I live on Waverley now and used to live on Willow Drive Handsworth (new houses back in the day at the very top) and can remember the Sheffield Parkway being built at the end of our garden (which stopped us walking across the fields to Waverley cottages and the football pitch and also towards the colliery. My Dad 84 now worked for British Rail as a signal man He was working the Orgreave signal box the day of the massive strike and uproar. I can remember being at home and totally petrified knowing my Dad was in the midst of all the chaos that kicked off on that terrible day. I love living at Waverley and reminisce often on our walks as it brings back so many childhood memories. Really enjoyed watching your video and learning more about the area.
This was absolutely brilliant. Thanks for sharing. Very informative. Good idea about your suggestion of creating a path where the old bridge is. A very tastefully done historical presentation and memorial should be created here, with photos, flowers and seats. Seems like they want to omit or forget or they are ashamed of this part of history of the strike. Maybe start a partition with more publicity?
Excellent documentary. I was brought up on the Ballifield estate nearby and some of my neighbours worked at either Rotherwood sidings driving the Electric Train engines, The Pit, or the coking ovens. I remember walking through the Coking ovens many times and over the river Rother ( which was spectacularly polluted , always, because there were 2 other coking ovens upstream ) In hindsight it seems mental that Children could walk through a large industrial site with steam and various hot liquids oozing from pipes etc, and trains pulling wagons too and fro. The Slag heap was still being dumped on, and it caught fire some summers. All this seemed normal! Also, Orgreave Hall was still occupied , as was the farm nearby where you could buy unpasteurised milk . Another memory was climbing all over the soon to be scrapped Steam Engines on Rotherwood sidings one summer ( 1967?) . Another one was setting fire to the grass bank next to the bridge on Orgreave lane and getting chased by the police down to Woodhouse. I went back to look at the area a few years ago and it depressed me how little remained .
I worked at Treeton colliery from 1983 until its close in 1990 the fossils that you found could be seen in the roof in the workings when you shone your light up. The drift at Treeton was 3.3 kilometres long and took 20 minutes by paddy from top to bottom and the tunnel that you mention came from the top of the drift and ran under Treeton to deliver mined coal to the Orgreave works.
Wow loved this!! Gonna send it to my dad too cos he loves local history. Thornseat Lodge in Bradfield is my favourite, used to walk bloody miles from Oughtibridge to just sit on the grounds listen to music and switch off. Stunning place. It’s in a right state now though and the owner owns a few buildings round there and just leaves them to rot. I’ll be sad when it’s gone 😩
I'm a bit late to the party but I believe the 'monitoring station' you refer to around the 11 min mark, as well as the little vents dotted around the hill are to take samples of the soil/gasses underneath. From what I've read the entirety of the site was dug out during the regen project, the soil 'washed', and the contaminants sealed in a steel chamber below Waverley Hill - hence the need to monitor what's under there.
Hi there! I've just come across this video and thought that I would give it a watch. And I'm so glad that I did. This is outstanding work! I was 17 when the battle of Orgreave took place and I was actually a passenger in a friends' car driving through Orgreave heading for the M1 just a few days before that shocking event. Young and stupid I had no idea of the magnitude of the events about to unfold during that summer. There were thousands of striking miners that I saw that day and the suffering and uncertainty that they went through was scandalous and more needs to be made known of this in my opinion. The loss of Coal Mining (and to a lesser degree, steel manufacturing) in South Yorkshire is another sad legacy of the demise of the UK as an industrial superpower. I see Waverley rising up from the old Orgreave site as I drive down the Parkway and its incredibly sad that kids today in South Yorkshire are still being taught such things as irrelevant American pish in their History classes when History is here, at home, all around them and far more relevant to the life's that they're leading here in South Yorkshire! Superb work mate.... New subscriber gained.
Great video. I still remember to smell of the coking plant when the wind changed over in Brinsworth. I love the idea of making a monument of the bridge. Maybe the NUM or the wider union movement could help with legal services and dealing with Network Rail?Finding a decent photo of the open casting would be something. I remember it at the time but it's hard to put into context now the landscape is so different.
Many good times I’ve had in there as a kid, ferreting with my dogs , coursing and falconry with my Harris hawks. They used to be skips dotted about down near catcliffe full of concrete covering holes up
I agree the bridge should be a monument to the Orgreave miners. If we had some graffiti artists come down it could be done easily as long as can get over fence. Another act of rebellion to mark a rebellion?
