Is there anyone out there who used to work at the handsworth coal mine (not orgreave ) was it called waverly,or nunery? and can remember in what year it closed down or did you have any family work there?:thumbsup:

My Dad was one of the last miners at the Handsworth pit,because of his health he finished work on the pit top & I went down with my kid brother to pick him up with my eldest brother & we used to go in the showers & my Dad told us stories about a 3 legged rat,my kid brother was a miner as well,he works on the rail lines know.

Originally posted by jacklev1
Is there anyone out there who used to work at the handsworth coal mine (not orgreave ) was it called waverly,or nunery? and can remember in what year it closed down or did you have any family work there?:thumbsup:

It was called Handsworth Nunnery, often reffered to as Handsworth Colliery. Orginally operated by the Nunnery Colliery Co. until nationalised in 1947, the shaft was sunk between 1901 - 1903, production ceased due to exhaustion of reserves in October 1967.

I believe the Nunnery colliery (Handsworth) was somewhere round the back of what is now Handsworth working mens club but not definite.

Originally posted by Gingerbarf
I believe the Nunnery colliery (Handsworth) was somewhere round the back of what is now Handsworth working mens club but not definite.

There is a housing estate behind Handsworth WMC and has been since 1968.

To find the remains of Handsworth Colliery of which some of its buildings and pit managers house are still standing and used today. You need to drive along Handsworth Road from the ASDA toward Handsworth, take the left turn immediately after the Norfolk Arms pub and into Finchwell Road, keep following the road as far as it goes past the houses untill it goes down hill and turns into a dirt track and on the left hand side you will find Handsworth Colliery.

I used to play out there as a kid. I recall the entrance to the pit which was flattened some years ago and there used to be the wash rooms and winch gear. I am not sure what is left now but I wish I had taken some pictures.

There is another way to it from Finchewll Road. Take the 2nd left into Halesworth Road and keep going, the road veers to the right and runs parallel to the parkway for a while before ending at where the pit used to be.

If you go the way mentioned above, there are a couple of houses to go past that are a bit scary, right by where the road runs out.

It was the Handsworth Miners that built the swimming pool in Bowden Homestead Woods. It was cleared away when the Parkway was built.
I can remember it as a child it was surrounded by railway sleepers but it was long out of use in the fifties but the water was always ice cold even in the hottest summer.

Originally posted by Bloomdido
I used to play out there as a kid. I recall the entrance to the pit which was flattened some years ago and there used to be the wash rooms and winch gear. I am not sure what is left now but I wish I had taken some pictures.

There is another way to it from Finchewll Road. Take the 2nd left into Halesworth Road and keep going, the road veers to the right and runs parallel to the parkway for a while before ending at where the pit used to be.

If you go the way mentioned above, there are a couple of houses to go past that are a bit scary, right by where the road runs out.

i also used to play there as a kid,we used to go up on what we called the red hill and make dens and light fires,also one time one of the "big lads" told us that there was still money in one of the office safes,we spent most of the six weeks holidays knocking a hole in the wall,when we finally got in we found an empty biscuit tin in a cuboard:|

Originally posted by jacklev1
Is there anyone out there who used to work at the handsworth coal mine (not orgreave ) was it called waverly,or nunery? and can remember in what year it closed down or did you have any family work there?:thumbsup:

It was called Nunnery, My grandad worked there not sure when he finished work due to ill health i'll try and foind out from my mum

Wattsy is your Grandad still alive

When the pit closed the miners took some of the old davy lamps and signal lamps to the Cross Keys.
They were a nice piece of local history.
Unfortunately when the landlord left he took them all with him.
This seemed very wrong to me. They were left to the pub and local community, not him.

Check out:

http://www.picturesheffield.co.uk/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.id=9827

or 'Nunnery' on the search engine.

www.picturesheffield.com

THANK YOU FOR THE INFO JACKLEV1:thumbsup: ::thumbsup:

When I was a kid we used to play on the "orange mountain" and on the tip near where the pit used to be. We also used to have a bonfire on bonfire night on the wasteground near there. We used to go sledging down there as well in the winter and played on the "bomb crater" down Waverley Lane when it iced over. When we started drinking we'd camp out down there and have a barbeque.

We also used to play football on Hamptons down Waverley Lane every night after school. A large asian family used to live in the pit managers house back then, I think they were called Jaffer though i'm not sure. Not sure if they still live there either.

There are alot of new houses being built now on the wasteground where I used to play behind Halesworth Road near the old pit.

Originally posted by tosh13
Wattsy is your Grandad still alive

No sorry he isn't my mum can confirm it was called Nunnery

Originally posted by Dick
When the pit closed the miners took some of the old davy lamps and signal lamps to the Cross Keys.
They were a nice piece of local history.
Unfortunately when the landlord left he took them all with him.
This seemed very wrong to me. They were left to the pub and local community, not him.

I have an old Davy lamp from a Derbyshire Colliery

My grandfather John Wilson was manager of the Handsworth Colliery in 1900 and was in Sheffield for the 1901 Census. My mother was born there in Waverley Cottages in 1903. When she was quite young they returned to Scotland and my grandfather departed for Canada, and was not seen again! I don't know under what conditions he left, but I do have a mantlepiece clock which was presented to him by the mine when he left (he would only have been in his thirties).
I am anxious to collect any information about the mine as it would have been then, and about life in the area. Any pictures would be a bonus!

Originally posted by jacklev1
Is there anyone out there who used to work at the handsworth coal mine (not orgreave ) was it called waverly,or nunery? and can remember in what year it closed down or did you have any family work there?:thumbsup:

I think some of the correspondents may be talking about two different mines or perhaps different entrances to the same mine. The Handsworth Colliery I remember was the one at the end of Finchwell Road. It was a shaft mine with the usually head gear, engine house, etc.

The mine you could get to by going off the end of Halesworth Road and down the lane past Waveley Cottages was a slope or drift mine. The type you walk down into. i.e. It didn't have a shaft.

