Schools 2014

All three of Athersley's schools have once again taken part on a series of workshops about archaeolgy. Two classes each at Athersley North, Athersley South and Richard Newman have had an introduction to archaeology, dug test pits, found out about the objects they've found and done an art/writing workshop about their finds.

Over 180 pupils have taken part this year. We will publish their artwork here soon.

Digging up School

No, we don't have an escape plan - we're excavating test pits at all three of Athersley's primary school again this year. After the success of the archaeology sessions and test pits last year, 180 pupils from Athersley North, Athersley South and Richard Newman will take part this autumn.

Two Test Pits

Photos from the test pits in two gardens in Athersley North.

Garden Test Pits

Here are some photos of this summer's test pits beside Sandra's Convenience Store. We have excavated the remains of an old farm that once stood where the store and Rufford Avenue are today. The farm is shown on Ordnance Survey maps in the second half of the 19th century. We are hoping to find objects from its history and to see how old it is.

Part of a farm stone wall.

Remains of the farm behind Sandra's.

Hands on Historhy Exhibition

Have a look at the exhibition if you missed it last week. Click on an image to see it large enough to read.

Finds Roadshow

We display and exhibition of finds from 2013 outside the Athersley Co-op on Saturday 17th May. Beryl, Carol and Sylvia did a great job telling people about what we found and signing up volunteers for this year.

See the Finds from Athersley’s Past

Athersley Archaeologists will be showing off their archaeological finds outside Athersley Co-op on Saturday 17^th May between 11am and 3pm. The finds come from test pits dug all over Athersley and New Lodge last September as part of the Romero Communities’ Hands on History project. As well as having the chance to handle the finds, there will be an exhibition about the dig and Athersley’s past, and the chance to sign up to have a go this year.

Athersley Archaeologists are residents of Athersley, New Lodge and Barnsley who are learning how to dig, wash finds and finding out about Athersley’s past. The test pits were dug in gardens and the three local primary schools. Each one metre square hole was a window into the past beneath our feet. Some of the star finds include a piece of pottery over 600 years old, a Georgian fob seal used by a gentleman to sign letters, Victorian clay tobacco pipes and a potty – a small clay ball used in the miners’ traditional game of knurr and spell.

Carol Clair of Romero Communities says “Last September was amazing because of what we found. Who would think there was so many clues from hundreds of years of history before most of the houses were built. Twenty adults and over 100 school pupils excavated 42 test pits and washed all the finds in three weeks.”

Most test pits will be dug in May and July this year. Anyone can become an Athersley Archaeologist as the team provide the tools and training. For the less able finds sorting and washing while having a natter and cuppa is also an option. This year the aim is to find out more about the old mills at Smithies and the farms near Laithes Lane.

Archaeologist Bill Bevan, leading the project, says “We hope to finds objects thrown away by Victorian or earlier farmers as well as evidence for Smithies’ corn and wool mills which date back hundreds of years.”

If you would like to find out how you can get involved contact Chris on 01226 722571 or 07963 586767. You can also find out more online at http://handsonhistorybarnsley.blogspot.co.uk/ or the Facebook Group Hands On History Barnsley.

Athersley, New Lodge and Smithies Today and in 1892

See the difference a hundred and 20 years make! We've overlain the 1892 Ordnance Survey map on the modern map to show the dramatic changes to the Athersley landscape - then and now. See Victorian woodlands, railway lines, pits and farms appear from the past. Find out what used to be where your house is today.



Some of the roads are the same including the Barnsley to Wakefield Road. Parts of Laithes Lane, Laithes Crescent and Smithies Lane existed in 1892.



Some of the boundaries of Athersley North and New Lodge are defined by the routes of the Barnsley Coal Railway Extension and the Wharncliffe Woodmoor Colliery Branch. These were built between 1854 and 1892 to transport coal from Wharncliffe Woodmoor and other collieries.



There was a farm where Athersley South Primary School is today. Woodlands and fields occupied most of the land with the Victorian collieries built between 1854 and 1892 south of Athersley and at Carlton.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2014.  

On the Road with Richard Newman Primary School

Pupils of Richard Newman Primary School looked at the location of their school on a Victorian road and the sort of people who would have travelled by. They drew artwork about these characters and produced a collage booklet of their work.

Download On The Road

Saturday Test Pitters

Last year we dug our test pits during a two-week field season. This year we plan to dig test pits on regular Saturdays through the summer and autumn. Please get in touch if you would like to join in. We pkan to search for remains of old farms shown on Victorian Ordnance Survey maps and the mills at Smithies.

