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E L O W !B

Quarterly Journal of the Shropshire Caving & Mining Club Spring Issue No: 2005.1

Library AdditionsSubterranea: Newsletter ofSubterranea Britannica & the ColdWar Research Study Group, Issue 6,December 2004 - includes a couple ofinteresting accounts of a hugeunderground city below Dedinje,(Belgrade) built 1960-70 and a largeWWII German bunker built for theproduction of Chlorine tri-fluoride - athroughly nasty incendiary agent.The fluorine was made by theelectroloysis of molten metallicfluoride, produced from Bavariafluorspar.North Wales Caving Club:Newsletter 292 August-December2004 - has a report on recent tripsinto Grand Turk, including the Clubtrip there last November.BCA Newsletter, No.2, October 2004- contains an item on the inspectionof mine sites used by holders of theLocal Cave & Mine LeaderAssessment, and the backlogresulting from last years insuranceproblems.Stone Chat: Newsletter of theNorfolk Mineral & Lapidary Society,Volume 25, No.2 Winter 2004-5.Plymouth Caving Group: Newsletter& Journal No 144, December 2003;No.145, September 2004; No.146December 2004.NAMHO Interim Newsletter:December 2004, plus minutes of AGmand meetings.

Kellingley CollieryUp to 180 jobs are to be axed atKellingley Colliery, West Yorkshire(the country’s second biggest mine)due to unforseen geolocial problems.

Press Reports 12/1/2005

SCMC and SMT have agreed toorganise the NAMHO Conference for2006. The intention is that this beheld in North-east Wales and we willbe looking for assistance from localclubs in the organising of some ofthe field trips.

The Conference will be held at theRoyal Pavilion, Llangollen over theweekend 11th to 13th June 2006.The Royal Pavilion is the site of theEisteddod but do not think thismeans an enormous site - we willhave use of a permanent buildingwith a hall capable of seating 400, asecond hall capable of seating 100(possibly a third 100 seater hall) plusa large reception area on two levels.

We now need volunteers to take on ahost of roles - below is a list that Ihave thought of but one individualmay end up taking on more than oneof these roles or of sharing a taskbetween a couple of persons. Pleasenote that at this stage we are notafter the organisers of individual fieldtrips - that will come later.

NAMHO Conference 2006Suggested roles:Conference programme organiserConference venue organiserSocial event organiserAccommodation organiser (to sort

out a list of Accommodation andcamp site(s) to send out)

Surface field trip organiserUnderground trip organiserOrganiser of trips during the

following weekLiaison with North Wales &

Grosvenor caving clubsTreasurerTrip booking organiserOverall booking organiser (probably

the person receiving bookingsand passing out different sheetsto the trip organisers and socialevent organiser).

Some individuals have alreadyvolunteered to undertake some rolesbut we now want a meeting to goover some of the issues and ensurethat all tasks are covered. If you areprepared to help, please get in touchwith me and let me know what youare prepared to do.

Steve Holding

Bull Pot FarmRed Rose CPC are currently workingwith the landlord of Bull Pot Farm (inthe Dales) to upgrade their hut /bunkhouse. This will hopefullysecure the Club’s future at the farm.Part of the plans involve developinga resource and caver training centrein the adjoining premises. The clubhas requested support from BCA andEnglish Nature.

from Descent 185

Descent has moved ...If any Club members want to contactChris or Judith at Descent then youshould note that they have movedand the new address is:

Wild Places PublishingPO Box 100, Abergavenny, NP7 9WY

They also have new numbers:Telephone: 01873-737707FAX: 0871-750-5277

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News Round-Up 1by Ivor Brown

Rock CannonsThese used to be found outside mostchurches and on high spots in metalmining areas. They consisted ofholes drilled into large blocks ofstone and lightly charged withexplosive, they were set to makeevery wedding go with a bang. In“Shropshire an archaeological guide”states that in Hoarstones StoneCircle (Bronze Age, SO 324 999), nearStapeley Hall - “thin cylindrical holescan be seen drilled into the innerfaces of two of the stones” and “a19th Century source tells how theywere made by local lead miners tomake rock cannons”. See G.Luff(1888) “Neolithic Man and hisRemains in Shropshire” Transactionsof Shropshire Archaeological Society1st Series, Vol. XI, 1888 p221. Doesanyone have a copy of this paper ora photo of the holes?

“Rock Sandwich” goneThe ‘Rock Sandwich’ mining display,part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museumat Jackfield China Works has closed,it is understood that the artefacts arenow back in the Museum store.

Reynolds ConferenceThe “Proceedings of the WilliamReynolds Conference” held inIronbridge, June 2003 have beenpublished by the Wrekin LocalStudies Forum. The included papersdescribe his activities c1780 to 1803as an ironmaster, scientist, promoterand builder of canals and inclines,developer of mineral resources, NewTowns and high pressure steamengines, glassmaker, and tunnelbuilder. In the chapter on Tunnelsthe present writer gives some detailsof 15 Shropshire tunnels in which hewas probably involved in,and theClub gets much acknowledgement forits survey work over many years.There are over 30 text figures, mapsand illustrations, some in colour in its52 pages. The cost is £5 from TelfordPublic Libraries or £5.75 inc. postageand packing from Neil Clarke,Cranleigh, Little Wenlock, TF6 5BH.Make cheques payable to “WrekinLocal Studies Forum”.

Mineral PlanningThe latest Government figures showthat, last year 2003/4, 5 mineralplanning decisions were made byShropshire Council (none by WrekinUnitary Authority), four applicationswere granted as against 5 theprevious year.

In the UK as a whole there is stillconsiderable interest in coal, 8underground mine approvals weremade (against 6 the previous year), 7opencast approvals (against 15 theprevious year). In addition 2 CoalBed Methane productionapplications were approved. Therewere also 3 vein mineral approvalsand 1 slate.

BGS ReportThe British Geological Survey havejust produced a report for theGovernment which discusses non-coal mining in the UK (IndustrialMinerals - Issues for Planning, ISBN0 8527 499 3, dated 2004). It appearsthat the only producing mines noware Fosse Mine (Scotland, barytes),Watersaw Mine (Derbys., fluorspar),Middleton Mine (Derbys., limestone),Florence Mine (Cumbria, ironstone),Boulby Mine (Potash), WinsfordMine (Salt) and six gypsum mines(Barrow, Marblaegis, Fauld,Birkshead, Newbiggin andBrightling). A total of 12 mines. Othermethods of working are still in useincluding quarrying, open-pits (e.g.barytes), opencasts (gypsum), andhydraulic mining (kaolin). Salt isproduced by pumping natural brine,by solution mining (injecting waterinto salt beds and pumping out) andat one site by evaporation of sea-water (Maldon in Essex). Note, thislist of mines does not include minesfor building stone (dimension andslate) silicon sand and honestone,about 10 in total.

