A blue plaque for Maurice & Fred

Darfield Area Amenity Society, with the help of Barnsley Civic Trust, have produced a blue plaque to commemorate Maurice Dobson and Fred Halliday. It will be unveiled on Friday August 29th at the museum Maurice left to Darfield. Barnsley Civic Trust members are invited.


At the next Civic Trust event, on Thursday September 18th, Kenneth Brookes will give a talk about Maurice and Fred –and the story of the Maurice Dobson Museum and Heritage Centre.

The talk is at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber at Barnsley Town Hall. All welcome.

1819 Yorkshire Miners’ Strike talk

On Thursday 5th June in the NUM Miners Hall in Barnsley, Dr Joe Stanley gave a presentation entitled ‘Five Shillings Per Day’: The 1819 Yorkshire Miners’ Strike and its significance to the formation of Mining Unions.

The talk took place in the year of the 150th anniversary of the NUM Offices building designed by Barnsley architects Wade and Turner. The Miners’ Hall is next door in Victoria Road; the splendid banners were a great backdrop.

The talk is now available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcg9e-0XAQw

Barnsley-Hull Railway talk

Hull and Barnsley platform at Cudworth Station, c.1952 Barnsley Archives

On Thursday 22nd of May in the Town Hall Council Chamber, at 6.30pm, Peter Cox gave an illustrated presentation on The Hull and Barnsley Railway formed in 1880 and one of the last large scale railway companies.

Our sister society, Howden Civic Society, have a page on their website on the Hull and Barnsley Railway. Well worth a look! https://howdencivicsociety.co.uk/hull-and-barnsley-railway/

Barnsley Civic Trust AGM 2025

The Barnsley Civic Trust 2025 Annual General Meeting took place on May 1st. Linda Burgess, BCT Chair, gave her report on activities since the last AGM in the autumn and Melvyn Lunn, Treasurer, presented the accounts for 2024-25.

The first priority of the Executive committee, elected at the last general meeting in October 2024, has been to look at, and simplify, the Constitution of the Society, reaffirming

  • our commitment to being a non-political, voluntary organisation focused on promoting Barnsley, its heritage, buildings and future.
  • that this covers Barnsley Metropolitan Borough, not just the town
  • that the subscription period is the calendar year, reviewed annually

The revised constitution was accepted.

The current executive members and officers, elected in October 2024 were returned without opposition. They are: Linda Burgess, chair; Allen Parkes, secretary; Melvyn Lunn, treasurer. Committee members: Susan Browne, Edana Guest, Ian Harley, Michael Hardy, Peter Roberts, Janet Richardson and Ronnie Steele. Subsequently to the meeting Susan Browne offered take on the role of membership secretary.

Documents for the meeting can be downloaded below. …

Monk Bretton Priory, its history

Monk Bretton: its History and Influence. Monk Bretton Priory is one of the most important heritage sites in Barnsley Fred Thompson gave an illustrated presentation on its history on 1st May in Barnsley Town Hall.

The priory was very influential in the early days of Barnsley and Fred covered this —and more— in his talk. He illustrated the life of the monks and highlighted monastic influence on the town, particularly in establishing Barnsley Market.

Fred offered to take us on a tour of the site; this has now been arranged at 10am on Wednesday 6th August. Fred says that the tour will be an opportunity to find out more about the priory’s history and the site. We will also be able to find out about the plants the monks used for food and medicine.

The invitation is being sent initially to BCT members and in a few days time to our full mailing list. If you would like to join the tour, please let us know as soon as you can by emailing BarnsleyCivicTrust.info@gmail.com.

 

Joseph Locke, his life and legacy

Statue of Joseph Locke in Locke Park. St Edwards in background

An illustrated talk on the life and legacy of Joseph Locke was given by Peter Roberts on Monday 17 March at Barnsley Town Hall. A recording is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYC5PELNq-8


Who was Joseph Locke?

What did he do in his life?


What were his achievements?

Where can we see his impact on the world today?

Joseph Locke was one of the three Victorian pioneers of civil and railway engineering, alongside Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Brought up in Barnsley, his legacy includes railways still used across Britain and Europe, and in Barnsley: Locke Park.

This event was the 2025 Bramah Lecture, sponsored by Barnsley Council, jointly organised by South Yorkshire Industrial History Society and Barnsley Civic Trust . We thank Barnsley Archives and Local Studies for their support.

‘Women artists in Barnsley’: Thursday 20th February

A great presentation by a quartet of speakers from Art on Your Doorstep, appreciated by everyone present, and there were lots of us! Great research with really interesting information to share with us.
Thank you, Art on Your Doorstep

The history of ‘Women artists in Barnsley, their inspiration and influences, an illustrated talk by Hugh Polehampton and colleagues from Barnsley ‘Art on Your Doorstep’.

Thursday 20th February at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber at Barnsley Town Hall. All welcome.