They could have been connected because the slope mine did go towards the Handsworth Pit. In all the years I played around there as kid ( I had family that lived on Halesworth Road) , Maybe the coal from Handsworth alsot came out of the drift. Can anybody remember? I can remember that there was a rope-hauled tramway ran from Hansworth Pit with little wagons filled with coal going slowly by - night and day - but I can't remember where they went to.

In the 1940s, there was also a set of coke ovens in the same area: That is - near the mines but this side of the main railway line. The ovens used to be know as "The Becker". Does anybody remember Becker ?

The Becker coke ovens were nothing to do with Orgreave. Ogreave Coke and Chemical was a completely separate operation, with both the railway main line and Rotherham Road
between the different coke oven operations.

Regards

I was brought up on a small holding at the bottom of finchwell road opposite the pit. We lived in the cottages that belonged to handsworth colliery, i spent a lot of my childhood in the canteen when the minors used to finish there shift ,having vivid memorys of the steak and kidney pies they used to serve.
The house i lived in had the original finchwell in the pig sty,i used to spend hours trying to catch the carp that were in there. I think to pit closed around 1968/69 which is when we had to move as the electricity supply came from the pit(spending many a night in the dark with candlepower)

Ricey , could you explain what a finchwell is (or was ?)

I think some of the correspondents may be talking about two different mines or perhaps different entrances to the same mine. The Handsworth Colliery I remember was the one at the end of Finchwell Road. It was a shaft mine with the usually head gear, engine house, etc.

The mine you could get to by going off the end of Halesworth Road and down the lane past Waveley Cottages was a slope or drift mine. The type you walk down into. i.e. It didn't have a shaft.

They could have been connected because the slope mine did go towards the Handsworth Pit. In all the years I played around there as kid ( I had family that lived on Halesworth Road) , Maybe the coal from Handsworth alsot came out of the drift. Can anybody remember? I can remember that there was a rope-hauled tramway ran from Hansworth Pit with little wagons filled with coal going slowly by - night and day - but I can't remember where they went to.

In the 1940s, there was also a set of coke ovens in the same area: That is - near the mines but this side of the main railway line. The ovens used to be know as "The Becker". Does anybody remember Becker ?

The Becker coke ovens were nothing to do with Orgreave. Ogreave Coke and Chemical was a completely separate operation, with both the railway main line and Rotherham Road
between the different coke oven operations.

Regards

The tramway went to a coal depot at Darnall.It ran parallel to Infield Lane,at the back of High Hazels Park,and is visible on the 1906 Ordnance Survey map.From the position of the coal depot,it must have been on the site of the now-derelict Halfway House pub.

finchwell is actually the original well for the area it is still visibal in the grounds of my origanal home

Good evening Falls and the rest of you contributing to this very interesting thread.
The Drift mine entrance was still there in 1970 when I moved to Handsworth, on the right of Waverley Lane, just before you crossed the old steel bridge over the railway. I remember a sign over the entrance, which I believe was High Hazels, but not 100% sure !
I did think about crawling under the steel doors and exploring the shaft, but commonsense prevailed. I was told in later years by an ex Handsworth pit worker that the drift sloped at 45 degrees and was a mile in length. They used to run up it at the end of a shift and the last man got the beer in ( could be a tall story ) As mentioned there was a wagonway running from the pit down the lane at the back of what was Record Ridgways sports pitch. The wire rope for hauling the wagons was also still there in 1970 and at this time the water was still being pumped out of the workings, emerging at the side of the lane running down from Finchwell Road and continuing presumably down into the Rother. The water was ochre coloured and wouldn't have done anything for the water quality of the river.

Where does the name waverley come from. I think the house next to the entrance to High hazels park is waverley House
The haulage track next to Infield lane. Wouldn't that have serviced high hazels pit or wasn't there a High Hazels pit, have I imagined it.

when you say tramway down Infield lane was that high level rope system, or tracks on the ground.
My pal lived on Brittannia rd. but doesn't remember tramway, just allotments and pigs, when did tramway go

i remember the men from the nunnery joining us in orgreave colliery in the late 1960's,we used to have some good laughs with them and take the mickey asking if they were scared to come down in the cage instead of walking to work..:hihi:

all in good fun as miners were a very close knit lot and each man respected the next due to the nature of the work and it's danger

heres a small link from wiki....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Hazels_Colliery

It must be a conspiracy just to make me feel old - last of the mohicans style:
"My grandad worked there", "My dad worked there", "We played there as kids", "I remember the Haigh Moor Drift" etc.
Am I the last one who actually worked there? O.K., it was 1958 - 1961 and I packed it in shortly after getting married which could be another record as I still am married after forty- seven years (not four to seven months!).
Training was done at Treeton and Orgreave, two more who, like the miners, bit the dust. It certainly made us appreciate daylight.

It must be a conspiracy just to make me feel old - last of the mohicans style:
"My grandad worked there", "My dad worked there", "We played there as kids", "I remember the Haigh Moor Drift" etc.
Am I the last one who actually worked there? O.K., it was 1958 - 1961 and I packed it in shortly after getting married which could be another record as I still am married after forty- seven years (not four to seven months!).
Training was done at Treeton and Orgreave, two more who, like the miners, bit the dust. It certainly made us appreciate daylight.remember working the night shift in winter ? dark going to work,dark at work and dark when you were on your way home..:hihi:

my kids tell me a tell some boring stories and maybe i do, heres one for you. dad being a smallholder bred ducks for the locals for christmas. one year my aunt came to visit us dad had gone to feed the ducks, finding they had escaped and were swimming in the ochre water. Annoyed at the fact he could no longer sell the ducks he rang all there necks in turn in full view of my aunt who never visited again !

Part of a 1901 map showing Finch Well and part of the tramway. The other end of the tramway ran down the north side of High Hazels Park to a coal depot at Darnall.
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cat631
good pictures, the house at the coal depot is the one I asked about in an earlier post, Waverley house. It appears to be the tramway managers house.
My earlier question, where does waverley come from

PCInfield
on the 1901 plan, the halfway house is shown opposite the coal depot.
cat 631
can you rescan the high hazel plan please going a bit further north, as far as where the trading estate is now.
thanks

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Hello Tooeg, I hope these are the areas you require.

yes thanks.
I wonder when greenland rd was built.
maybe when manor was built would that be in the twenties

PCInfield
on the 1901 plan, the halfway house is shown opposite the coal depot.
cat 631
can you rescan the high hazel plan please going a bit further north, as far as where the trading estate is now.
thanks

Yes you're right.The coal depot must have been where the houses on Senior Road are now.