Shropshire is mentioned only as arecent important producer of barytesand calcite (to 1981) and as aproducer of dolomite (extracted nearOswestry) and sold as “Aglime” (?).

Colliery to CloseUK Coal announced on Thursday10th February, 2005 that productionat Welbeck Colliery, Nottinghamshirewill be phased out over the next 12months because its remainingreserves cannot be mined viably.

The pit employs 520 workers, some ofwhom could transfer to UK Coal’snearby collieries of Harworth,Thoresby (Notts) or Daw Mill inWarwickshire. The closure had beenexpected because of geologicalproblems at the site near Ollerton andfalling profits.

In 2003 UK Coal had announced itplanned to spend £18m on thecolliery to access new reserves.However, the discovery of ageological fault led the company tolaunch a review of its plans. Chiefexecutive Gerry Spindler said:“Despite the best endeavours of theworkforce at Welbeck, we have failedto secure ways of reducing the high-cost gaps in production which areforecast in the current mining plans.”

Welbeck has been awarded £7.8m ingovernment investment aid towardsprojects costing £27.5m in recentyears to access reserves.Redundancy costs of up to £12m willbe made in the company’s accountsthis year.

compiled from BBC Newsreports, 10th Feb. 2005

Tunnel to end floodsA £1.7m flood alleviation scheme toprotect 57 homes in a Dorset villageis close to completion. A tunnel-boring machine has cut its waythrough a hillside to the west ofPiddletrenthide, creating a route forfloodwater to bypass the village.

The tunnel will be used to directwater from a side weir on the RiverPiddle at the upstream end of thevillage before returning it to the riverdownstream. The work began inOctober and is now on track to becompleted in March.

compiled from BBC Newsreports, 19th Jan. 2005

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Mining at Kingswood and Winwood Farms, Kinletby David Poyner

Kinlet is best known in mining termsfor the activities of the HighleyMining Company; the winding houseof their Kinlet Colliery, built in 1897,remains as an impressive monumentto their activities. However, theywere only following in a longtradition of miners. The sulphur coal(Upper Coal Measures) in this part ofthe Wyre Forest Coalfield is foundclose to the surface over most of theparish and was worked from earlytimes at small mines. Perhapsironically, the final mine to be sunk inKinlet was not that of the HighleyMining Company but a small collieryat Winwoods Farm, close to the edgeof the Wyre Forest. Recently newinformation about this and othermines in the area has becomeavailable.

Location and geologyKingswood and Winwoods farms arefound on the fringes of the WyreForest, in the south-east corner ofthe modern parish of Kinlet (Figure1). Even today they appear remote,accessible only down long tracks andnot visible from any public road.They probably originated as a resultof woodland clearance in the MiddleAges. Kingswood was, until the 19th

Century, attached to Stottesdonparish; possibly reflecting a quirk ofAnglo Saxon local politics.Winwoods Farm was within themanor of Earnwood; although longpart of Kinlet, this retained someadministrative independence until the17th Century.

In geological terms, in Kinlet, thereare three main sets of strata1 . Thedeepest are the Productive CoalMeasures, worked by the HighleyMining Company some 300 yardsbelow the surface. Above these arethe Etruria Marl; a thick layer of marlsand thin sandstones that contain noworkable seams. These thicken to thesouth at the expense of theProductive Coal Measures and arealso the rocks found on the surfacethroughout most of the southern halfof the coalfield, Finally there are theUpper Coal Measures. These are

mostly restricted to the north ofKinlet but send an arm out toencompass Winwoods andKingswood. The measures are cut offby a fault to the west. They occupy aridge about 400’ above sea level, withthe ground gently falling away to theeast and west as well as south ofKingswood. Two seams of coaloutcrop within this portion, oneabout 10 yards below the other;workings were mostly to the south ofa small cross-fault (Figure 2). Thelower of the seams may representwhat is known locally as the BankFarm seam, the equivalent of theMain Coal in the Bayton/Mambledistrict. This is the seam that hasbeen worked in the vicinity of thetwo farms. At the only recorded shaftsection at Winwoods it was 2’4”thick, with another 10” of coalimmediately below a 5” band of clod.The seam dipped to the south atabout 1 in 15.

HistoryWhilst mining in some parts of Kinletcan be traced back to the early 17th

Century, there is no mention of it atKingswood or Winwoods at thistime. The first record of coal is in1772. On the 28th May, Berrow’sWorcester Journal records the sale ofthat half of the Kingswood estatethat belonged to Edward Cole,amounting to 70 acres of arable,pasture and meadow land “togetherwith.. the coal mines thereon”. Colehad a lease for his life on the otherhalf of the Kingswood estate whichhe was also selling. The farm itselfwas sub-let to a tenant called JohnPotter. The sale probably did not gowell, for it was repeated the followingyear. It was claimed (optimistically)that the farm was close to the CleeHill lime works “from whence limemay be fetched to the said farm bythe same team twice a day and thereon the premises several quantities ofcoal ungot”2 . Together these salenotices establish that the presence ofcoal was known and it had almostcertainly been worked, perhaps byEdward.

The next glimpse of mining inKingswood is in 1805; again a salenotice in Berrow’s Worcester Journalof 18th April. This time it was aWilliam Trow who was selling 15acres of arable and pasture land at“Kingsford” in Stottesdon; almostcertainly a misprint for Kingswood.Trow claimed there was a “desirablesituation” for a corn mill. There wasalso good building stone and “acertainty of two beds of good coalunder the land, one 3’ and the other2’ thick”. At the time of the 1848 tithesurvey of Kingswood a ThomasTrow owned about 15 acres inKingswood, where coal shafts wereto be shown on the 1882 OS map (seebelow and Fig 2). If this was the sameas William’s land, the claims for thewater mill bordered on the fraudulentbut the description of the coal wouldbe accurate and further confirms thatworking was taking place at aboutthis time.