‘The Lancasters, a Barnsley Dynasty’: Thursday 23 January

James Steverson, Barnsley Archives’ Project Archivist, gave an illustrated talk ‘Lancaster and Sons: A Barnsley Dynasty‘, was given by James Stevenson. Full of interesting information, it was much appreciated by those who attended.

This is the fascinating story of one of Barnsley’s most interesting and influential families, the Lancasters, who rose to become prominent auctioneers, valuers and estate agents for more than four generations.

This talk was first hosted by the Friends of Barnsley Archives in September but was rerun as an evening event due to popular demand. Ans some people came to hear it a second time!

Held in association with Barnsley Archives and Local Studies, here’s an image taken by Paul Stebbing of the event.

Barnsley Civic Trust events, from November 2024

1 Saturday 16 November at 11.30am at The Old Bank (opposite the Town Hall). Join us for the unveiling of 5 Blue Plaques in Barnsley Town Centre.
The plaques, developed in partnership between Barnsley Civic Trust, the Eldon Street High Street Heritage Action Zone, Barnsley Museums and Historic England, commemorate notable 19th Century figures and the buildings they were associated with, in and around Eldon Street:
1 Thomas Lister, Postmaster, Poet and Naturalist – The Old Bank, Church Street
2 John Whitworth, Architect, Surveyor, Town Planner – 14 Regent Street
3 Ann Porter, Business woman and Barnsley entrepreneur – 58 Eldon Street
4 Matthew and Eliza Wardhaugh, creators of Barnsley’s first wooden theatre, – Parkway Cinema, Eldon Street.
5 Catherine Mawer, Master Stonemason, and Benjamin Payler, Sculptor,– Queens Hotel, Regent Street.

2 On Thursday 21st November at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber , Town Hall. A presentation by Rob Younger, proprietor of the Parkway Cinema, a site which has been in entertainment use for approximately 150 years.

The illustrated presentation is entitled ‘A lifetime in cinema; from Barnsley to Malta and back! incorporating the story of the Parkway cinema and its site’

3 Thursday 23rd January at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber , Town Hall. An illustrated talk entitled: ‘Lancaster and Sons: A Barnsley Dynasty‘ is to be given by James Stevenson, Barnsley Archives’ Project Archivist, which tells the story of one of Barnsley’s most interesting and influential families, the Lancasters, who rose to become prominent auctioneers, valuers and estate agents for more than four generations. This talk was first hosted by Barnsley Archives in September but is to be rerun as an evening event due to popular demand. This fascinating story is not to be missed.

4 Thursday 20th February at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber , Town Hall. A presentation on the Hidden Art of Barnsley. The talk will be given by Hugh Polehapton and colleagues from Barnsley ‘Art on Your Doorstep’ and will be about the history of ‘Women artists in Barnsley, their inspiration and influences’.

5 Monday 17th March at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall. The Annual Joseph Bramah Lecture will be held in partnership with the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society (SYIHS) and will be an illustrated talk by Peter Roberts on The Life and Legacy of Joseph Locke the celebrated pioneer of civil and railway engineering, ranked alongside Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The talk will include references to Locke Park.

6 BCT is in the process of arranging a presentation on The history of Monk Bretton Priory, to be given by Fred Thompson and also a guided tour of the priory and its site. The presentation will be in the Town Centre and arrangements will be confirmed.

7 BCT is also arranging an illustrated talk on the Barnsley Oaks Colliery disaster of 1866 which took the lives of 366 men and boys By Paul Darlow, the Author of ‘Black Snow’. This presentation will also be in the Town Centre and arrangements will be confirmed.

Watch out online for more information online or ask to be on our mailing list, or even become a member of Barnsley Civic Trust

Five new blue plaques in Barnsley Town Centre

Five new blue plaques have been installed in Barnsley Town Centre. Barnsley Civic Trust has been working with the Eldon Street High Street Heritage Action Zone —which has funded the plaques— to tell some of the stories of Eldon Street and its surroundings.

These include commemorating the work of the man who redesigned the town centre in the 19th century, John Whitworth, and celebrating the woman who brought the first department store specifically for women to the town, Ann Porter.

Here are Barnsley Mayor John Clark, the Mayoress, and the Young Mayor, together with Linda Burgess, Chair of Barnsley Civic Trust, and Jeff Lunn, the 2024 President of Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, at the first plaque unveiling.

This first blue plaque commemorates Thomas Lister, Quaker, Poet and Naturalist, who was Barnsley Postmaster on this site from 1839 to 1870. As well as being President of Barnsley Naturalist and Scientific Society for 20 years, he was a prominent member of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union which had their annual general meeting in Barnsley on the day of the unveiling. Thomas Lister attended the first YNU AGM held in Barnsley in 1884, 140 years ago!

More information will follow on the other four plaques