That would be a cool idea. Unfortunately the bridge is very well secured (otherwise I would I have gone on the actual bridge in the video!) You could get on but it would involve some risk of falling on to the railway below and i would not recommend anyone does that. We’re investigating different methods of making this happen, including currently being in contact with Network Rail.
Seeing the old bridge just reminded me of it. I’m sure when I was younger (early 90s) the old bridge was a one way due to the weight of the vehicles. I didn’t even realise it had been replaced 😂😂
Pit worker's was heroes mate steelworks would never have survived without we would have lost the second world not to mention what you mentioned about the awful deaths inside the pits most of been awful for them god bless the mining heroes
We have plans for a ‘talk show’ kind of video where we speak to people who worked in different industries in Sheffield, including steelworkers, coal miners and if we can some people who were at Orgreave that day.
My grandfathers name was David (sometimes known as Ronald) Peacock. His father was also a train driver named Ronald Peacock. Thanks for the kind words!
@@History0114 Thanks for that, you'll have to ask him if he remembers the name Stannard, my Husband says he does recognise the name. On a separate note be interesting if you could do something on Bowden Houstead Woods and surrounding area (particularly interested in the old swimming pool under the Parkway and i'd love to know what was here before our houses were built in 1939 (Houstead Rd, Handsworth Ave etc...)
I will ask and get back to you! I’ve been looking into that. Some very interesting photos of the old swimming pool that was there (now under the roundabout of mosborough bypass)
9:38 the opencast went down about 100m, nowhere near a mile. The worlds deepest opencast, in the USA where they have the space is only 3/4 of a mile deep
I live on Waverley now and used to live on Willow Drive Handsworth (new houses back in the day at the very top) and can remember the Sheffield Parkway being built at the end of our garden (which stopped us walking across the fields to Waverley cottages and the football pitch and also towards the colliery. My Dad 84 now worked for British Rail as a signal man He was working the Orgreave signal box the day of the massive strike and uproar. I can remember being at home and totally petrified knowing my Dad was in the midst of all the chaos that kicked off on that terrible day. I love living at Waverley and reminisce often on our walks as it brings back so many childhood memories. Really enjoyed watching your video and learning more about the area.
This was absolutely brilliant. Thanks for sharing. Very informative. Good idea about your suggestion of creating a path where the old bridge is. A very tastefully done historical presentation and memorial should be created here, with photos, flowers and seats. Seems like they want to omit or forget or they are ashamed of this part of history of the strike. Maybe start a partition with more publicity?
IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE YOUNG BEING INTERESTED IN THE PITS AND TO KEEP THEM "ALIVE".
Excellent documentary.
I was brought up on the Ballifield estate nearby and some of my neighbours worked at either Rotherwood sidings driving the Electric Train engines, The Pit, or the coking ovens. I remember walking through the Coking ovens many times and over the river Rother ( which was spectacularly polluted , always, because there were 2 other coking ovens upstream ) In hindsight it seems mental that Children could walk through a large industrial site with steam and various hot liquids oozing from pipes etc, and trains pulling wagons too and fro. The Slag heap was still being dumped on, and it caught fire some summers. All this seemed normal! Also, Orgreave Hall was still occupied , as was the farm nearby where you could buy unpasteurised milk . Another memory was climbing all over the soon to be scrapped Steam Engines on Rotherwood sidings one summer ( 1967?) . Another one was setting fire to the grass bank next to the bridge on Orgreave lane and getting chased by the police down to Woodhouse. I went back to look at the area a few years ago and it depressed me how little remained .
Ballifield born and bred myself
Thanks for watching
Nice one thanks Andy
I worked at Treeton colliery from 1983 until its close in 1990 the fossils that you found could be seen in the roof in the workings when you shone your light up. The drift at Treeton was 3.3 kilometres long and took 20 minutes by paddy from top to bottom and the tunnel that you mention came from the top of the drift and ran under Treeton to deliver mined coal to the Orgreave works.
Wow loved this!! Gonna send it to my dad too cos he loves local history. Thornseat Lodge in Bradfield is my favourite, used to walk bloody miles from Oughtibridge to just sit on the grounds listen to music and switch off. Stunning place. It’s in a right state now though and the owner owns a few buildings round there and just leaves them to rot. I’ll be sad when it’s gone 😩
I'm a bit late to the party but I believe the 'monitoring station' you refer to around the 11 min mark, as well as the little vents dotted around the hill are to take samples of the soil/gasses underneath. From what I've read the entirety of the site was dug out during the regen project, the soil 'washed', and the contaminants sealed in a steel chamber below Waverley Hill - hence the need to monitor what's under there.