Mining at Winwoods wasestablished before 1782. At this date,William Childe, owner of the Kinletestate drew up a map of hispossessions, which included theportion of Winwoods adjoining toKingswood, south of the cross-cutfault. This shows several “coal pit”fields (Fig 2). At this date, Williamand Thomas Lawley both paidroyalty for coal mined in Earnwoodon the Kinlet estate; this could haveincluded Winwoods. Winwoods wasdivided at this time with the northernportion belonging to a SanbrookFreeman. By 1812 this had becomepart of the Kinlet estate and a map ofthis date shows “coal pit” fields,north east of the mines on the 1782map (Fig 2). The displacementprobably reflects the effect of thecross-cut fault. It is not known whenthese coal pits were at work, but it islikely they also were operatingaround 17803 .

The first series OS 1”: 1 mile map of1830 shows several shafts midwaybetween Kingswood and Winwood.However, no active coal mines areshown on either the Kinlet (1841) orKingswood (1848) tithe maps,

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Mining at Kingswood and Winwood Farms, Kinletcontinued ...

Figure 1: Location and geology of Kingswood and Winwoods

suggesting the pits had now closed.This stoppage was only temporary.In the 1851 census William Mays, a21 year old miner born in Chettonwas living at Kingswood and tenyears later Joseph Mole, 57 was afarmer and coal miner at Kingswood.In 1857 Alice his wife had beenconvicted of selling coal by volumerather than by weight. In 1863 JosephMatthews was running the mine andfarm, perhaps having taken it on fromJoseph4 . The 1881 census shows 34year old Richard Dunn, a miner, livingat Kingswood,. Judging from theages and birth places of his children

he had moved from mines at Mamblein Worcestershire to Stottesdon(perhaps Kingswood) between 10months and 3 years ago. If he did notwork at Kingswood he would havebeen faced with a rather long walk tothe only other mines open at thattime in the district, at Highley orBillingsley.

Perhaps the most interesting accountof Kingswood and Winwoods comesfrom the geologist Thomas Cantril,who visited the farms in January 1895as part of his work for the GeologicalSurvey of Great Britain to map the

Wyre Forest Coalfield5 . AtKingswood he found two old shafts,both bricked and fenced. The spoiltips contained grey sandstone,shales and grits but no trace of clay,Spirobis limestone (a key datum bandCantril was using to correlate coalseams) or indeed coal. As the tipswere not grassed over he concludedthe workings must have been recent.Remarkably one retained a woodenwindlass, which he sketched (Figure3). In the lane east of Winwoods hediscovered lumps of Spirobislimestone, including some that hadbeen burnt. He then spoke to the

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Mining at Kingswood and Winwood Farms, Kinletcontinued ...

Figure 2: Mines at Winwoods and Kingswood

1) Old Shafts shown on 1882 1:2500 OS map.2) Mounds visible in field.3) Soil marks visible in ploughed field (dotted lines indicate possible mounds marked on 1882 OS map.4) Shafts marked on 1830 1st series 1” to 1 mile OS map, now visible as soil marks.5) Winwoods Colliery 1922-7. Shaded area is hollow, presumed to be the downcast shaft, dotted lines mark approximate position of upcast shaft.

a) Upper Kingswoodb) Lower Kingswood

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farmer at Kingswood, Mr Doolittle.Pits halfway between Kingswoodand Winwoods were of some age asMr Doolittle’s mother, “now veryold” had no recollection of thembeing worked. (Inspection of censusreturns reveal the Doolittles to havebeen Thomas, born 1857 andElizabeth, who had owned andfarmed land at Kingswood sincebefore 1841) There were two morerecent phases of working, one “say20 years ago- 2 or 3 [pits] close toKingswood- and lastly 10 years agosay”. These last mines were markedon the 1882 1:2500 OS map as “oldshafts” and were carried out by a MrPhilpotts of Stepple Hall, a farm inNeen Savage about five miles to thewest; no coal was found but theother mines were more successful.Doolittle had never heard oflimestone being found or worked.“Mr Philpotts” can be identified asFrancis Philpotts who farmed atStepple Hall in 1881; he hadpreviously lived in Kinlet, Arley andMamble, all coal mining parisheswithin the Wyre Forest.

Thus Cantril’s evidence points to atleast three phases of working. Theearliest had run from the late 18th

century to about 1830. The workings“20 years ago” probably correspondto the mines of the Mole family andothers, c1850-1870. Finally, therewere unsuccessful trials by Philpotts,

Mining at Kingswood and Winwood Farms, Kinletcontinued ...

c1880, perhaps on ground formerlyworked with more success by WilliamTrow in c1805. These may have beenthe mines that Richard Dunn wasworking at when he was living atKingswood. The mines were smallfarm-with-colliery operations typicalof the Sulphur Coal workings of theWyre Forest and other ruralcoalfields; usually employing one ortwo men underground to get the coalwith a boy on the surface to wind itup the shaft. A little limestone mayhave come from the Spirobis band inthe early workings but this appearsnever to have been worked on asignificant scale.

The small farm pits normallyvanished by mid Victorian times,driven out of business by the spreadof the railways and the consequentavailability of cheap, good-qualitycoal in even the remotest oflocations. This makes it all the moreremarkable that such a mine wasrevived in the 1920s at Winwoods.The key was probably the sale of theKinlet estate in 1919 of whichWinwoods was a part. The Kinletestate was owned by the Childefamily who enjoyed significantincome from coal royalties from theHighley Mining Company via theworkings of their mines at Kinlet andHighley. Consequently they had noincentive to develop mines anywhereelse on their land. However,

Winwoods was purchased by theChilde’s tenant, Edwin Tolley6 .Tolley had every incentive tomaximise earnings from his newestate, including those from coal.Thus in December 1922 he opened acolliery. This closed in May the nextyear; it is doubtful if anything wasdone beyond putting a shaft down,perhaps to establish the nature of thecoal underground. However, in 1926he reopened it. The date suggeststhat this was a response to thenational strike of that year, althoughthis is conjectural. The pit employedtwo men underground and one onthe surface; typical of its 18th and 19th

century predecessors. In 1926 theofficial manager was listed as W.Turner and the next year Tolleyhimself is recorded as beingresponsible. The pit officially wasabandoned early in 19277 .

