There was a Bloomery at Barnby from the 17th century. This was originally owned by Thomas Barnby of Barnby Hall who had the ironworks and some lands sequestered to maintain the royalist forces at Wortley during the Civil War. At some point between 1635 and 1657 the bloomery was converted into a blast furnace. The furnace became part of the large number of ironworks owned by the Spencer's. (Umpleby 2000, 118-9). The furnace closed some time in the late 18th century and the dams and goits were filled in. 1855 maps show no evidence of the watercourses. By this point there are a number of buildings on the site which may have been associated with the adjacent Stanhope Colliery. A small number remain used as housing. There is no legibility of the industrial site. Within this polygon there was also a small early colliery. This developed due to the opening of the canal in 1799 but closed in 1806 due to geological faults. A larger colliery was later developed east of the railway line (HSY6750). (Glister 1998, 41-2).