Hi there! I've just come across this video and thought that I would give it a watch. And I'm so glad that I did. This is outstanding work!
I was 17 when the battle of Orgreave took place and I was actually a passenger in a friends' car driving through Orgreave heading for the M1 just a few days before that shocking event. Young and stupid I had no idea of the magnitude of the events about to unfold during that summer. There were thousands of striking miners that I saw that day and the suffering and uncertainty that they went through was scandalous and more needs to be made known of this in my opinion.
The loss of Coal Mining (and to a lesser degree, steel manufacturing) in South Yorkshire is another sad legacy of the demise of the UK as an industrial superpower. I see Waverley rising up from the old Orgreave site as I drive down the Parkway and its incredibly sad that kids today in South Yorkshire are still being taught such things as irrelevant American pish in their History classes when History is here, at home, all around them and far more relevant to the life's that they're leading here in South Yorkshire!
Superb work mate.... New subscriber gained.
Thankyou! Be sure to sunscribe to our sister channel Tour Obscure too for more videos like this!
All the best
Great video. I still remember to smell of the coking plant when the wind changed over in Brinsworth. I love the idea of making a monument of the bridge. Maybe the NUM or the wider union movement could help with legal services and dealing with Network Rail?Finding a decent photo of the open casting would be something. I remember it at the time but it's hard to put into context now the landscape is so different.
Many good times I’ve had in there as a kid, ferreting with my dogs , coursing and falconry with my Harris hawks. They used to be skips dotted about down near catcliffe full of concrete covering holes up
Very interesting Joe. Sad that so much has gone, but great that you are trying to celebrate the buildings now 👍
Very informative and interesting a huge like from me.
Another great documentary
I agree the bridge should be a monument to the Orgreave miners. If we had some graffiti artists come down it could be done easily as long as can get over fence. Another act of rebellion to mark a rebellion?
That would be a cool idea. Unfortunately the bridge is very well secured (otherwise I would I have gone on the actual bridge in the video!)
You could get on but it would involve some risk of falling on to the railway below and i would not recommend anyone does that.
We’re investigating different methods of making this happen, including currently being in contact with Network Rail.
I was a Guard at Rotherwood Depot, it was a wonderful place to work.
Seeing the old bridge just reminded me of it. I’m sure when I was younger (early 90s) the old bridge was a one way due to the weight of the vehicles. I didn’t even realise it had been replaced 😂😂
Correct, it was restricted to single lane at the end of its life.
Theres a photo somewhere of the old mine workings dug out by hand where the maclaren factory is
Thanks for the video. I'm currently working on the new supermarket site next to the training center.
Pit worker's was heroes mate steelworks would never have survived without we would have lost the second world not to mention what you mentioned about the awful deaths inside the pits most of been awful for them god bless the mining heroes
Highs shop you mentioned on the corner was next to where my aunt Gladys n uncle Harold lived he was a coal merchant
Justice for Orgreave.
Its a great film. Be great to build on it and maybe get some other people with memories to join in on another film?
We have plans for a ‘talk show’ kind of video where we speak to people who worked in different industries in Sheffield, including steelworkers, coal miners and if we can some people who were at Orgreave that day.
If you do that give me a shout as my Dad had a birds eye view of it all, working in the old Orgreave British Rail signal box.
my dad worked at the Nunnery as a coal haulier with my uncle george as his filler? george drove a lorry for Fenner's last before his death!
Great video, good knowledge, our daughter now lives on the Waverley estate. What was your Grandads name? My husband also worked at Rotherwood
My grandfathers name was David (sometimes known as Ronald) Peacock. His father was also a train driver named Ronald Peacock.
Thanks for the kind words!
@@History0114 Thanks for that, you'll have to ask him if he remembers the name Stannard, my Husband says he does recognise the name. On a separate note be interesting if you could do something on Bowden Houstead Woods and surrounding area (particularly interested in the old swimming pool under the Parkway and i'd love to know what was here before our houses were built in 1939 (Houstead Rd, Handsworth Ave etc...)
I will ask and get back to you!
I’ve been looking into that. Some very interesting photos of the old swimming pool that was there (now under the roundabout of mosborough bypass)
9:38 the opencast went down about 100m, nowhere near a mile. The worlds deepest opencast, in the USA where they have the space is only 3/4 of a mile deep
It was definitely deeper than 100m I used to play on there when I was a kid. Unless my child imagination took over
Ohh you’ve just covered that bit!!