A little more light can be shed on thepit from the abandonment plan(Figure 4), made on May 27th 1927 byCharles Nicholas, manager of HighleyColliery8 . Drawing the plan washardly an arduous task for Nicholas.Two roads had been driven toconnect the upcast and downcastshafts and an exploratory headinghad been driven for a few yardssouth of the upcast. The only coalextraction seems to have been from aroad driven into the pillar betweenthe shafts, where two sets of stallshad been opened out. The coal wasvery soft and sulphurous. Windingwas by hand9 . The shafts were veryshallow; 30’ for the upcast, 39’ forthe downcast. This difference inlevels presumably was enough toprovide natural ventilation. The mineseems to have worked between thelimits of the 1830 shafts and wherethe coal is cut off by the east-westfault. Officially the mine wasabandoned because it wasunprofitable. Local tradition adds alittle more colour to this fact10 . Thetwo men who worked at the pitlodged in an out-house atKingswood Farm. At the time of theincident the two were undergrounddiscussing the pit’s prospect. One issaid to have declared that he was

Figure 3: Windlass as drawn by Thomas Cantril, 1895.The top line reads “One pit has windlass at top still”.Cantril has noted by the side of the drawing “Handles at far end”.

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going to collect his tools and walkout; the other joked he would followhim without even collecting his tools.At that moment the roof gave way,burying his tools and leaving himwith little option. The shaftsremained open for some time,apparently much to the advantage ofa local poacher who once used thisto dispose of 0.303 rifle that he feltmight incriminate him. The moundwas eventually bulldozed.

There are still reminders of coalmining at Winwoods andKingswood. Unfortunately thewindlass noted by Cantril has longgone. However, two grassed-overmounds remain along the lanebetween Kingswood and Catsley.The northern most predates thecurrent hedgerow pattern (present onthe 1848 tithe map) as it straddles twofields; the other may be one of the1850-70 shafts “closer toKingswood” as told to Cantril. Thereis evidence of other shafts north ofthese as black earth marks visibleafter ploughing. There are fragmentsof brick mixed with the coal and clayin the field. The soil marks cross the

Mining at Kingswood and Winwood Farms, Kinletcontinued ...

estate boundary and continue ontothe land of Winwood’s Farm, wherethey match the site of the minesshown on the1830 OS map. The siteof the 20th Century Winwoods pit ismarked by a hollow, presumablywhere either the shafts or theworkings have subsided.

I would like to thank the Rowleyfamily for allowing me access to theirland and for Mr Rowley for sharinghis stories of the Winwoods mine.

1 For an account of the geology ofKinlet, see the 1:50,000 SeriesBGS maps 167 and 182, and theiraccompanying memoirs; “TheGeology of the Country aroundDroitwich, Abberley andKidderminster”, G.H. Mitchell,R.W. Pocock and J.H. Taylor,HMSO, 1962 and “Bridgnorth andDudley”, T.H. Whitehead andR.W. Pocock, HMSO, 1947.Winwoods and Kinlet are onsheet 182.

2 Berrows Worcester Journal(BWJ), 5th August 1773

3 The Kinlet estate maps are in theShropshire Archives as Microfilm

207. Royalty payments arerecorded in Kinlet estate ledgerspreserved at Kinlet Hall.

4 Joseph is recorded in Harrisonsand Harrods Directory ofShropshire, 1861; he and his wifeAlice are in the 1851 census andthe tithe survey as living atKingswood. Curiously the 1861census records a “Thomas” Moleas a collier at Kingswood, but thisis almost certainly Joseph. BWJ30th August 1857 for Alice Mole.Kelly’s Directory of Shropshire1863, Stottesdon.

5 Field notebook of T.C. Cantrill,(No 8), British Geological SurveyLibrary, Keyworth, Notts.

6 Sale Catalogue of Kinlet Estate(collection of Mrs M. Price),information ex-Mr. W. Rowley,Kingswood Farm

7 List of Mines, Mines Department,Parliamentary Papers, HMSO,1922-1927

8 Plan 9414, Mines Record Office,Coal Authority, Bretby,Derbyshire

9 Information ex-Mr Rowley10 ibid

Figure 4: Winwoods Colliery.

Abandonment plan, showingapproximate location in the fieldsouth of Winwoods farm.

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Clifford Lewisheld an ever-open door at theold Post Office,

Pennerley, for anyone interested inthe area. He was an old miner, of oldmining stock who particularlywelcomed all who had interest in thatsubject, and he had many stories totell.

Clifford was born on 9th Oct. 1923.Both his great-grandfathers had losttheir lives in Snailbeach Mine inseparate accidents. In 1875 hismaternal great-grandfather, SamuelEdwards was killed when timber gaveway in the Engine Shaft and he felldown. Samuel’s son, Thomas,(Clifford’s grandfather) was 16 at thetime and working at Snailbeach andas compensation the Company

upgraded his wage to ‘that of a man’in order to help him look after his 5siblings. Clifford’s other great-grandfather, George Lewis, was oneof the seven miners who died whenthe Snailbeach winding rope broke in1895. George’s son, (Clifford’sgrandfather), was also in the fatedcage but at the last minute steppedout to fetch some tools and wasreplaced by another miner who died.Hence William’s son would neverallow his own son (Clifford’s father)to work underground so he workedon the surface at the Snailbeach oredressing plant.

For similar reasons, Clifford startedwork on the mine surface when heleft school aged 14 in 1937. Heworked first at The Knolls BarytesMine (Cold Hill) where he picked and

stacked deads at “8 bob a week”.Then followed a spell at ParaffinLevel at Snailbeach looking after thepumps and explosives, amongstother jobs. He collected the gelignitefrom the Buxton store in the morningas he passed on his cycle to work.

In 1940 he went to work at BergamMine, aged 17. His job was to tramthe barytes along the level and out tosurface. Here the barytes would befilled into a sledge and a horse would‘take’ it down the hill to the roadside.He also had his first experience ofdrilling and blasting here. In 1943work became slack and he joined thewartime Navy working on destroyersin the Atlantic.

Sometime early in this six-yearchequered mining career he had hada break when his parents took him in

hand to find him abetter job. Hewanted to be ahairdresser but hismother found himwork “in-service” atWollas Hall,Pershore, “thehardest job of mylife”. Later he waspromoted tofootman but hereturned to BergamMine at “15 bob aweek”.

Clifford gotmarried at 19 (andcelebrated his 60thWeddingAnniversary on3rd April 2003). Heentered warservice aged “19and a half” andfortunatelysurvived somedifficult times.

Clifford Lewis 1923-2004

Figure 1

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Above: Clifford Lewis’ “Housing” map, March 2002

After the war he spent some time inAustralia, where his daughter stilllives, but returned to Pennerley. Headmitted to being rather homesickand while in Australia, producedsome marvellous little sketches ofplaces and situations as heremembered them. Some are shown inFigure 1 (see also ‘The WestShropshire Mining Fields’ byI.J.Brown and the Shropshire MinesTrust’s ‘Never on Sunday’).

