Yorkshire retro: A rich seam of mines, trains and cinemas in the history of Goldthorpe

Alan Hill points out in The South Yorkshire Coalfield (2001) that an early colliery was noted at Goldthorpe in a deed of 1678. Major developments took place under a William Marsden of Barnsley. ‘[He] sank an additional five pits and erected a steam pumping-engine in 1770,’ says the author. Marsden’s Goldthorpe colliery lasted in 1783.

During the afternoon of July 27, 1909, the first sod was cut for the new Goldthorpe colliery – situated about midway between Barnsley and Doncaster. The owners were Henry Lodge (Limited), of the Ryhill Main Collieries near Wakefield. They had leased what was known as the Shafton seam of coal from Lord Halifax, of Hickleton Hall. The same seam of coal was being worked with success at the Ryhill and Dearne Valley collieries. The first sod at No. 1 shaft was cut by R.C. Irwen, chairman of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Co., and the sod of the second shaft was cut by Baron Kilner of Wakefield. Despite inclement weather it was reported ‘there was a good attendance.’ The beginning of December 1909 brought news that coal had been reached at Goldthorpe colliery. The coal found was the Shafton seam at a depth of 63 yards.

Marking progress in Goldthorpe was the opening of a new recreation ground on Saturday September 17, 1910. It was the gift of Lord Halifax to the village and many people turned out to witness the event. The site comprised some six and a half acres and was given in a conveyance deed on a lease of 990 years. The proceedings were presided over by the Chairman of the Bolton Urban District Council, William Russell.

An ambitious undertaking for commerce and passengers was the Dearne Valley Railway stretching from Shafton junction in the north to Black Carr junction in the south. Along the way links were made to a number of colliery areas including those at Grimethorpe, Hickleton, Goldthorpe, Barnburgh, Denaby and Yorkshire Main at Edlington. From Shafton junction the railway linked, via a Lancashire & Yorkshire section, with Wakefield (Kirkgate) and, in the south, from Black Carr, to Doncaster via the Great Northern.

The first Dearne Valley Railway passenger train, which left Wakefield Kirkgate at 8.15am, travelled along the line on Monday June 3, 1912. The journey to Edlington (for Balby) took 55 minutes. The 20 or so passengers included a clergyman, ladies and two policemen with four handcuffed prisoners.

Passengers boarded trains at sparse, rail-level halts which included a lamp, name board, and a dilapidated, wheelless railway carriage, for the shelter of passengers. Halts were located at Belle Vue engine shed, Ryhill, Grimethorpe, Great Houghton, Goldthorpe & Thurnscoe, Harlington, Denaby and Edlington. These unstaffed halts were not provided with footbridges as each platform had a separate entry from the highway.

Passenger trains terminated at Edlington Halt whilst goods trains travelled on to Black Carr and beyond. The Press predicted the Dearne Valley passenger service would be 'of the greatest value to colliery workers as it runs through the heart of a coalpit district.’

During the Royal Visit to South and West Yorkshire in July 1912 the King and Queen were seen in Goldthorpe. One newspaper on July 13, 1912 wrote that on leaving Hickleton Hall, the Royal procession passed through Goldthorpe and Bolton, remarking: ‘The villages were on fete and from early morning many of the inhabitants had been busy fixing the decorations, the Empire presenting a picturesque spectacle. Long before His Majesty’s arrival a crowd had congregated, many of the onlookers being grimy colliers, who had not had time to wash and change…’

By the end of 1912 Goldthorpe boasted two cinemas – the Hippodrome (later the Picture House) and the Empire. It was said that the Empire, which had opened on December 24, 1910, was designed on original lines and strikingly compact, ‘while meeting with the requirements of the Cinematograph Act.’ The front was of pressed bricks and stone facing, and the ground floor contained a couple of shops. The seating accommodation was for 900 people, the salon and promenade containing tip-up chairs upholstered in velvet. The owners were The Goldthorpe Empire Palace Co. Ltd who employed architects Benton & Roberts of Sheffield for the design work. Amongst the contractors for the erection of the building were W. Dunk & Sons of Barnsley. Richard Roper on the website cinematreasures.org mentions the Hippodrome opened on December 24, 1912. The designer of the building was A Whittaker. Seating was provided for 1,000 patrons. The name was changed to Picture House on December 18, 1922.

The Dearne District Light Railway, the municipal tramway system linking up Barnsley, Wath-on-Dearne, Bolton-on-Dearn, Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe was opened with impressive ceremony on Thursday July10, 1924. It was the last street tramway to be built in the UK before the modern era, only existing until September 30, 1933.

Goldthorpe once boasted its own bus company, Dearneways, established by the Phillipson family in 1949. The company was involved in contract work including services for the National Coal Board. They used a blue and cream livery from the start and operated single and double deck vehicles. In time, a number of other companies were taken over. Amongst them were Harold Oscroft and Fretwell Ltd. The company survived until Sunday December 6, 1981.

Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe Halt closed on September 1951. A new Goldthorpe station opened during May 1988, comprising two wooden platforms with basic shelters on either side of the line.

From 1955, the Empire became part of the Star Group of cinemas. Starting on June 17 1961, Bingo was introduced on Mondays only. The last film shown at the venue on June 24, 1972 was ‘Love Story’. The building still survives.

At the Picture House, the last films were featured on a Walt Disney double bill, ‘101 Dalmations’ and ‘Kidnapped’, on January 5 1963. Afterwards, Bingo was introduced and continued for a period, the building then being used for other commercial uses.

Goldthorpe colliery was sold to the Old Silkstone Colliery Co. in the early 1920s. By the early 1960s, the pit was producing a weekly output of around 2,000 tons. Goldthorpe and Highgate collieries were merged in 1966. Coal from the latter pit was raised and processed at Goldthorpe. From January 1986, Goldthorpe and Hickleton collieries were merged becoming Goldthorpe/Hickleton colliery. Alan Hill (2001) writes: ‘In the 1980s Goldthorpe Colliery was a profitable pit, described in 1988 as the South Yorkshire Area’s “Little gold mine”.’ The pit closed on February 4, 1994. A subsequent attempt to sell off the colliery failed.

Entertainment in Goldthorpe is presently provided at the Dearne Playhouse in Washington Road. It occupies the old Welfare Hall originally erected in 1924 and was reopened as a theatre in July 2006 by actor Brian Blessed.