Access inside the engine house and to the mine workings has not been confirmed. The owner’s furnace visiting advice must not be extended to these spaces.
Read the information we checked ↗ · 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.
Keeping the mine dry
The engine house served an ironstone mine. Its job was to house a pumping engine that removed water from the workings; it was not simply the power source for the nearby furnace. South Yorkshire’s research framework identifies mine drainage as its purpose.
A study published by R. H. Bird in 1974 describes a tall stone building beside the pumping shaft. Bird recorded an 1813 date on the wall and related the proportions of the building to an early steam engine, with its boiler beneath the cylinder.
- South Yorkshire research framework — industrial archaeology ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
- R. H. Bird — Notes on the Rockley Mine, 1974 ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
A building without its engine
Bird reported that the engine had been dismantled and sold around 1823. The surviving house therefore tells the story of machinery that left the site, rather than an engine still available to watch.
That study is historical evidence, not a current safety report. We have not confirmed access inside the building, and a heritage designation does not make a former shaft or underground working a visitor attraction.
- R. H. Bird — Notes on the Rockley Mine, 1974 ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
- Historic England — list entry 1004821 ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
What we still need to check
Historical accounts differ on when the engine and mine ceased working: Bird reports an engine sale around 1823, while the later research framework places disuse after 1827. Present condition and entry remain unconfirmed.
Sources for the visiting information
- South Yorkshire research framework — industrial archaeology ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
- R. H. Bird — Notes on the Rockley Mine, 1974 ↗ · reviewed 2026-09-26
- Historic England — list entry 1004821 ↗ · 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 engine house
- Period or date
- Engine-house date recorded as 1813
- 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
- 1004821
- Coordinates
- 53.514597, -1.492701 (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.