Back in Shropshire Clifford worked atthe More Quarries until they closed,then Bayston Hill Quarries, mainly indrilling and blasting. He later workedwith the Forestry Commission.

But whenever possible he would alsohave a go at mining. On one occasionin about 1957, he helped to sink whatwas to be the last shaft in the district,at Pennerley. This was put down byMr Burden of Jackfield Mines Ltd ina search for barytes and went to a

depth of about 30 ft. A photographof Clifford and his helper appeared inthe Express and Star Newspaper. Healso did some “dowsing” using clocksprings instead of rods, and believedhe had found barytes, and also actedas guide for geologists frominternational companies who atvarious times took an interest in thearea.

For many years Clifford had beenworking on a self-imposed task of.marking every house he had knownonto large scale 25 inch OS Maps ofthe Pennerley Area and writing ashort history of who lived there in anaccompanying schedule. He alsomarked in red those houses nowdisused (many) and in green thosestill lived in (few). With mapsprovided by the writer he wasrecently extending this surveytowards Snailbeach.

But, for the writer, his mostfascinating workwas a sketch

made of Pennerley Mine opposite hishome, as it was in the 1930s andbefore the road to Shelve wasrealigned and surfaced. This was stillbeing worked on, see attached forsketch and interpretation.

Clifford died suddenly on Friday,24th September 2004, one of the lastto work in pre-war barytes mining -The memorial service was held inSnailbeach Methodist Churchattended by so many friends that notall could get in. Nearly £1,500 wascollected in his memory.

Thank you Clifford and Verna, fromone of many whom you welcomed ontheir visits to your area andcomfortable cottage. Clifford and hismemories meant so much to us.

Ivor Brown

The writer wishes to thank Ken Lockand the contributors to ‘Never onSunday’ for assistance with theabove.

Clifford Lewis 1923-2004

Above: Last shaft sunk for mineral, Pennerley 1957.Cliff Lewis (Centre), Mr.Wootton (seated), Mr.Chambers(owners representative, right).

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WELLINGTON JOURNAL AND SHREWSBURY NEWS, 8TH JULY 1899A SHROPSHIRE MINER’S DEATH

KILLED BY BLACK DAMP.On Saturday morning a miner named William Knight(57) was killed by black damp at the Station Pit, Oakengates,which belongs to Sir Thomas Meyrick, Bart., and is beingworked by Messrs. Hopley Brothers. It appears that thedeceased, with another man, a sinker, named ThomasEvans, entered the bucket at the pit for the purpose ofdescending to the bottom. When three feet from thebottom Knight exclaimed, “ Oh Lord, Tom,” and fell tothe ground. Evans, who also suffered from the blackdamp, tried to lift Knight into the bucket, but could not,and he was drawn up to the surface. However, he madea praiseworthy attempt to rescue his comrade bydescending the shaft a second time, but again he wasunsuccessful, and about a quarter-of-an-hour elapsedbefore the unfortunate man was drawn to the surface,when life was found to be extinct.

On Monday Mr. J. V. T. Lander (coroner) held an inqueston the body at the Falcon Inn, Oakengates, when aremarkable story was related. Mr. W. N. Atkinson (HerMajesty’s Inspector of Mines) was present. Mr. S. B.Dean, solicitor, Wellington, represented the deceased’srelatives, and Mr. J. Ferriday appeared on behalf of Messrs.Hopley. Thomas Knight, collier, living at Church Street,Oakengates, said he was working at the Round House Piton Saturday morning. He was told that he was wanted asthere was bad news for him. Witness said, “My father iskilled.” He went to the Station Pit, and was told that theair was pure to within three feet of the bottom of theshaft. The deceased was in good health up to the time ofhis death, had been a collier nearly all his life, and was anexperienced workman.

John Jones, who was engaged at the Station Pit as abanksman, said he heard Evans tell the deceased not toget out of the bucket; but he did step out when aboutthree feet from the bottom and step on to another bucket.When Evans came up he said, “Knight is lost at thebottom,” and witness understood that he was killed bythe black damp.- By Mr. Atkinson : The pit in questionis an old one, which was being cleaned out. Witness wasleaning over the top of the shaft to listen if the menshouted. They both took lights down with them. Heheard Evans stout, “Pull up! “ and witness passed theword to the engineman. That was about five minutesafter the bucket had stopped. Evans seemed scared whenhe came to the top. The men did not send a light downthe pit before they went down themselves that morning.They had been working there three days. Evans and a mannamed Hassall, the under-manager, went down the pitand brought the deceased up.- By ,Mr. Dean : There hadbeen no inspection of the pit that morning. They tied achain round Knight’s body and pulled him up.- A juryman

What the Papers Were SayingSubmitted by Steve Dewhirst

(to witness): What proof have you that night got out ofthe bucket before he got to the bottom of the shaft. -Icould see him.

Thomas Evans said he went down the pit with thedeceased, and they examined as they went down. Whenwitness saw the pipe disconnected at the bottom he toldKnight to remain in the bucket. He did not do that,however, got of out when three feet from the bottom, andstepped on to a full bucket. He immediately exclaimed“Oh Lord, Tom,” and fell down. Witness tried to lift himup, but could not. He came up for fresh air, and afterwardswent down again by himself, but that time he could notget out of the bucket because of the black damp. Aftersome minutes had elapsed Hassall and witness wentdown again. Knight was then dead. They put a chainround him, and he was pulled to the top. The black dampaffected witness very much. They both had candles.-

By Mr. Atkinson: He was a sinker, and appointed to thepit as chargeman to make an examination. The last pipenear the bottom had become disconnected, and the resultwas that the air would not circulate further than thebottom of the pit. Both the lights were burning, and theyalways carried the lights.-Mr. Atkinson : Why don’t yousend a light down first? -We don’t do that.- Mr. AtkinsonThen it is possible for you to get into the black dampbefore you know that damp exists. That has happened tomany unfortunate men who had as much experience asyou.- Witness: I have never sent a light down first.- Mr.Atkinson: Is it not the safest course to adopt?-

Witness : The safest and best thing to do is to prove ityourself- Mr. Atkinson You may think so; but you arequite mistaken. If you had lowered a light you would haveknown there was damp at the bottom.- Witness: Youcannot prove it until you have proof that there is damp.-Mr. Atkinson : Of course you can soon prove it by killingyourself. Don’t you know that when dealing with an oldshaft it is safer to send a light down first?- Well, yes, I thinkit would be.- Mr, Atkinson : I hope you will take thatprecaution in future.-

In reply to further questions, the witness said he did notsay anything to Knight when be got out of the bucket.Deceased was at the bottom for about a quarter-of-an-hoar.- Mr. Atkinson : If you had sent for help first it wouldhave been better.- In reply to Mr. Dean, witness said thelights were burning up to the time deceased fell, butadmitted that when they were really at the bottom thelights were out.- A juryman: Is there any way of provingthe existence of damp at the bottom of a pit?- Mr.Atkinson : The simplest way is to send a light down,although there is nothing in the rules stating that a lightmust be sent down. Both the men might have been killed.

