This cashe is the first of 4, they are in memory of the mining industry
it can get a little muddy during wet weather.
Bentley Colliery was a coal mine in Bentley, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, that operated between 1906 and 1993. In common with many other mines, it suffered a disaster in 1931 when 45 miners were killed after a gas explosion. The site of the mine has been converted into a woodland.
The Barber, Walker & Company initiated some exploratory boreholes in the Bentley area in the late 19th century.Further investigations were carried out in 1902 and in 1903 when several sites had boreholes driven into them to test for coal reserves. Despite hitting quicksand and extremes of flooding, what would become the main mine shaft was sunk in 1906, although coaling did not become possible until 1908.
The local area could not supply enough men to work in the mine, so many moved into the area from outside the region and the company built Bentley New Village (which still exists) to accommodate all the workers.[The new village had a school, football club (Bentley Colliery FC) and a cricket club too.
By 1910, employees at the mine numbered 1,000; The mine recorded its best year of production in 1924 when over 1,200,000 tonnes (1,300,000 tons) of coal was brought to the surface.
In 1993, the mine was selected for closure by British Coal, even though a confidential report stated that the colliery was in the black and was producing coal at a far cheaper rate than imports from South Africa. The mine closed in December 1993 with huge reserves left underground and the loss of 450 jobs. All surface buildings, including the headstocks, were demolished by 1995.
In 1998, the site was remediated and handed over to the Land Trust. It was converted into a woodland in 2004 and is now open to the public as the Bentley Community Woodland.