My mate Ernest Smith worked at the Nunnery until it closed,he was a Bevin Boy, and used to tell us of the rush to get a pint at the Norfolk Arms after finishing on "Afters",remember the pubs called time at 10pm in those days, and the landlord would line pints up all across the bar in preparation for the rush, and some could down two sometimes three pints in the few minutes before time was called

Im using my wifes handle on this thread as I dont have one.My dad worked in the nunnery pit from 1924 to 1960 but worked on the top for a couple of years because of ill health. Can anyone remember what was known as the "drug road"? This was the cable that full coal tubs were lashed to and transported from Nunnery to Waverely. Also can anyone remember the pit ponies that were brought up from the pit for 2 weeks every year during the summer and put to graze on the field at the side of the drug road. Mining was in the blood in our family as it was in a lot of Handsworth families. Myself and my brother both worked at Orgreave, though he was a deputy and I was a fitter, I went to Brookhouse when Orgreave closed, and finished when it shut completely. When we were kids, me and all the lads used to play in Badgers farm and Nuttalls scrap yard. Im 57 now and it seems like yesterday, Handsworth was like a giant playground. Oh happy days.

finchwell is actually the original well for the area it is still visibal in the grounds of my origanal home

We used to go to the well as kids to see the fish. I think it was it Len who lived in one of the cottages that put them in wasnt it?

doyle,im sure i remember seeing the pit ponies all decked out in high hazels park when we used to have the whitsuntide parades,i also used to play about in nuttalls scrap yard as a kid,we used to walk through bowden wood to get there, it seems like yesterday but it was well over 40 years ago

doyle,im sure i remember seeing the pit ponies all decked out in high hazels park when we used to have the whitsuntide parades,i also used to play about in nuttalls scrap yard as a kid,we used to walk through bowden wood to get there, it seems like yesterday but it was well over 40 years ago

I dont thnk it was the pit ponies that would have been at High Hazels Park because they only come out in the summer period for 2 weeks and when they did they had about 6 layers of blindfolds on and they removed them 1 day at a time to get them used to the light it was quite cruel but the man that looked after them in the stables in the mine looked after them fantastic. I was born in Handsworth and I am 57 now but I agree it does seem like yesterday.

My earlier question, where does waverley come from[/QUOTE]

According to Wikipedia, Handsworth, Nunnery and High Hazels Collieries were owned by The Waverley Coal Company.

We used to go to the well as kids to see the fish. I think it was it Len who lived in one of the cottages that put them in wasnt it?

ricey
doyle,yes it was len who put the fish in the well. he was my father

I remember as a kid playing on Hansdworth REC and seeing miners waliking home "in thier muck" I imagine this was before the baths were opened. This would be in the early 50s

Finches Well has just been restored, Also the other month I found a piece of old tram line on my allotment plot would this be worth any thing?

i thought nunnery pit backed onto the wybourn cowlishaw,s farm & ponds

i thought nunnery pit backed onto the wybourn cowlishaw,s farm & ponds
My Grandad used to work down the Nunnery.

I Ihad forgotten all about Nuttalls. Where exactly was it?

My Grandad used to work down the Nunnery.we used to play on the pit and the surranding area when we were kids

we used to play on the pit and the surranding area when we were kids

He was from Tinsley Park.

I Ihad forgotten all about Nuttalls. Where exactly was it?
Nuttals was a scrap yard /haulage depot down Finchwell Lane(left at the side of Norfolk Arms) and was left again about 300 yards ,just before the road drops down towards the old pit . A large new housing estate is currently being built on the old Nuttals site , stretching down as far - and in view- from the Parkway:thumbsup:

Where does the name "Waverley" come from, I know there was a High Hazels Colliery and Nunnery Colliery, but was there a Waverley Colliery?

Without bringing this thread down or laughed at by all the skeptics,was there ever a tragedy at the pit.I got told they was, but not found anything about it.
Because I used to be the security guard on Sherwood’s formally Philips trucks and across the road on P.T.I. at the side of the original Asda store.
I have gone into more detail about strange goings on a thread about ghosts in Sheffield, and am convinced both places and the whole area is haunted.

Can anyone help me? me an a friend of mine went down to see the old FINCH WELL the other day to take some photos as I used to play down there as a child! to our horror we was approached by a local man who lives in the nearby last two pit houses at the end of the lane who went on to verbally attack us saying that the land around the well was private property the experience both left us shaken an scared as we tryed to explain that we was told the WELL add been renovated for the local community to enjoy.

Technological success has changed the life of everyone in the world and it has also changed the way coal mining companies explore and market coal. High-tech and safe exploitation and usage of coal is the demand of the 21st century.

Here is an information that might be useful: lincenergy dot us

Get ready for electricity rationing. The new nuclear power stations should have been started ten years ago, they will not be ready in time. Thatcher destroyed Coal mining in the UK and the steady and continuing decline since then means that the industry cannot now respond to our nation's energy needs. The UK power generators burned 40 million tonnes of coal in 2007, but UK coal mines produced only 6 million tonnes, which means that to keep our lights on we imported 34 million tonnes of coal (approximate figures).
Renewables (wind turbinees etc) are a political pipe dream, they will not produce the target of 20% 0f UK energy generation by 2020 (something like that). Make no mistake, the future is nuclear, with clean coal technology filling the gap for twenty years.