“Below” 2005.1 11

In ‘Below’ 2004.4 (page 2) Ivor Brown put in a requestfor help about the 19th Century monument to a dog whofell to his death down the shaft of a coal mine nearBroseley.

The dog monument in question is a 4 sided stonecolumn at grid reference SO 6653 9765. It is marked onthe OS Pathfinder sheet No.911 and on the OS Explorermap 218 “Wyre Forest & Kidderminister”. My father told me it was erected by Lord Forester tocommemorate a dog, although I don’t rememberanything about the dog falling down a mine shaft. I canremember climbing therickety iron ladder to the top of the column in my youth,(approx 25 years ago).

This Christmas Eve I went with my two sons to check ifit was still there, and it looked exactly the same as Iremember it. I didn’t climb the ladder though this time!

Dog Monument Follow-upby Stuart Walker

Below: The Dog Monument in Shirlet High Park, Willey,Shropshire. Note the figure near the base.

Picture: Stuart Walker, Dec.2004

Dr. Wilkinson said he was called to the Station Pit a fewminutes before seven o’clock, when he saw the deceasedin an outhouse. Artificial respiration was resorted to, butthe man was dead and must have been dead from thetime he was brought to the surface. He had made a post-mortem examination of the body and attributed deathto suffocation.

Mr. Dean called two witnesses. Samuel Morgan, Vicker’sStreet, Oakengates, said he saw the men preparing to godown the shaft. Evans asked Knight if he had a match,and when they were half-way down deceased lit thecandles. When the man got near the bottom both candleswent out. He saw Knight struggling at the bottom, andEvans was leaning against the piping. Evans groanedand witness told the banksman there was something thematter with the men. Evans then shouted, “ Pull up,”and when became to the top his face was a purple colourand he was like a drunken man. Just before the candleswent out one of the men said, “It’s all up.” Evans wentdown the shaft again by himself, but he was not in a fitstate to go down.-

By Mr. Atkinson He did not hear Evans tell Knight notto get out of the bucket. Corroborative evidence wasgiven by John Plant, a forgeman of Oakengates.

At the conclusion of the evidence the Coroner remarkedthat it would have been better if a light had been sentdown the shaft first, and it was a wonder the two menwere not killed. A juryman stated that he was at the topof the shaft soon after the accident happened. He foundthe deceased had been pulled up with a chain and put tolie on the cold, damp cabin floor. Mr. Atkinson pointedout that it was necessary for the men who went down toget the body up as quickly as possible as their lives werein danger. The Coroner said whatever the feelings of thejury were in the matter, it should be remembered thatthere were no marks of violence on the body. A jurymanexpressed the opinion that there was ample time to putthe body in the bucket and bring it up in that way.

Mr. Atkinson said his opinion was that Evans bad beencareless in the matter, and from what he had stated in hisevidence he should think he was hardly a proper man tobe in charge of a sinking pit. The banksman also seemedto be a very inferior class of workman, although he didnot exhibit any signs of incompetency in the present case.He (Mr. Atkinson) was inclined to believe the story toldby the last two witnesses-that both men were overcomeby the damp and fell out of the bucket.

The jury returned a verdict of “ Death from suffocationby black damp,” and added a rider to the effect that it wasadvisable in all such cases that lights should be sent downthe shaft before the men

What the Papers Were Sayingcontinued ...

12 “Below” 2005.1

Mining Relics from the Broseley Areaby Ivor Brown

The last issue of ‘Below’ contained a description of relics found in a mine near Broseley at G & J Langford’s Pit asreported on 16th March 1863. The following report of relics at Gough and Evans Pit provides more information onsimilar items as found in another pit. The trucks at Gough and Evans pit were much larger (48in. x something longer,against 20in. x 30in.) with wooden wheels 10 to 12in. in diameter and 6in. wide. This report also describes the woodenrailway.

WELLINGTON JOURNAL - DISTRICT NEWS

BENTHALL.INTERESTING DISCOVERY:- A short timesince, as Messers. Gough and Evans, who worksome coal and stone pits in the Daylip (Deerleapin the old writings) were searching for coal, theyfell in with some old works and mattersconnected therewith which tend at least to certifysome important conclusions. While engaged asabove they met with a road way, about five feetwide, in hard rock, and which, in their opinion,must have been five feet high, though at present,owing to the heaving up of the bottom, is notmuch more than three feet six. In this road theydiscovered a railway; the rails, some of themthree, others four yards long of oak in excellentcondition. These were fastened by wooden pinsto the sleepers on which they were firmly laid.The length of this primeval railway is about fiftyyards; so far at least as it has been yet pursued.Still, owing to a fall in the roof which has blockedup further progress in that direction, there is clearevidence that this railway proceeds still further,and may, therefore, be yet further traced. Onthese rails they also found some carriages, such aswere to run on these primitive rails. Thesecarriages, it is the opinion of Messers. Gough andEvans, were used to convey coals out of theworks in this way. The surface of the carriage isflat, about 4 feet wide, and something longer,and they have obviously been intended to conveyeither large coals or lumps, or smaller in wickerbaskets; the latter being a tradition among colliersas to the mode anciently adopted in this matter.

These carriages had each four wooden wheels,about ten or twelve inches in diameter, and wereabout six inches wide. The circumference of thewheel being built very much in the manner thatwheels of railway carriages of the present day areconstructed. The axle trees are of iron; some ofthese, considering the time that they must havebeen buried, are in excellent preservation. Othersare much corroded by rust. Under the body ofthe carriage these are square, but round in thewheel. Brass gudgeons are found underneath thefloor of the waggon. On these are discovered theletters P.B., evidently formed by means of apunch.

