Frickley Colliery, Air Raid Shelter, South Elmsall, West Yorkshire. Archaeological Fabric Survey

A fabric survey was undertaken in April and June 2004 of a Second World War air raid
shelter at Frickley Colliery, South Elmsall, West Yorkshire (NGR SE 4657 0994), by
Oxford Archaeology North (OA North). This was undertaken following, and was
informed by, a desk-based assessment of the colliery site (OA North 2003) and its
associated air raid shelter, in response to a planning proposal by The Environment Practice
(TEP) for the landscaping and enhancement of the derelict industrial site.
The desk-based assessment was completed by OA North in July 2003, revealing that
Frickley Colliery was established by the Carlton Main Colliery Company in March 1903,
and that by 1908, a total of 1133 men were employed at Frickley Colliery, of which 899
toiled below ground and 234 worked on the surface. By 1918, these figures had increased
to 1523 men below ground and 431 on the surface. The output of the colliery increased,
and by 1945, covering the period when the air raid shelter was operational, 2232 men were
employed below ground and 540 on the surface.