National Coal Mining Museum for England

National Coal Mining Museum for England
Caphouse Colliery
New Road
Overton
Wakefield
West Yorkshire
WF4 4RH
England

Website

www.ncm.org.uk

E-mail

info@ncm.org.uk

Telephone

01924 848806

Fax

01924 844567

All information is supplied by the venues or providers themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.

The National Coal Mining Museum for England is a great day out and gives visitors the unique opportunity to travel 140 metres underground, down one of Britain’s oldest working mines, where models and machinery depict methods and conditions of mining from the early 1800’s to the present. Experienced local miners guide parties around the underground workings. Above ground visit the pit ponies, find out more about the development of mining and its communities in the exhibitions around the site, take a train ride, see the steam winder and visit the pit head baths. The Museum also has a well-stocked shop where you can get your very own mining memorabilia.

Venue Type:

Museum

Opening hours

Daily 10.00-17.00

Closed 24-26 December & 1 January

Admission charges

Free admission

General services and facilities

Brochure or leaflet available with directions to museum
Foreign language leaflet or brochure available
General audio-guide available
Guided tours
Information point provided
Pre-booking service for groups
Cafeteria
Parking for coaches
Picnic area
Refreshments
Shop

Children and families

Activities for pre-school children
Events and resources for children and families
Baby changing facilities
Children's play area
Indoor soft play area

Disability access

Audio guides specifically for blind and partially sighted people
Events/teaching/resources for people with disabilities
Touch exhibits
Parking for disabled available
Toilets for disabled
Wheelchair access to some public areas
Wheelchairs available for loan

Schools services and facilities

Member of staff available with responsibility for education
Primary school education service available
Printed/audio-visual information available for schools
Education facilities available

Research and adult learning

Academic publications and resources available
Adult lectures and courses held
Loan service
Library
Library with public access
Research facilities for academics

Commercial and hire services

Facilities for private functions and events
Meeting room available

National Coal Mining Museum for England
Caphouse Colliery
New Road
Overton
Wakefield
West Yorkshire
WF4 4RH
England

Website

www.ncm.org.uk

E-mail

info@ncm.org.uk

Telephone

01924 848806

Fax

01924 844567

The Museum is centred around two late-18th/early-19th century coal mining shafts, with the historic buildings and machinery forming part of the collections. The wooden headgear and steam winding engine at the Caphouse site are unique survivals from a small rural colliery.

The collections reflect life and work in the English coalfields. They range from coal cutters to mining art and literature, and from oral history records to miners’ lamps. The collection has a strong Yorkshire flavour, but also contains much of the British Coal collection from the British coal mining regions.

Fine collections exist of photographs, lamps and checks, small handtools, large mining machinery, and art by and about miners. There is an excellent library that includes an important collection of coal mining fiction.

Collection details

Archives, Fine Art, Industry, Natural Sciences, Science and Technology, Social History

Collections services

General guide to collections available
Object identification and/or written enquiry service
Object study facilities available (enquire in advance)

National Coal Mining Museum for England
Caphouse Colliery
New Road
Overton
Wakefield
West Yorkshire
WF4 4RH
England

Website

www.ncm.org.uk

E-mail

info@ncm.org.uk

Telephone

01924 848806

Fax

01924 844567

Resources listed here may include websites, bookable tours and workshops, books, loan boxes and more. You may need to scroll down or click on headers to see them all.

Digital and online resources

Coal Mining and the Victorians

http://www.mylearning.org/overview.asp?journeyid=297

A resource about what it was like for children as young as five years old to work in a coal mine underground in Victorian England.

Publisher

This resource was produced as part of the MLA-funded My Learning project.

Coal Queens? Why Remember Victorian Mining Women?

http://www.mylearning.org/overview.asp?journeyid=552

An resource about a Royal Commission report of 1842 concerned about the vulnerability of women working in mines, and the proposal that they would be of greater value to society if they stayed at home to look after their families.

Publisher

This resource was produced as part of the MLA-funded My Learning project.

Coal Queens? Why Remember Women in Post-War Mining Communities

http://www.mylearning.org/overview.asp?journeyid=556

This learning resource consists of historical overviews looking at the changing roles of women in coal mining through four periods: 1842, post-war 1940s/1950s, 1970s and the 1984-85 miners' strikes.

Publisher

This resource was produced as part of the MLA-funded My Learning project.

Coal Queens? Why Remember Women of the 1984/85 Miners' Strike

http://www.mylearning.org/overview.asp?journeyid=557

This learning resource looks at the changing roles of women in coal mining through four periods: 1842, post-war 1940s/1950s, 1970s and the 1984-85 miners' strikes

Publisher

This resource was produced as part of the MLA-funded My Learning project.

Face to face resources

Dig Deeper

This interactive workshop uses a 3D model of hte site to inspire students learning through hands on exploration of genuine Museum artefacts. The model opens up to reveal artefacts relating to the following areas:
-fossils and the formation of coal
-safety in mining
-mining work wear
-history of lighting in coal mines
There is even a sound and smells section to stimulate all the senses.

Creator

Education Officer

How to obtain

£1.00 per student. Book through Museum staff or using teachers pack

Fred at the Pit Head Baths

a living History workshop set in the 1930s. the baths attendant Fred will take you back in time to the 1930s whent he pit head baths were first built. participants will be involved in role play activites and group discussion. there will be the opportunity to handle genuine Museum artefacts in this workshop

Creator

Education Officer

How to obtain

£1.00 per student. Book through Museum pack or using the teachers pack

Mrs Lockwood's kitchen

A living history workshop set in 1949. This workshop portrays the life of a miner's wife and her family in 1949 and is set in her period replica kitchen within our galleries. Participants are involved in role play activities, games of the time and even have the chance to try bread and dripping.

Creator

Education Officer and Mrs M Parkinson

How to obtain

£1.00 per student. Book using the teachers pack booking form-contact Museum staff

Sally Fletcher - It's a hard life

A living history workshop set in Victorian times. Sally Fletcher takes you back in time to 1886 discuss the conditions of work for men, women and children in coal mines before and after the 1842 act. Role play activites and children's games are involved in this workshop.