Last wooden winding wheel returns to Wakefield Mining museum ready for its reopening

An historic pit wheel has been lifted into place at the National Coal Mining Museum after been restored at a cost of more than £200,000.
Newly restored Pit wheel is put into place at the National Mining Museum, Wakefield.Picture by Simon Hulme.Newly restored Pit wheel is put into place at the National Mining Museum, Wakefield.Picture by Simon Hulme.
Newly restored Pit wheel is put into place at the National Mining Museum, Wakefield.Picture by Simon Hulme.

It's taken six months for the 100-year-old colliery winding wheel and tower, thought to be one of the last remaining timber headstocks in Europe, to be restored in preperation for the reopening of the museum on August 5.

By the time the pit closed after the miners’ strike of 1984 it was probably the only one in the Yorkshire coalfield not to have been replaced by a steel lattice structure.

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The museum's mine director, Shaun McLoughlin, said: "“Why this one wasn’t done as well is a very good question.

The wheel is put into place.The wheel is put into place.
The wheel is put into place.

“What we do know is that it dates from between 1905 and 1911, which was when new legislation was passed. All new headgear after that date had to be made of metal.”

It has taken six months to replace the rotting pine in the 10ft diameter wheel, which used to haul the rope-drawn cage that transported miners and materials up and down the 460ft shaft from the surface to the coal seam.

However, its purpose since Caphouse reopened as a museum has been ornamental and symbolic, not functional.

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But Mr McLoughlin said it was a structure of such historic importance that when he took up his post four years ago he set in train a rescue project, bringing in conservation specialists to preserve its historical integrity and restore it to its former glory.

Museum Director Jenny Layfield is pictured with the wheel.Museum Director Jenny Layfield is pictured with the wheel.
Museum Director Jenny Layfield is pictured with the wheel.

The museum director, Jenny Layfield, said its restoration had “not only prevented the further degradation of a historically important structure but opened up new ways to tell the story of mining”.

The wheel is now capable of being turned by the old steam winding engine, as it was in its working days, for demonstrations to visitors, Ms Layfield said – but for the moment it would serve as a beacon to welcome visitors back to the museum when it reopens on August 5.

The restoration job had been a huge undertaking and not least for the crane operator, who shortly after dawn had to position the giant wheel exactly on to two supporting beams around 30ft off the ground.

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Such headstocks were the “welcome signs” that told returning wanderers from each of the old pit villages that they were home.

Their development before the industrial revolution arose from the need to exploit coal seems deep underground, and the first winding wheels were horizontal and horse-drawn.

Pitch pine headstocks like that at Caphouse – which is now Grade II* listed – were typical of those in the late 19th century, before it was discovered that the wood was prone to rotting.

Less than half a mile away, the pit head at Hope Colliery, which led down to the same seam, was a steel job. But elsewhere, some private pit owners got around the concerns by building steel frames over the wooden ones.

Members of the public will be able to book a visit to take a closer look at the structure when it the museum reopens in just over a month.