’s significance and also protect its rich heritage for future generations.”

Barnsley Council leader Coun Sir Stephen Houghton CBE added: “We are very proud of this official recognition of just how important the heritage at Elsecar is. Already visited by over half a million people each year, the village means a great deal to local people and supports jobs and economic impact for our communities. Elsecar’s potential is even greater as a result of this recognition and we are committed to fully realising this over coming years.”

The newly listed and upgraded sites

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Hemingfield Colliery is now a Scheduled Monument and its engine house is listed at Grade II. Also known as Low Elsecar Colliery, the pit was opened by the fifth Earl in the 1840s and closed in 1920. The Earl's superintendent of mines, Benjamin Biram, was a mining safety pioneer who invented better lamps, experimented with fan-powered ventilation and used the colliery as a testing ground for his new ideas.

In 1852, 10 miners were killed in an underground explosion - but the inquest found that the death toll would have been higher had the ventilation system not been in place.

Elsecar New Colliery's pit head has been added to the Scheduled Monument area covering the Newcomen engine house - the only surviving example of its kind still in its original position. Thomas Newcomen invented the world's first practical steam engine in 1712, and the Elsecar one, installed in 1795, pumped water from the mines for 125 years. The engine itself was first made a Scheduled Monument in 1973, and this designation has been extended to cover the pit head.

The old Elsecar Ironworks have been made a Scheduled Monument. They were built in 1795 and locally mined coke was combined with iron ore in huge blast furnaces to create iron. This iron was then refined in the rolling mills and made into goods that were shipped out by canal or railway. In 1859, Elsecar iron was sent to the Royal Navy to build the country's first iron-clad warship, HMS Warrior.

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The Central Workshops built by the fifth Earl in the 1850s have been upgraded to a Grade II listing. The complex is today part of the Elsecar Heritage Centre visitor attraction.

This site includes the old railway station, opened by the sixth Earl for his private use in 1870 and deliberately sited in the ironworks rather than on the Wentworth estate. The family would arrive in liveried coaches and board a personal train from the station, but it was also used as a departure point for annual excursions to the seaside for the workers and their families.

The buildng is now used as a nursery called Railway Children.

The village's Church of England primary school, Holy Trinity, and the old schoolmaster's house have been listed at Grade II for the first time. The school was fund by the fifth Earl in 1852 and a house provided for the headmaster.

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Other listings include: a casting shed at the ironworks; buildings on the entry range to the ironworks; 2 and 4 Forge Lane, former housing; stores at the Central Workshops; offices and warehousing at the Central Workshops; fitting shop at the Central Workshops; rolling mill and pit wheels at the ironworks; joiner's shop; 12-15 Skiers Hall Cottages.