ricey
doyle,yes it was len who put the fish in the well. he was my father

Hi there ricey I went to school with you for a while.Let me explain,I lived on Badger farm for about 5years in the middle one of the 3 houses that fronted on to finchwell road opposite nuttalls scrap yard.We moved there from lincolnshire in about 1960 and as a kid I was amazed when I first saw the mucky miners passing the house on there way home at the end of their shift.Across the road from us Len's brother Colin lived in the end house of the terraced block and he had use of the stack yard accross the other side of the lane that led to nuttalls A jolly big chap as i recall.We spent many happy hours playing on the slag heaps behind the pit and I always thought that Len always put on the best bonfire night do's ever.His indoor fireworks were a hoot!
One of my strongest memorys was whatching a vet dissecting pigs on the farm when they had an outbreak of swine fever,Iseem to think the whole herd was slaughterd and buried in a field behind the pit next to what we used to call the dynamite sheds.
Anyway ricey I know its either you or your sister so let me know if I am right

Hi there i cant think who you are but you seem to know me, by the way i am the female of the saxtons not my brother. colin died many years ago but his daughters still live in the same house

I think you will find its the Jaffer family who since moving there have caused many problems with the area they think they own it but do not. since moving from down there my dad used to like to walk down to catcliffe and had several run ins with the Jaffers

Hi ricey I know its you now spoke to your brother the other day who confirmed.
I think its Eilleen that still lives in Colins house is that right and if so what about jez and malc are they still around?
I am back at the east coast now & have been since 1974.
By the way my family and I had a meal with your brother and your mum at worksop in about april 2006.
That should be a good clue to my identity

Hi. all. I'm a bit confused about about this thread, everybody seems to be talking about "The Nunnery" being located in the Handsworth area close to the Waverley pit, my dad worked at the Nunnery untill it closed & I have memories of going with him as a small child to collect his wages on pay day and it is my recollection that it was just off the junction of Manor Lane and Woodbourn Road, somewhere very near to where the Parkway now crosses, in fact I've still got an old A to Z of Sheff which shows a road off Manor lane called Nunnery Drive. He used to walk to work from our house in Fellbrig Rd. Arbourthorne, over the "eight foot" footpath from the bottom of Arbourthorne Rd, down Spring Lane then along a track beside City Rd cemetary, and down Manor Lane to get there, now I could be wrong about all this cos it was a long time ago, but are'nt the old memories much stronger than the more recent ones? Also my paternal grandad was killed in an explosion at the nunnery in April 1930 whilst working with my dad, and that's another reason to remember it. I am however quite prepared to be corrected about this if anyone can enlighten me.

hello owdsmiffy. You refer to the waverley pit. Can you tell me where this pit was located? I am trying to trace all references to "Waverley" in the area.

Hi Spartacus, no I'm sorry I don't know much about Waverley other than what other members have posted, and that it was somewhere at Handsworth.

Hi. again Spartacus, I've just looked at my old Sheff A to Z, try this. When travelling towards Sheff along the parkway, just before the Handsworth exit you can see to the left a row of terraced houses, the road to those houses is listed as either Waverley Quarry Road, or Waverley Cottages Lane. Hope that helps.

Doyle

for your info part of the old drug road can still be seen today behind yhe old hamptons sports ground
finchwellad

owdsmiffy
the cottages at the side of the pakway are waverly cottages on waverly lane
i think the old drift mine that was just below the cottages was called waverly drift
i will try to find more out for you finchwellad

FREESTYLE
Are you a senior that moved down to woodhouse from the farm
ges and malc are still around me being the latter one collin daughters still live in the old house i have some photos of your old house by the way eileen wasnot colins daghter it was irene.

Hi. all. I'm a bit confused about about this thread, everybody seems to be talking about "The Nunnery" being located in the Handsworth area close to the Waverley pit, my dad worked at the Nunnery untill it closed & I have memories of going with him as a small child to collect his wages on pay day and it is my recollection that it was just off the junction of Manor Lane and Woodbourn Road. can enlighten me.

Hello,

Reply No.3, at the beginning of this thread, gives a good explanation to your question.

Regards

I know this thread is about Handworth Colliery but do any of you remember the quarry not far from the pit head itself. You reached the quarry from the lane that ran along the back of the houses on Halesworth Road.

When I was kid (1940's) there were two huge pits where the stone had been taken from. The larger of the two pits had vehicle access, by means of a steep ram to the bottom and the Army/Home Guard used this one for target practice in WWII. The other pit was slowly being filled in with rubbish and process waste from Brown Bailey's steel works.

On the surface were the old workshops where the stone used to been cut and dressed. All the machinery was still there but it must have been out of business for years, as most of the roof had caved in.

Taken as a whole, the place was as dangerous as hell, so naturally it was a Mecca for young kids like me.

Regards

HI FALLS
one of the the old quarrys has just been dug out due to the new housing estate beeing built(i got some good photos of this) it was filled in by nuttals with waste from the local steelworks some very toxic it has now been dugout backfilled with the waste and capped of and houses being built on it

can anybody remember Horace Farer the engine operater on the old steam engine that was used to winch the cages up and down the pit shaft.when we were young lads he used to let us stand at the railings in the winding house while he operated the engine not much health and saftey then?

A very interesting thread which has jogged my memory back to the mid 40's/early 50's when I have a vague recollection of what I imagined to be a drift mine, in private ownership in Smelter Wood. This was accessed via a track into the wood from the rear of the block of shops on Bramley Park Road. I was only between the ages of 5 and 15 then but, before the Stradbroke estate was built, I used to ride my bike across there from what was Stubbin Lane (now Stradbroke Road) to Bramley Park Road to my riding lessons with Molly Bell. She lived next door to the Plaza with her dad, who was a road sweeper.

There was never very much activity at this mine, if indeed that is what it was, it was much as though it was being operated by a family of coal merchants and only in action when they needed more stock.

I would be much obliged if anyone can clarify this for me.

FREESTYLE
Are you a senior that moved down to woodhouse from the farm
ges and malc are still around me being the latter one collin daughters still live in the old house i have some photos of your old house by the way eileen wasnot colins daghter it was irene.

You got me Malc Well done! Moved on from woodhouse to east coast a long time ago.Would be very interested in fotos cause we lost any that we had in various house moves.I recall it was Irene now but sorry to say can't remember name of (younger?) sister.
Are you still local to area?

