The next phase of the redevelopment, however, is on pause while work on the drainage system is carried out to cope with the anticipated increase in visitor numbers.
Franklin said: “It’s Victorian drainage as you can imagine.
“It’s not had a lot of attention over the years so in the interim the money that we’ve received is going to secure the fabric of the site.”
The work, which began in October, is expected to be completed by spring or summer 2026.
If additional funding becomes available Franklin said there were other projects to work on, such as re-opening the heritage railway that used to run on the site.
There are also ambitions to put more of Elsecar’s history on show by uncovering the kilns used in the ironworking.
“The vision is that we need to show people what their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents did as an everyday work place in Elsecar,” Franklin said.
“Because some of the bridges throughout the world were actually produced at Elsecar and at Milton Ironworks.”