It's coming home: City's last ever piece of coal returns to village where it was mined

The last piece of coal from Hatfield Main pit now has pride of place Stainforth after a campaign by locals and Doncaster North prospective parliamentary candidate Ed Miliband to see it back on home soil.

The lump was handed to Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones in a handover at the pit in 2015 and has been on show at Doncaster Museum ever since.

A spokesman for Stainforth4All, which has campaigned for the coal to go on show in the village, said: “The highlight of the day was Annie Rodgers receiving the last piece of coal mined from Hatfield Main Colliery, which has finally returned home after being on show in Doncaster since 2017.

"Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special occasion, including Mick Lanaghan (Leader of Hatfield Main Heritage Trust), Dave Marshall (The Mayor of Stainforth) and local children from Holy Family Primary School - your presence made the event truly memorable.”

The handover marked the opening of the new Stainforth Museum, which tells the story of the village’s history and heritage, and is situated insided Stainforth Library.

Hatfield Colliery closed in June 2015 with the loss of 430 jobs after almost a century of production.

John Grogan, chairman of the Hatfield Employee Benefit Trust, which had run the mine since 2013, said it was "the end of an era".

At the time he said: "We're presenting this piece of coal as a symbol of our respect for all the miners who have gone before us in South Yorkshire and helped build the economy of our country and keep the lights on for many decades."

Accepting the gift the Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said: "On behalf of Doncaster and South Yorkshire I'm humbled to accept this."

First sunk in 1916, work at the pit initially stopped in 2001 but was later re-opened by mining magnate Richard Budge, reopening in 2006.

The mine, which also featured in South Yorkshire brass band movie Brassed Off, eventually closed for good in 2015.