I remember playing on the old Waverley site when it was derelict, [mid 60's I reckon] all the buildings there were left as if the workers had just walked away,
I remember going into one open building with some lads who were older than me and seeing this bank of electrical switchgear similar to those on the old horror films.
Needless to say that we started moving the switches up and down.
Some minutes later an NCB van drove down the lane past the cottages, and chased us off, it turned out that the open substation was live and we had cut the power to Handsworth pit.
I also remember the drift below the cottages with the large metal gate over the entrance.
You could, I seem to recall see the lights and hear the voices of the workers from Handsworth down the slope.
I wondered if I have misrembered that but on reflection it does seem possible as they were very close together, Derelict pits were great playgrounds as we also played a lot at the derelict Nunnery site and slagheap [Where makro is now]

Hi there john

not moved far just round corner on halesworth road
there is a total of 4 sisters going down from top irene gerald malc
pamela diane and colete last two i dont think you know
e mail me your adress and i will send you some photos of the old farm

Hi there john

not moved far just round corner on halesworth road
there is a total of 4 sisters going down from top irene gerald malc
pamela diane and colete last two i dont think you know
e mail me your adress and i will send you some photos of the old farm

Hi again Malc Contact your cousin Mick he has all my contact details email,mob and land line.

[QUOTE=freestyle1;4439138]
Hi freestyle1, I used to live on Hall Road opposite Goodyear and Blackburns and our back garden backed onto Badgers Farm. Did your dad work on Badgers Farm. I used to knock about with Gerald, Dougie,Robert,Richard,Phil,Stewart just to name a few but the best one of the gang was my dog, spot who was well known in Handsworth.

Hi there john

not moved far just round corner on halesworth road
there is a total of 4 sisters going down from top irene gerald malc
pamela diane and colete last two i dont think you know
e mail me your adress and i will send you some photos of the old farm

Hi Malc, I used to knock around with Gerald, i'm trying to work out who freestyly1 is can you give me a hint.

[QUOTE=freestyle1;4439138]
Hi freestyle1, I used to live on Hall Road opposite Goodyear and Blackburns and our back garden backed onto Badgers Farm. Did your dad work on Badgers Farm. I used to knock about with Gerald, Dougie,Robert,Richard,Phil,Stewart just to name a few but the best one of the gang was my dog, spot who was well known in Handsworth.

Hi Doyle yes my dad did work on Badgers Farm he was the cowman.I don't know all the names you list but I think Dougie lived next door to us in 16a Finchwell road.Seem to remember he had an elder brother called Terry and a younger sister called Susan and possibly one other sister.
Sorry don't remember Spot the dog.
Incidently my first job after leaving school was at Goodyer Blackburns as an apprentice engineer but when Rolls Royce went bust we were all laid off!

[QUOTE=doyle;4548571]

Hi Doyle yes my dad did work on Badgers Farm he was the cowman.I don't know all the names you list but I think Dougie lived next door to us in 16a Finchwell road.Seem to remember he had an elder brother called Terry and a younger sister called Susan and possibly one other sister.
Sorry don't remember Spot the dog.
Incidently my first job after leaving school was at Goodyer Blackburns as an apprentice engineer but when Rolls Royce went bust we were all laid off!

Hi, cant place who you are, can you give me a hint or name, on pm if you prefer. By the way I am 57.

Hi Doyle Look At Thread 66 That Give You Any Clues

Hi Doyle Look At Thread 66 That Give You Any Clues

I already did but still couldnt remember him I have PM 'd him. I remember you very well though, have you any ideas yet who I am.

Doyle you dont happen to be on the committe in the back club

Yes, I am the president, how are you, are you ok.

HI DOYLE(DAVE)

The name you are looking for is JOHN SENIOR.

HI DOYLE(DAVE)

The name you are looking for is JOHN SENIOR.

Hi Malc, I know his name now but I still cant remember him, I think it was because he is about 4 years younger than me.

Is it john? think so. its Diane and Collette that live on finchwell. Malc lives just round the corner and jez at intake. Nice to talk to you

Is it john? think so. its Diane and Collette that live on finchwell. Malc lives just round the corner and jez at intake. Nice to talk to you

Yes its me John how are you?

fine thanks john just older and a lot wiser. Ive got 2 daughters now how about you

fine thanks john just older and a lot wiser. Ive got 2 daughters now how about you

As you say much older not so sure about the wiser though!
Married 32 years in august 30 year old daughter,27 year old son and grandaughter will be 3 in april.
Still got mum with us but lost dad in 2003.

Hi am new to all this. My Grandma and grandad lived in waverley cottages on Waverley Lane. My grandad and four sons (my dad Len was one of them) worked at the Nunnery pit which was at the bottom ofe the lane. The Waverley drift mine was at the bottom of Spa Lane at Woodhouse down the lane at the back of Woodhouse West End Club. My dad left the pit in the early sixties. Can remember walking down the lane with him to fetch his wages. Our name was Marfleet. I am 57 and lived in Handsworth till 1970. Still have family there and visit regularly.

hi Nise52. Your information is really useful, thanks. You mention the Waverley drift mine at the end of Spa lane in Woodhouse. I can't find any other reference to it, but I'm still looking. I have assumed it was a Coal mine, but I guess it could have been some other mineral. Can you remember which it was? I sometimes work on the new UK Coal site now called Waverley and I am researching the name.

Sorry I can't, it just rang a bell about it being a drift mine, dad used to tell me stories about his time down the pits. Sadly he isn't around now to ask. Sorry can't be of anymore help.

