Elsecar Heritage Centre
Elsecar Heritage Centre is a
Living History centre in
Elsecar,
South Yorkshire. It also comprises of various
shops and an exhibition hall. It runs
craft workshops, special events, and a monthly
antiques fair. The building were originally used for various industries including
Iron Forges, a
distillery, and engineering workshops. These fell into decline when the
coal mines in the village closed.
It also has its own
railway station (called Rockingham Station) on the
Elsecar Steam Railway and railway shed behind the main centre and during some special events trips are run to
Hemingfield Basin. There are plans to extend the line to
Cortonwood and build two stations (one at Cortonwood and the other at Hemingfield). The train depot contains a selection of steam
locomotives as well as a Diesel Engine.
It also has the only
Newcomen beam engine in the world to have remained in its original location. It was used to pump water out of Elsecar New Colliery and ran from
1795 until
1923 when is was replaced by Electric Pumps. It also ran briefly in
1928 when the electric pumps were overwhelmed by flooding. At its peak it could draw 600 gallons a minute. In
1972 the engine was classified as a
Scheduled Ancient Monument. The engine is not currently in working order but there are plans to restore it back to its original state.
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Information Site
