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.