An iron pot has been found, used, it is supposed,for grease. Several pipe bowls have been found,very small in the bowl and wide in the hole of thestalk. On the latter none have been found thatbear any date though there are some havingpeculiar stamps on them.

The letters P.B., have suggested the idea that thesecarriages may have belonged to Phillip de Benthall,who it is known, granted to the monks ofBuildwas abbey leave to dig for coals and carrythem to the abbey. But, taking all the above intoaccount, we think that the facts related disclose amore advanced state of knowledge than wouldbe compatible with the earliest searchings aftercoals.

17th January 1863

In many 18th and 19th. Century mines, particularly in the North-east,, coalswere brought to surface on a flat waggon upon which iron hoops wereused to surround a ‘basket’ of large or lump coals.

Left: A miner making up such a ‘basket’ on a flat bed corfe with lump coaland iron hoops.

Detail taken from the 19th century picture “Underground at Bradley Colliery”

“Below” 2005.1 13

Mining Relics from the Broseley Area- a comparision, by Ivor Brown

It is interesting to compare the relics found in the two Broseley mines, just 4 months apart:

Described in Wellington Journal,17th January 1863

Operated by: Messers Gough and Evans, coal andstone pits in the Daylip (Deerleap in the old writings)

Location: In a roadway in hard rock, about 5ft wide,5ft high, reduced to 3ft. 6in. by floor lift.

Relics: railway, about 50 yards of rails, 3 and 4 yardslong, of oak, fastened by wood pins to the sleepers,.

Carriages: several, as used to convey coal. Surface isflat about 48 inches wide, over 48 inches long.Obviously used for lump coal or smaller in wickerbaskets.

The carriages had 4 wooden wheels 10 or 12 inches indiameter, and 6 inches wide. The wheels were builtmuch like the wheels on carriages of the present day(presumably with a flange on the wheel - IJB).

The axle trees were of iron with a brass gudgeonunder.

Other items:1. Several pipe bowls (smoking, IJB) with peculiar

stamps on them. One is ‘P.B.’ - possibly beingPhillip de Benthall who granted monks leave to digthe coal (lived 1653-1719. IJB)

2. Iron pot used, it is supposed for carrying grease.

Described in Wellington Journal, 16thMay 1863

Operated by: Messers G. & J. Langford, getting coalnear to the Ferryfield.

Location: In ancient workings.

Relics: a basket, a skeleton dan, an axe and a gaun.

The dan is about 10 inches wide and 30 inches long -two sides are connected by 4 crosspieces. Shape iscuneiform - i.e. wider at one end than the other.The basket is about 30 inches long by 24 inches wide.The flooring, consisting of oak boards 1½ inches thickis fastened to the sides (which from the colour thewood must have been shod with iron by 6 strongoaken pegs. These enter the sides about 5 inches andrise above the floor about 6 inches. An iron bow spansthe basket from end to end rising about 24 inches fromthe floor.There are also 2 pegs, around these pegs includingends and sides there was a wall of wickerwork. Whenfound the basket was full of small coals.

Other items:1. An axe encased in rust, except for the edge, where a

fracture shows a good quality of steel. Handleabout 30 inches long.

2. A gaun - the iron hoops which had bounded thegaun have long perished. The staves, the handleand circular (about 9 inches diameter) are intact.

What is a gaun? Is it an “iron pot for carrying grease” ?Barrie Trinder in his books onprobate inventories of this area made1650 to 1750 (‘Yeomen and Colliers inTelford’ and ‘Miners and Mariners ofthe Severn Gorge’) supported theview that a gaun was a ladleparticularly used for dispensing milk,in origin one that held a gallon. Manyinstances of ‘pewter guns’ were

found, but it was decided these weregawns not guns.An inventory of 1687 refers to amilking gawn, one of 1707 a ladinggawn (wn and un appear to beinterchangeable). A Richard Pearce,master collier of Broseley buried in1732 had a ‘churne, milk paile andgaune’ in his brewhouse. Richard

Rutter, a pauper buried 1672 hadamong his few belongings “a paileand littell bond gaune, an old wheeleand an old chaire”.

The writer’s view is that the term‘gaun’ came to have a wider use, forany small pot , something like a ‘can’perhaps for grease, a mid-day drinkor even explosives!

Left: Was this the German equivalent of the dandescribed with a gaun (or Broseley “shukey”lamp) to light the way?

Illustration from ‘Das Buch vom Bergbau’.E.H.Berninger, 1556.

14 “Below” 2005.1

At the end of January 2005 UK Coalannounced that the North-east’s lastremaining coal mine is to close, thismeans funding for Houghton MinesRescue Service is slowly drying up.

The rescue station in Hetton Road,Houghton, has its own “mine” whereit trains the Houghton Mines RescueService (MRS) crew. Skills honed inthe practice pit have helped the crewsave many lives over the years – nowthis area is also used by businesseswanting to improve their employees’team-work. Specialist training forcavers, and those working inconfined spaces is also done downthe mock mine.

The MRS, set up in 1911, is seen bymany, as an obsolete organisation. Itvery rarely makes the news, but isstill very active. They are stillresponsible for the mines Ayle Eastand the British Gypsum mines, bothin Cumbria, the pit at BeamishMuseum and the Killhope LeadMining Museum in County Durham.

The closure by UK Coal of Ellington,in Northumberland, for safetyreasons, means the loss of 340 jobsand represents the final chapter inthe region’s coal-mining history.

Ellington was the country’s last deepmine to extract coal from under thesea. In the middle of January thisyear large amounts of floodwaterfound a way into the seam causing“unacceptable risks” in extractingcoal, according to the pit’s bosses.Despite this closure the MRS willsurvive.

The MRS has a crew of 12 on call atall times in case of emergency;Superintendent Adam Allan (thestation’s operations manager), threestation officers, seven brigades menand an admin assistant. Each memberof the MRS serves at least two yearsdown the mines before they can berecruited.

The station gets a budget from theCoal Authority annually, but it isbased on coal removed from theground per tonne. As the coal

industry output has declined, inorder to stop the MRS putting astrain on them, the levy has beenkept the same. So to remainoperational they have had to makemoney somewhere else.

Since 1996 the service has beenchartered to provide training andeducation to businesses as anotherway of making money and to keepthe non-profit making service alive.

This Corporate training is the key.They offer a completely differentperspective to a standard first aidcourse, Health and safety courses,training in the use of breathingapparatus and team-buildingexercises.

