This colliery was sunk circa 1842-3 for Earl Fitzwilliam.
Elsecar Low Colliery was known locally as Hemingfield Colliery. It is about half a mile from Elsecar Main Colliery. The colliery reached the Barnsley Bed Coal Seam at a depth of about 117 yards depth.
The first Manager there was a William Ford of Hemingford.
The mine had a Cupola Furnace shaft for ventilation and a small diameter (8ft) pumping shaft.
Accordingly this second shaft allowed the pit to meet the law of escape which came into effect following the Hester Hartley Pit disaster in 1862.
The shaft from which the coal was wound was locally called the " Bicycle Wheel Pit " as the two pulley wheels were mounted one above the other resembling a bike.
Shaft sinking was complete in 1840 but there were major problems due to water ingress. By 1846 production had reached some 1000 tons per day.
There was a notable tragedy at the mine when around one o'clock pm on 21st December 1852 a large explosion ripped thru Elsecar Low Pit. 130 men and boys were underground when the explosion of "fire damp" occurred caused by some colliers who removed the tops off their safety lamps in order to get a bigger light from the naked flame. Amazingly only five miners were killed in the blast.
The mine finally closed in 1920 with the headgear being demolished 1935. However one of the shafts continued to be used as a water pumping station until recently by UK Coal. The mine was pumped by a Cornish Beam engine prior to electric pumps being fitted.
Today the site has two small concrete headgears, the Pumping Engine House (now a home), A winding engine house, an electricity sub-station for later electric pumps and a very nice row of pit cottages.
We can only hope that the site is conserved as it is a very nice example of an early pit.