Blue Plaque: Hungarian refugees welcomed in Barnsley in 1956

In 1956 and 1957, Barnsley welcomed 200 Hungarian refugees following the crushed Hungarian revolution; they found work in the coal industry. We are commemorating this with a blue plaque.

The Hungarian Consul General Dr L Risko-Nagy will unveil the blue plaque at the Miners’ Hall in Victoria Road on Wednesday 23rd October at 2.00pm. Another great opportunity to visit the stunning Miners’ Hall!

Dr Andrew Zsigmond, one of the refugees, will give a short presentation. The Mayor of Barnsley and the Area Chairman of the NUM, Chris Skidmore, will welcome our guests.

Open to everyone to attend, any of the original 1956 refugees or their descendants will be particularly welcome to come to the event.

 

Fascinating Stories of Eldon Street

The recently completed Eldon Street Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) has worked with the local community to uncover and celebrate the stories and often overlooked heritage of one of Barnsley’s most important historic high streets.

The restoration of the historic fabric of Eldon Street has also been part of the HAZ; it has worked with local businesses and property owners to fund conservation repairs to key historic buildings on the west side of Eldon Street.

Dr Tegwen Roberts gave an illustrated presentation on the ‘Fascinating Stories of Eldon Street, unearthed in the High Street Heritage Action Zone, on Thursday 10 October in the Council Chamber of Barnsley Town Hall.

Tegwen’s well-attended talk was really appreciated by those present: the council chamber was buzzing! Quite a number of us had participated in the HAZ and it was great to hear about its overall impact and the stories it had revealed.

The Eldon Street Heritage Action Zone was a four year joint project between Barnsley Council and Historic England, completed in 2024. Dr Tegwen Roberts was the Eldon Street HSHAZ Project Leader. Barnsley Civic Trust contributed to aspects of the Eldon Street Heritage Action Zone.  Barnsley Civic Trust talks are arranged in partnership with the Barnsley Archives and Local Studies..

Historic Buildings in Barnsley Town Centre: Friday 13th September Tour

Barnsley Civic Trust had a guided walk around Barnsley Town Centre on Friday 13th September. It told the history of the Town through some of the historic and architecturally interesting buildings which can be seen today.

Barnsley Civic Trust tour of town centre outside the former Ann Porter and Sons Department Store

The tour included a visit to the historic Miners Hall in Barnsley …

Barnsley Civic Trust folk on the way to the NUM building and Miners Hall

Once there, Paul Darlow introduced us to the many historic NUM colliery banners on display and showed us many artefacts from mining history.


The tour was open to members but some non-members came along too. If there is the demand, there will be more tours to come.
Email contact@barnsleycivictrust.org.uk to express your interest.

Barnsley Civic Trust is also willing to conduct tours of the historic sites and buildings in Barnsley town centre for groups of around 10-20 people.
Just get in touch.