Smelterwood was also one; an opencast from 1903, with the wood itself at the bottom of Bramley Park Close, which is an extension of the old lane to the side of the Bramley shops where houses were built about 12 years ago. Due to this old mining activity the new houses are built on either concrete steel reinforced 'raft' foundations or 'piles'. I live on this Close and have recently had my house extended, where this became apparent when seeking planning permission.
Whilst digging the footings to pour the 'raft' the waste material below the topsoil clearly showed signs of the lands previous usage.
Ironically, my Great-grandfather used to work Smelterwood. He was from Barnsley and was bussed in to Darnall terminus, then got the tram up to Handsworth Top, walked down Richmond Road and past where his Great-grandson would eventually live, possibly even working directly where the house now stands! How spooky is that ! but no apparitions or spiritual visitations yet.........................! (but the kettles always on standby)

Can anyone help me? me an a friend of mine went down to see the old FINCH WELL the other day to take some photos as I used to play down there as a child! to our horror we was approached by a local man who lives in the nearby last two pit houses at the end of the lane who went on to verbally attack us saying that the land around the well was private property the experience both left us shaken an scared as we tryed to explain that we was told the WELL add been renovated for the local community to enjoy.

ashlie this man is a menace please report him to the council right of way dept as he is trying to get the right of way closed by threats and tethering big dogs to frighten people away

my dad worked at Handsworth nunnery for many years and was involved in a pit face cave in and was trapped for many hours until rescued in this accident he was blinded and lost a good deal of his face [later rebuilt using early plastic surgery ] after recovering he was sent to scotland and retrained as a telephonist this was his job when he returned to handsworth nunnery his office is one of the few buildings still standing it used to have the switchboard [in brail] the tannoy system to contact underground and also cages full of canarys to take underground to detect gas . I can remember as a child being taken to the pit head at the end of the last shift before a holiday to watch the pit ponies coming up and the men letting them loose on paddocks at the side of the nunnery [now allotments ] they went mad running jumping and rolling about in the grass it was fantastic to watch .Myself and my brother also used to go to judo lessons held in the pit baths [ still standing ] on a couple of evenings a week

hi, i live in one of the waverley cottages, am interested in talking to anyone who has lived there/or relatives used to, was the drift mine at the bottom of the lane?

What a great thread.
My grandfather worked at the Nunnery, and lived in Holly Lodge two doors down from the Norfolk Hotel.My Dad worked at Smelterwood. We lived on Richmond Road opposite Wenlock Street. We left in 1943 must have changed a bit since then.
My g'grandad was under manager at Orgreave, bet nobody remembers him, he died in 1917.
My dad's older brother was an official of somesort at Nunnery for a while. The other Nunnery mentioned earlier would be Sheffield Nunnery.
Keep the thread going I'm bound to find somebody who knows me. My Dad wired the electrics in a lot of Bramley estate in his spare time, late 30's early 40's

My dad worked at th nunnery pit upto about 1960. Dads brothers and my grandad all worked there. My granand grandad lived in the cottages on Waverley lane, they are still there. Many happy memories as a child going down to fetch dads wages with him.

I used to go up there when I was a young un and believe me or believe me not used to feed the pit ponies that were still there. They wern't used but they were still there. Also Ithere were bricks lying about just after it was shut down and all of them was specaially made for nunnery as they all was engraved with the name on them

atlex48
i have some of the old bricks with nunnery on them i saved tem when they nocking some of the old pit buildings down

What a great thread.
My grandfather worked at the Nunnery, and lived in Holly Lodge two doors down from the Norfolk Hotel.My Dad worked at Smelterwood. We lived on Richmond Road opposite Wenlock Street. We left in 1943 must have changed a bit since then.
My g'grandad was under manager at Orgreave, bet nobody remembers him, he died in 1917.
My dad's older brother was an official of somesort at Nunnery for a while. The other Nunnery mentioned earlier would be Sheffield Nunnery.
Keep the thread going I'm bound to find somebody who knows me. My Dad wired the electrics in a lot of Bramley estate in his spare time, late 30's early 40's

My relatives worked at quite a few mines in the area

if my memory serves me right from their conversations

There was two pits close to woodhouse on going to towards beighton that was east birley ( now part of shirebrook park) the other was on the other side of the road going towards Stradbrook and that was west birley. A railway line used to connect them going under coisley hill. Not to be confused with the birley pit at normanton springs

Now has to handsworth I think it is the generous use of the name Nunnery

the pit known simply as the nunnery was at the end of the park way bottom of manor lane etc, as earlier stated. The police and capita buildings address is nunnery park as is the meadowhall tram stop

The pit at handsworth was I understand just that

now if both pits were owned by the same company at one time it could be they were renamed handsworth Nunnery and Sheffield nunnery.

What about the workings on the other side of Handsworth Road, at the end of Bramley Avenue, reached by going down the side of the Plaza?? I used to live (1950's) on Bramley Hall road, parallel to Bramley avenue. Going to the top of the road and along Sundown Road to the small cul-de sac sundown Place, there the ground opens up and we used to play football there. Moving down the hill to the end of Bramley Ave was a track leading to some derelict buildings and a couple of mine-shafts. We used to have a great time playing on the slag heaps, especially as there is a small stream running down behind the houses on the right hand side of Bramley avenue. It was generally recognised that the shafts were too dangerous to explore. I think these workings must have been abandoned earlier that the Nunnery. My Grandfather, d 1959 worked at Orgreave and once took me on one of the trains there. It is interesting to note that there has been no housing development on any of these three locations (yet.......).

The Norfolk Arms looks as if it's changed a bit... What next?

the norfolk arms has changed just a little bit. its now a toddlers nursery. i remember going there as a kid to get a rabbit from my friend robert collins whos dad was the landlord there in the early 70s. im 49 now and remember handsworth as one big playground.

In about '59 or '60 when I was 13 or 14 I clearly remember exploring a disused pit somewhere in the Handsworth area, there was a closed off pithead and a winding house with the windows broken and inside I could see it was partly flooded and there was an old steam engine used I think for winding. One disused objects was an an old hand cranked siren, I assume it was from the war and after dragging it for several yards decided to abandon the plan to take it home to the Manor Estate! I actually cranked it up to produce a loud wailing and decided to leg it at that point in case someone in authority heard it and came and grabbed me, we were scared of authority then not like the kids today!

In about '59 or '60 when I was 13 or 14 I clearly remember exploring a disused pit somewhere in the Handsworth area, there was a closed off pithead and a winding house with the windows broken and inside I could see it was partly flooded and there was an old steam engine used I think for winding. One disused objects was an an old hand cranked siren, I assume it was from the war and after dragging it for several yards decided to abandon the plan to take it home to the Manor Estate! I actually cranked it up to produce a loud wailing and decided to leg it at that point in case someone in authority heard it and came and grabbed me, we were scared of authority then not like the kids today!

