The owner welcomes visitors to examine the furnace area within the fence. Do not climb the remains. This permission does not cover entering the engine house or mine workings.
Check the official visitor information ↗ · checked 2026-09-26
Use public paths and visitor areas. Do not enter unstaffed tunnels, shafts, railway land or restricted property.
Advice before you visitInformation checked 2026-09-26. Official records and the cited historical or visitor sources checked. No site visit or direct operator confirmation.
Iron from a wooded valley
Rockley’s surviving furnace belonged to an industry that brought iron ore, fuel and water together in the same valley. The owner dates this furnace to around 1700 and records charcoal firing until 1741. Its account distinguishes it from an earlier furnace farther west.
The charcoal came from surrounding woodland and the ore from nearby workings. The furnace produced cast iron, which could be shaped in moulds or sent on to a forge for further work. The furnace and forge carried out different stages of making useful iron.
- Rockley Furnace — owner and managing trust ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
- South Yorkshire research framework — post-medieval iron production ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
The core that survives
Excavations identified the furnace, a wheel pit, a bellows house and a casting pit. Water power supplied the blast of air, while a ramp allowed ore and fuel to reach the top. Much of that working layout now survives as archaeology rather than machinery.
The owner’s visitor advice allows examination within the fence and asks people not to climb or damage the remains. We have not inspected the site or checked its approach on the ground.
- South Yorkshire research framework — post-medieval iron production ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
- Rockley Furnace — owner and managing trust ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
What we still need to check
Construction dates differ in historical accounts. The owner’s approximate date is used here. Current ground conditions and accessibility have not been inspected.
Sources for the visiting information
- Rockley Furnace — owner and managing trust ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
- South Yorkshire research framework — post-medieval iron production ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
- Historic England — list entry 1004820 ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
About the original record
This place is recorded by Historic England / Planning Data. The details below include the original description of its building or site type.
Place details
- Category
- Industrial relics
- Building or site type (original wording)
- Rockley blast furnace
- Period or date
- Around 1700; later use proposed
- Current condition
- Not checked in person
- Heritage protection
- Scheduled monument
- Date protection was granted
- Not given
- Nearby town
- Sheffield (approximate)
- County named in the original record
- Not supplied
- Current county or council area
- Barnsley
- Nation
- England
- Original record number
- 1004820
- Coordinates
- 53.51495, -1.491574 (reference point, not an entrance)
- Heritage data checked
- 2026-09-13
- Source last updated
- 2026-08-28
- Visitor information checked
- 2026-09-26
We checked the downloaded heritage record on 2026-09-13. We have not visited or inspected the site. The map point may refer to a whole site, one structure or a location where little remains.