England - South Yorkshire - Elsecar Heritage Centre, Park And Reservoir
England - South Yorkshire - Elsecar Heritage Centre, Park And Reservoir
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Location Summary
Location Summary
Local heritage site with workshops, studios, cafes and pubs. There is also a park area and Elsecar Reservoir.
Website: Elsecar Heritage Centre
Car Park: Free
Fee: Free
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Captain's Log
Captain's Log
Ginko Tree
15/08/23
15/08/23
Park And Reservoir
Park And Reservoir
The first good thing to say about the Elsecar Heritage Centre is that the carparks are free! The place is very popular though and I'd put my money on the carparks being completely full on a sunny weekend. I'd guess that quite a few people will use the carparks and then head over to the park and the reservoir, rather than visit the Heritage Centre. My walk around the reservoir was very enjoyable although some of the views were restricted by the bank side trees. The track was reasonable too. I watched with intrigue as a Great Crested Grebe on the reservoir fed its youngster. It dropped the offered fish and the parent had to go and retrieve it again. Most of the ducks seemed to have paddled over to the dam where they were being fed food by the park's visitors (duck food can be bought from The Tee Pot Café). There was an air of general mayhem in front of the Tee Pot Café with a plethora of kids enjoying the extensive playground. They seemed to be understaffed in the café and if I came to Elsecar again, I think I'd try one of the establishments in the Heritage Centre in preference. There is a putting pen next to the café and the kids can progress to the pitch and putt once they've perfected their club swinging skills.
The park's bandstand area was quieter, had seating and was surrounded by some pretty flower beds. I wished that I'd had my coffee and sarnies there instead of at the Bedlam café. A Ginko tree has been planted near to the bandstand. There was a stone slab on the grass next to it with an inscription. The tree has been grown using seeds from trees that survived the Hiroshima atomic blast epicentre. The seeds were given to Elsecar in the hope of disseminating a message of '...peace and hope worldwide.'
Elsecar Reservoir
Mine's Winding Gear
Heritage Centre
Heritage Centre
The Heritage Centre was quite an eclectic mix of businesses including two cafes and a pub. There is a craft shop, antique shop, sweet shop, printing shop and (judging from the noise emanating from one of the buildings) some sort of creche. The buildings and shops were well presented and evidently served the pottering community well. There was also a Visitors Centre. I did take a brief look in it, but I didn't really have time to have a proper peruse. You could sit on a settee and watch a film about the history of Elsecar. The settee looked quite inviting and I feared I might fall asleep if I sat down and rested my weary legs. There were plenty of information boards dotted around the site (and on the trail too) and they gave a comprehensive view of the history of the place.
There was a big Railway Diesel Engine marooned on some track near the old Elsecar platform. Looking at their website they do appear to have aspirations to establish some sort of heritage railway site, but I'm guessing it may be a slow process. There did use to be a one mile out-and-back ride along the railway track but this was closed in November 2020.
Mural
Newcomen Engine
Newcomen Engine
Newcomen Engine
The big interest for me was seeing the Newcomen Engine in a building at the edge of the site. Anybody who did 'O' level history will be familiar with the Newcomen Engine and its significant impact on the Industrial Revolution. This was the first time I'd ever seen one, although admittedly it was with my nose pressed up against a window and looking through a mesh security grill. The steam engine was used from 1795 to 1923 (yes, really!) to pump water out from the Elsecar New Colliery. Electric engines were used from 1923 onwards, although the Newcomen Engine was still used as a backup. It is the only working Newcomen Engine in the world that is still located at its original site. The engine piston rose and fell once every five to 10 seconds and raised 50 gallons of water to the surface on each stroke. I was astonished to read that Henry Ford visited the site in 1928 and allegedly offered a blank cheque to buy this significant industrial monument. The offer was 'politely rejected.' There is some winding and pumping gear outside the building housing the engine. There was, dare I say it, a rather phallic looking metal tube laying on the ground. This was known as the windbore and was placed into the water at the bottom of the mine. Its end was perforated to let the water into the tube, but the small size of the holes prevented large stones clogging the pipe. The miners called it the 'Snore' after the distinctive snoring sound it made as it sucked in water.
I wished I'd had more time to look around Elsecar Heritage Centre. Maybe I will on my next visit.
The Main Street
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