Did it have a sort of railway looking set up that went down at about 45 degrees ?

Did it have a sort of railway looking set up that went down at about 45 degrees ?

No, it seemed to be a vertical shaft with a board of some sort over the top, seemed a bit dangerous to me and I decided not to investigate it any further.

I worked down Handsworth Nunnery when I came out of the Royal Navy in 1947 I worked on the long wall,and in a Siscol heading I also worked on Packin and drawing off The pits had just been Nationised My wage was 4 pound a week If I missed a shift,I only got 3 pound ten shillings. The other Handsworth colliery was down on Cricketin Rd It was possible to go down Hansworth,and walk through and come up on cricketin Rd I know I did two or three times It took about an hour Handsworth was not a drift mine I wish I had pound for ever time I had ridden the cage I used to work with a collier called Tommy Potnell The shotfirer was Robinson The Pit Manager was Mr Heslopp I am 87 now, long time ago

I worked down Handsworth Nunnery when I came out of the Royal Navy in 1947 I worked on the long wall,and in a Siscol heading I also worked on Packin and drawing off The pits had just been Nationised My wage was 4 pound a week If I missed a shift,I only got 3 pound ten shillings. The other Handsworth colliery was down on Cricketin Rd It was possible to go down Hansworth,and walk through and come up on cricketin Rd I know I did two or three times It took about an hour Handsworth was not a drift mine I wish I had pound for ever time I had ridden the cage I used to work with a collier called Tommy Potnell The shotfirer was Robinson The Pit Manager was Mr Heslopp I am 87 now, long time agomy dad was harold alderson and he worked at the pit im not sure of the year but i was quite a young girl but i used to go with him on friday sometimesto collect his wages he would have been 86 so i wondered if you remember him regards j

Hello Cleegirl, Nice to hear from you. Sorry,the name doesn'tring any bells with me It was a long time ago you know We have probably gone down the shaft together. Who knows ? Kind regards to you. Milted.

What about the workings on the other side of Handsworth Road, at the end of Bramley Avenue, reached by going down the side of the Plaza?? I used to live (1950's) on Bramley Hall road, parallel to Bramley avenue. Going to the top of the road and along Sundown Road to the small cul-de sac sundown Place, there the ground opens up and we used to play football there. Moving down the hill to the end of Bramley Ave was a track leading to some derelict buildings and a couple of mine-shafts. We used to have a great time playing on the slag heaps, especially as there is a small stream running down behind the houses on the right hand side of Bramley avenue. It was generally recognised that the shafts were too dangerous to explore. I think these workings must have been abandoned earlier that the Nunnery. My Grandfather, d 1959 worked at Orgreave and once took me on one of the trains there. It is interesting to note that there has been no housing development on any of these three locations (yet.......).

The pit at the end of Bramley Avenue was Smelterwood, It closed about 1943. Unlike most pits in the area it was a drift mine. I remember as a lad watching the tubs being pulled out of the mine by the winding engine.

i can remember playing on the old waverly site as a kid the drift mine shaft was partly open we used to go part way down untill we got scared then run back the site was at the end bramly avenue leading on to mertle bank farm

When were you a yougster? The mine you refer to was Smelterwood, it closed around 1943.
Were you a Handsworth lad?

my dad worked at Handsworth nunnery for many years and was involved in a pit face cave in and was trapped for many hours until rescued in this accident he was blinded and lost a good deal of his face [later rebuilt using early plastic surgery ] after recovering he was sent to scotland and retrained as a telephonist this was his job when he returned to handsworth nunnery his office is one of the few buildings still standing it used to have the switchboard [in brail] the tannoy system to contact underground and also cages full of canarys to take underground to detect gas . I can remember as a child being taken to the pit head at the end of the last shift before a holiday to watch the pit ponies coming up and the men letting them loose on paddocks at the side of the nunnery [now allotments ] they went mad running jumping and rolling about in the grass it was fantastic to watch .Myself and my brother also used to go to judo lessons held in the pit baths [ still standing ] on a couple of evenings a week

I also went to those Judo lessons in the pit canteen and the instructor was George Machin

My relatives worked at quite a few mines in the area

if my memory serves me right from their conversations

There was two pits close to woodhouse on going to towards beighton that was east birley ( now part of shirebrook park) the other was on the other side of the road going towards Stradbrook and that was west birley. A railway line used to connect them going under coisley hill. Not to be confused with the birley pit at normanton springs

Now has to handsworth I think it is the generous use of the name Nunnery

the pit known simply as the nunnery was at the end of the park way bottom of manor lane etc, as earlier stated. The police and capita buildings address is nunnery park as is the meadowhall tram stop

The pit at handsworth was I understand just that

now if both pits were owned by the same company at one time it could be they were renamed handsworth Nunnery and Sheffield nunnery.

1 of the Sheffield Nunnery shafts was located under what is now Park Square roundabout at the end of the Parkway (water pump shaft). the main shafts were off Nunnery lane which was on Manor Lane just above where Woodburn road ends now but did not go that far before. the tip had to be moved to allow the Parkway to be extended from its original start point again on Manor Lane just above Woodburn road. it is a slip road for the exit there now. the other end at that time ended at Handsworth and the field next to the roundabout is where the Handsworth Nunnery pit ponies used to graze in summer.

take a look at this map http://www.sheffieldindexers.com/Links/Sheffield1890.jpg

my dad worked at Handsworth nunnery for many years and was involved in a pit face cave in and was trapped for many hours until rescued in this accident he was blinded and lost a good deal of his face [later rebuilt using early plastic surgery ] after recovering he was sent to scotland and retrained as a telephonist this was his job when he returned to handsworth nunnery his office is one of the few buildings still standing it used to have the switchboard [in brail] the tannoy system to contact underground and also cages full of canarys to take underground to detect gas . I can remember as a child being taken to the pit head at the end of the last shift before a holiday to watch the pit ponies coming up and the men letting them loose on paddocks at the side of the nunnery [now allotments ] they went mad running jumping and rolling about in the grass it was fantastic to watch .Myself and my brother also used to go to judo lessons held in the pit baths [ still standing ] on a couple of evenings a week

Hi Brook school,
I worked with your dad at Orgreave and know all your family very well, I went to school with either you or your brother. I used to come to your house on Richmond Park. Last time I saw you both was in your pub on Darnall main road. Went with my wife and Liz and Jack (Andy). Any clues?

