Easter Mission to Denaby

Denaby, a quintessential industrial village, is visited by Mexborough School students.

Looming collieries, red bricked alleys and terraced housing present an archetypal snapshot of the coal mining community in a place once known as ‘Denaby Main Colliery Village.’ Whilst students embark on their project, knocking on doors and handing out leaflets, the teacher’s film shows an active industrial landscape - only a few years before the village’s dramatic rebuild.

Built for purpose, Denaby, located between Rotherham and Doncaster, was a working settlement, establishing its reputation as a coal village since the 1860s. Two collieries were at the heart of the area; Denaby Main and neighbouring Cadeby Main. Despite the major mining incident at Cadeby in 1912, Denaby colliery shut its doors earlier in 1968. The closure was a potent signal of the industry’s decline and in the same year, the village underwent a major re-building process. Moving away from its industrial past, terraced houses were demolished, making space for modern housing.