Can Anyone Remember Handsworth Coal Mine

[keelbec 10]

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

[Nise52 10]

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.

[atlex48 10]

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

[FINCHWELLAD 10]

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

[mature5011 10]

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.

[Johny65 10]

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.......).

[pensionipper 11]

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

[billy boy 10]

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.

[chrishall 10]

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!

[Treatment 10]

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 ?

[chrishall 10]

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.

[milted 10]

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