To the Woods at Athersley North Primary School

Here is the children's collage booklet produced by pupils of Athersley North Primary School during the art workshops. They explored the Victorian history of their school as a woodland.

Download To The Woods

Letters from school

Here are a few letters written by pupils of Athersley South to the Hands on History team.

Digging again in 2014

We will be digging more test pits in Athersley, New Lodge and the Smithies this year!

We plan two weeks - one beginning on Saturday May 24th and the other on July 5th.

For the week in may we hope to dig six days of test pits at Smithies. We will be looking for evidence of the mills that were there. There were two mills during the Victorian period.

Barnsley Smithy Mill was north of Smithies Lane. It began as a corn mill during the late 1200s, when it was recorded in a charter of neighbouring land. It continued in this use until 1870 when it was converted to a paper mill. Barnsley Smithies Fulling Mill began as a wool-washing mill circa 1350, probably to process some of the large quantities of wool and fleeces from Monk Bretton Priory, after King Edward III invited Flemish weavers to England in 1338 to train English weavers in making finer cloths. The waterwheel would have been powered by a leat taking water from behind a weir on the Dearne. In 1608-10 a fulling mill ‘belonging to le Smithies’ is recorded. By 1666 it appears to have been converted to a paper mill when it was included in the will of Edward Roades of Monk Bretton. The last documentary reference to it is in 1768 when John, son of John Wood, papermaker of Burton Smithies, was baptised.

In 1854 two Smithy Mills are shown close to each other north of Smithies Lane on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey. The more northerly was for wool and the southerly one for corn. By the 1892 Ordnance Survey both appear to be part of the Valley Paper Works.

Smithies in 1854

Smithies in 1892

We will post more details about the July season here soon.

Please get in touch if you would like to get involved. Call Chris on 01226 722571 or 07963 586767, or email bill@inheritage.co.uk.

Athersley Schools Test Pits

Here is a short, non-technical, report of results from the test pits dug by pupils of the three primary schools in September 2013.

Schools test pits.

Archaeology Report 2013

The team excavate at St Helen's Church.

Here is the report of what we found during the first season of archaeological test pits in Athersley and New Lodge as part of the HLF ‘Hands on History’ project. 

Download the full report.

Download the finds report tables.

Digging an Athersley garden.

In September 2013 we excavated 42 archaeological test pits in the gardens, primary school grounds and grounds of St Helen's Church, Laithes Lane, of Athersley and New Lodge. The excavations revealed widespread archaeological evidence from the 18th century through to the modern times, even a piece of medieval pottery was identified. This evidence comes from pottery, clay pipes, glass, animal bones and industrial residues (iron and glass slags). Deliberate burial was also revealed in the form of a dog who is still remembered locally and chance loss was also found in the form of an 18th century gentleman's fob seal.

18th century gentleman's fob seal.

Impression of the Greek or Roman figure on the seal.
Could it be Bacchus / Dionysus? 

The report outlines the aims, methodology and results of the 2013 test pit programme, together with an analysis and interpretation of the results. There are plans showing the locations of test pits.

The test pit programme was managed by Dr. B Bevan and the Romero Community, and supervised by Chris Scurfield. Volunteers from the local community excavated the test pits. Further test pits were excavated by over 100 pupils from three local schools, generating future interest in the archaeology, and also revealing some unexpected results.

We are very grateful to all the owners of gardens and land who offered sites for test pits: 
New Lodge: Beryl Russell, Nicola Kelley, Frank, Mike and Rebecca Jones
Athersley North: Athersley North School, Lyn Shepperd, Lorraine Sykes, Brooks
Ridough, Megan Palmer, Ashleigh McKnight
Athersley South: Father Marshall, Richard Newman & Athersley South School, Carl
Yeates.

Beryl, Sylvia and Chris backfill the first test pit,
New Lodge Crescent.

Thank you to the volunteers who dug the test pits and washed the finds: Carol Clair, Robert

Cartwright, Mary Dalton, Kate Faulkes, Pearl Green, Abbey Jones, Sylvia Nixon, Joanne Mann, Conor O’Connoll, Daniel Parkes, Megan Palmer, Glenis and Mark Ravenscroft, Ashleigh McKnight, Beryl Russell, Brooks & Luke Ridough, and Carl & Poppy Yeates.

Thank you to all the pupils and teachers who took part from Richard Newman, Athersley North and Athersley South schools. 

The excavation of the test pits, finds analysis and production of this report were funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.