Conisbrough, Cadeby and Denaby

This bronze plaque is one of several in the entrance to the former Earth Centre between Conisbrough and Denaby Main, Yorkshire. This was also the entrance to the former Cadeby Colliery. The poem tells of the feelings of a young lad as he descends the shaft of a coal mine for the very first time to start work on his first underground shift. I still remember my first time too, even after 42 years. Translation, for those not familiar with South Yorkshire dialect: I was frightened and cold, just fourteen years old As we dropped like a stone into (the) dark. With my snap tin* and lamp, and clothes like a tramp, Well, I knew this was real - and no place to lark**. * a metal sandwich container, shaped like a slice of bread, which could be strapped to your belt. ** to lark = to mess around, to behave foolishly or irresponsibly.

This is the site of the former Cadeby Main Colliery near Conisbrough, in South Yorkshire. Shaft sinking commenced in 1889 and the mine worked until 1986. In July 1912, two explosions within hours of of each other killed a total of 88 men. The concrete monolith marks the position of Cadeby upcast shaft. There is a similar monolith a short distance away to the east, marking the position of the downcast shaft. The disused buildings of The Earth Centre are just visible on the skyline, left of centre. Flickr member loose_grip_99 has a photo of Cadeby colliery in 1976 here: www.flickr.com/photos/loose_grip_99/163184624/

Originally uploaded for the Guesswhere UK Group. This is a south-easterly view over the Don valley from the western end of the Conisbrough viaduct near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The viaduct was built in 1906-07 to carry the Dearne Valley Railway across the Don valley, thus connecting the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway with the Great Northern and Great Eastern Railways. It is 528 yards in length with 14 arches on one bank and 7 on the other connected by an iron girder bridge 115 feet above the River Don. The last passenger train ran across the viaduct in 1951. It is now used as an impressive footpath and cycle track.

Originally uploaded for the Guesswhere UK group. This is the east portal of the Cadeby Tunnel near Conisbrough on the former South Yorkshire Junction Railway. The single track tunnel is 164 yards long, originally built about 1894, closed to freight in 1964. The tunnel is lined with brick and Magnesian Limestone quarried locally. It is an easy and safe walk through, mostly dry. The trackbed in the cutting just beyond the western portal has been partly filled in with soil and ?colliery waste.

This the Cadeby Tunnel near Conisbrough on the former South Yorkshire Junction Railway. The single track tunnel is 164 yards long, originally built about 1894, closed to freight in 1964. The photo was taken about 50 metres in from the west portal, looking through towards the eastern end. The tunnel is lined with brick and Magnesian Limestone quarried locally. It is an easy and safe walk through, mostly dry. The trackbed in the cutting just beyond the western portal has been partly filled in with soil and ?colliery waste. For this photo, the exposure was 30 sec at f/8 ISO 100; no flash. I also painted-in the foreground and middle distance with a LED head-lamp, which accounts for the blue-ish magenta colour cast. View large on black See where this picture was taken. [?]

Originally uploaded for the Guesswhere UK group. This is a north-easterly view over the Don valley and part of Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, near Doncaster. The photo was taken from the disused quarries in the Lower Magnesian Limestone (Edlington Formation) at North Cliff, Conisbrough, sometimes known as 'Conisbrough Crags', sometimes as 'Denaby Crags'. The buff-coloured embankment across the valley is 'Cadeby Crags' - the scarp slope of the Lower Magnesian Limestone. The site of the former Cadeby colliery is just in front of Cadeby Crags. Cadeby village is on the distant skyline at (0.2, 0.6). The disused buildings of the Earth Centre are at the extreme left (0.05, 0.5). Flickr member loose_grip_99 has a photo of Cadeby Crags and Cadeby colliery in 1976 here: www.flickr.com/photos/loose_grip_99/163184624/