Crags Historical Timeline
January 1487
15th Century
1400s – An early trading route (a great trackway running from the Midlands) crosses the Crags and fords the River Don near what becomes Denaby Main.
From 1487 – Bell Pits (a crude and dangerous method of mining coal and iron ore in simple pits dug 60ft into the earth) appear.
January 1745
18th Century
1745-1760 – Stone tramway. North Cliff Quarry (later Lady’s Valley) begins operation. A railway of stone is built down the Crags to transport trams filled with stone from the quarry to the Limestone kilns below, winched down by hand. A century later, a haulage engine is installed in the 1850s.
January 1900
20th Century
20th Century Sledging – During the snowy winter evenings, the Crags become a focal point for the sledging with home-made sleds. Sledging runs (some of which are still in use) are given the following names:
- The Elbow – from the reservoir down past the Swing Park and on towards St. Albans Church
- The Snake / The Welfare – from Halifax Avenue down to the Miners Welfare
- The Yorkshire Bumps – from the reservoir straight downhill toward Balby Street School
- The Looney – from a point between Montague Avenue and Halifax Avenue over rough terrain
- The Shute – from Copley Avenue
- The Roly Poly – a more gentle run for beginners, from Fullerton Avenue snicket down a short way toward the Snake
1901 – Output ceases at North Cliff Limestone Quarry (Lady’s Valley).
1902-3 – The Bagmuck Strike. A dispute over pit pay sees families evicted from their colliery-owned homes… many having to live rough on the Crags.
1902 – Denaby and District Civilian Miniature Rifle Club formed in Lady’s Valley. Taken over by the Territorial Army in 1922.
1924-27 – Conanby estate of 400 houses built at the top of the Crags.
1927 – Conisbrough Urban District Council lay metalled footpaths across the Crags.
1929 – A ‘rec’ called the Swing Park is created by CUDC and the local Miners’ Welfare schemes. It is replaced by soccer pitches in the mid 1960s.
1935 – RAF plane crashes close to the Powder Works in Denaby Woods. Pilot has a lucky escape.
1936 – Lady’s Valley hosts a bonfire party for the accession of the new King.
1938 – Air raid shelters for up to 160 people and defensive trenches set up on the Crags by Conisbrough Urban District Council.
1945 – Fighter plane (Hurricane or Spitfire) crash lands in Denaby Woods. The pilot is treated in Fullerton Hospital, Denaby.
1960s – Go-Karting becomes a Crags feature and Northcliffe School sets up its own Go-Kart Club.
March 1966 – Aliens! Three alien spaceships and captured on camera, flying across Conisbrough, over The Crags.
1968 – Denaby Main Colliery closed.
1980s – Crags are re-forested with new trees as part of a Youth Employment scheme.
1986 – Cadeby Main Colliery is closed down on Christmas Eve and the sight of colliers crossing the Crags becomes an overnight memory.
2019 – Friends of The Crags formed to resurrect the Crags to their former glories.