Dearneside Colliery was operating between 1955 and 1977 (Gill 2007b) although there was an earlier mine on this site in the late 19th century. The main part of the remaining spoil heap was from the North Gawber Colliery which closed in 1985 (ibid). There is no legibility of the enclosures which survived across some of this area until 1973. These piecemeal enclosures are of an uncertain date but this land may have been very wet as large land drains are marked on 1973 OS maps. This may have made the site undesirable.