Heritage Silkstone

 Silkstone Man Killed by Lightning 1899 There was no newspaper report of the meteorite landing in John Haynes' pond in the early 1870s (see previous blog). Luckily for us John Ness Dransfield's personal recollection forty years after the event gave us chance to share this story. There were reports on and around 18th June 1872 that a "dreadful thunderstorm" hit the area - maybe this was the same event ? Two houses in the village were struck by lightning and it was reported that the daughter of a John Schofield was hit by lightning "whilst in the act of putting a knife to her mouth". It was said that she was "black in the face and insensible" and that "she never spoke until the following day, when she was restored to consciousness." The thunderstorms of June 1872, said to be the worst in living memory in some areas, were widespread throughout Yorkshire and the North of England and although there were lots of newspaper reports of damage, and...

  A Meteorite Hits Silkstone It's suprising what other unusual unexpected stories you sometimes stumble across. When looking into the sale of John Haynes' land and properties in 1911 I found a newspaper article which gives details of some historical items of interest that were donated to the Penistone Grammar School Museum by the trustees of John Haynes in Oct 1911. One of the objects was "a very large and heavy meteorite". The story of how John Haynes came to own a meteorite is best told directly from the 1911 newspaper article without any alterations:- "One day in the early seventies of the last century, Messrs John F Moorhouse of New Chapel, Penistone, John Greaves and James L Nokes of Thurlstone, and John N Dransfield, of Penistone, were at Mr Haynes's shooting over Silkstone Fall Wood and other of his preserves. After finishing shooting, and whilst sat at Mr Haynes' house - then called Beacon Villa - waiting for dinner, a heavy storm came on, during ...