[QUOTE=milted;6735407]I worked down Handsworth Nunnery when I came out of the Royal Navy in 1947 I worked on the long wall,and in a Siscol heading I also worked on Packin and drawing off The pits had just been Nationised My wage was 4 pound a week If I missed a shift,I only got 3 pound ten shillings. The other Handsworth colliery was down on Cricketin Rd It was possible to go down Hansworth,and walk through and come up on cricketin Rd I know I did two or three times It took about an hour Handsworth was not a drift mine I wish I had pound for ever time I had ridden the cage I used to work with a collier called Tommy Potnell The shotfirer was Robinson The Pit Manager was Mr Heslopp I am 87 now, long time ago[/QUOTE hi would you by any chance remember harold alderson he is long gone now but would have 87 as his daughter i remember going with him on afriday to colect his wages sometimes all the best j

[QUOTE=milted;6735407]I worked down Handsworth Nunnery when I came out of the Royal Navy in 1947 I worked on the long wall,and in a Siscol heading I also worked on Packin and drawing off The pits had just been Nationised My wage was 4 pound a week If I missed a shift,I only got 3 pound ten shillings. The other Handsworth colliery was down on Cricketin Rd It was possible to go down Hansworth,and walk through and come up on cricketin Rd I know I did two or three times It took about an hour Handsworth was not a drift mine I wish I had pound for ever time I had ridden the cage I used to work with a collier called Tommy Potnell The shotfirer was Robinson The Pit Manager was Mr Heslopp I am 87 now, long time ago[/QUOTE hi would you by any chance remember harold alderson he is long gone now but would have 87 as his daughter i remember going with him on afriday to colect his wages sometimes all the best j

hiya, an uncle of mine worked down the pit at the end of cricket inn rd i always thought this was the nunnery pit, i once went with him when i was around 12 years old in 1949/50 to bring his wage £30 home for my aunt, when my dad found out he went spare, he said what would have happend if i had lost it, so i never went again, funnily though a school pal of mine went to live on harborough avenue in 1952 and went to see him and can remember a big spoil heap just below where he lived.a few lads from our way went down the pit orgreave, treaton, handsworth,

Hi
I worked for Frank Badger from 1959 to 1963.The Farm was called Handsworth Hall Farm.I remember the pit ponies coming out from the nunnery every summer.
When we were kids we also played in nuttals scrapyard (on old tanks and armoured cars etc) also played in the old quarry round the back.
I think the mine at waverley was called "Haigh moor drift".
There was also a stone circle (tossing ring)at the back of the nunnery where the miners used to go on Tuesday nights and Sundays to gamble on tossed coins,they used to sit a kid on the top of the slag heap with a whistle, which he used to blow if the police came down Finchwell Rd. I can also remember a bookies runner called "Taff" who used to stand at the Xroad of Hall and Finchwell Rd to take the bets off the colliers as they came off shift.
Oh and by the way the pigs did have swine fever, we shot the whole lot I think around 500 pigs, but they were taken away by truck and not buried locally

Hi
I worked for Frank Badger from 1959 to 1963.The Farm was called Handsworth Hall Farm.I remember the pit ponies coming out from the nunnery every summer.
When we were kids we also played in nuttals scrapyard (on old tanks and armoured cars etc) also played in the old quarry round the back.
I think the mine at waverley was called "Haigh moor drift".
There was also a stone circle (tossing ring)at the back of the nunnery where the miners used to go on Tuesday nights and Sundays to gamble on tossed coins,they used to sit a kid on the top of the slag heap with a whistle, which he used to blow if the police came down Finchwell Rd. I can also remember a bookies runner called "Taff" who used to stand at the Xroad of Hall and Finchwell Rd to take the bets off the colliers as they came off shift.
Oh and by the way the pigs did have swine fever, we shot the whole lot I think around 500 pigs, but they were taken away by truck and not buried locally

twizzljack Did you live in one of the properties on the farm? We moved into 13b (the middle one of the three houses that fronted on to Finchwell road) in about 1960ish and left in 64.Remember going into the big house to watch the Badgers home movies of their holidays abroad which was a big deal in those days cause not many people could afford foreign holidays then! Seem to think they went right around the world on one trip.must have cost a bob or two then.

Hi Freestyle.
No. I was born and lived on Hall road until I got married in 64. We moved away from Sheffield in 72. I seem to remember one chap who lived in a cottage in the farm yard was called Bill Thompson, I can remember a pigman called Mick Gott. Frank also had a partner in Rayners haulage business called Bill Dobson. Do you remember Charlie Watts, Franks father inlaw ?

Hi Freestyle.
No. I was born and lived on Hall road until I got married in 64. We moved away from Sheffield in 72. I seem to remember one chap who lived in a cottage in the farm yard was called Bill Thompson, I can remember a pigman called Mick Gott. Frank also had a partner in Rayners haulage business called Bill Dobson. Do you remember Charlie Watts, Franks father inlaw ?

Bill Thompson lived next door to us,he had a son callied Duggie and a daughter
called Susan.They lived in 13a we were in 13b,seem to recall that a foriegn couple lived in 13c possibly Polish.When we moved out the Thompsons moved in cause our house was bigger than theirs and i think the family was growing!
I do remember Charlie Watts he was struck by lightening while we were there.My dad used to fetch the cows up from the fields behind the wreck in summer and milk them in the parlour, I used to help in the school holidays.
We left in 65 and moved to Woodhouse Mill I think they knocked the whole farm down around 69 and built houses on it.