The courses, which lasting one tofour days, are in huge demand due tothe expertise of the instructors. Whilethe commercial demands of the jobare high, the job of rescuing trappedworkers will always come first.

Each rescue worker must pass astringent medical and complete arigorous training programme everyyear to remain operational. Alongsidethe permanent staff at Houghton,there are part-time staff on stand byat every mine, who have to be trainedto the same standard as thepermanent staff.

The most impressive part of thetraining involves work done in thestation’s mock-mine. Designed tocater for every emergency thinkable,the mine has a replica face, endlessnarrow, twisting tunnels, and plentyof “atmospheric” effects – rubble,smoke machines, and water!

Fore more information, visit theMines Rescue Service website at:

www.minesrescue.comor contact:Houghton MRS, tel: 0191 584 5723

Based on reports from theSunderland Echo,

Monday January 31, 2005

Houghton Mines Rescue Servicesubmitted by Alan Vickers

MoD Copper Mine ProblemsTwenty Devon homes have beenevacuated after the discovery of oldcopper mines near the buildings. Theuncharted workings were foundunder the Ministry of Defence (MoD)estate at Horrabridge in south-westDartmoor. Affected families are beingrehoused, while MoD engineersinvestigate.

The first 700-foot shaft wasdiscovered a year ago under acouple’s sitting room, after they werealerted by subsidence at theirbungalow. A second hole appeared200 yards away in May 2004. Now athird has forced armed forces familiesout of their homes.

Twenty of the 30 houses inChichester Close, worth about£120,000 each, are now empty. AnMoD spokesman said inaccuratemining records showed the first shaftwas sunk 500 metres away from thebungalow.

Professor Roger Burt of ExeterUniversity said: “It was a problem forthe miners themselves who would

often break through into old floodedworkings.”

South-west Dartmoor is littered withold mines, some dating back to theDark Ages. Tin production began onthe moor early in the 15th Century,continuing until 1750.

Copper and arsenic mining reachedits height between 1700 and 1850.

Horrabridge was the site of WhealFranco mine (SX 508 702), one of thelarger mines in the area. It was sunkin the 1820s and worked until the1870s, producing several hundredtonnes of ore per year at its peak inthe 1850s.

Compiled from BBC reports

More details on this story areavailable on:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/

2498677.stm

Mineral returns for Wheal Francoappear in “Devon & SomersetMines” by Burt, Waite & Burnley

“Below” 2005.1 15

Lambton CokeworksEnglish Partnerships has been busyon the regeneration of a number offormer coalfield sites. Latest to getthe go-ahead is the LambtonCokeworks near Sunderland. Outlineplanning approval from SunderlandCity Council for 350 new houses anda public house on the site has beengranted. Work is expected to begin inearnest in April 2005, and take abouttwo years.

Owing to Lambton’s varied history -including colliery, brickworks, tileand gas production, and cokingworks - the site will need major work,estimated at £19 million.

Although demand for industrialpremises will be met at nearbyRainton Bridge (another NationalCoalfields Programme site) marketresearch has revealed interest indeveloping the 65-hectare Lambtonsite mainly for public open spacewith the houses and pub. EnglishPartnerships is funding the clean upand transformation in partnershipwith Sunderland City Council whichowns the land, and One North East,the Regional Development Agency.

Kiveton CollieryAnother EP project has includedfunding worth £9.6 million to reclaimthe site of a former coal mine atKiveton, near Rotherham in SouthYorkshire. Renaissance SouthYorkshire is working with RotherhamMetropolitan Borough Council andthe local community on the deliveryof the project. The contract for thereclamation of the site has beenawarded to Bury-based contractorCheetham Hill Construction Ltd.

Key features of the 15-monthreclamation programme include: thecreation of a large public open space,incorporating nature walks, fishingareas; the planting of around quarterof a million new trees on the clearedsite; securing the future line for theChesterfield Canal and possible reuseof the Pit Head baths.

When completed the site will behanded over to the Land RestorationTrust (LRT) and British Waterwaysto manage.

Based on an article fromLAWE Nov. 2004 p13

Chatterley WhitfieldArchitects have submitted a planningapplication on behalf of EnglishPartnerships to change the use of theexisting buildings at ChatterleyWhitfield Colliery. It seeks to use thebuildings for skills training, officeaccommodation, light engineering,small-scale electricity generation andheritage interpretation of the site.

The Colliery was established in the1860s when the opening of Biddulphrailway led to the re-opening of theshafts to provide coal for local ironworks. The Chatterley Whitfield IronCompany acquired leasehold of themine in 1872 to fuel 3 of its blastfurnaces. The mine closed in 1976and was worked as a musuem until1993, when it was controversialclosed and its collections sold off.This, despite it being recognised asthe best remaining example of acoalmining complex in the UK. Six ofits 34 buildings are listed and it is soimportant historically that it has thesame United Kingdom preservationstatus as Stonehenge!

The site still has many originalfeatures; the oldest survivingstructure is dated 1883. A stack of1891 and 1920-1930’s steam windingengine remain.

Chatterley Whitfield was added tothe National Coalfields Programme in2002. Managed by EnglishPartnerships, the programme aims tocreate new jobs, homes, leisurefacilities and open space in formercoalfield communities throughoutEngland.

EP is working in partnership withEnglish Heritage, Stoke-on-Trent Citycouncil, which owns the land, andAdvantage West Midlands, thegovernment office for the WestMidlands.

Access to the site is restricted, butconducted tours are sometimesavailable. More details are availablefrom: Chatterley Whitfield Project Co-ordinator Alec Morrison on 01782232152.

English PartnershipsCoalfields Clean-up

A couple who claimed they were nottold their house was built on adisused iron ore mine have reached a£250,000 out-of-court compensationsettlement. Philip and Maria Taylorbought the house at Haytor Vale,Dartmoor, in 1998 for £205,000, butfound it was built on the mine andwas worth half that total.

They took legal action againstsurveyor Richard Large, solicitorsRawlison Butler and vendor BeatriceD’Aft. But on day four of a HighCourt hearing in Bristol, a settlementwas reached.

The court heard the land on whichthe home stood was a Site of SpecialScientific Interest (SSSI) due to themine below. When a house is in anSSSI it is required to be recorded on alocal land charges register and, under

the Wildlife and Countryside Act,there is a duty to notify the fact tothe local planning authority andevery owner or occupier of the land.

After the Taylors moved in theyspent about £137,000 on alterationsto the property, but when theystarted to landscape the garden theydiscovered a manhole covering themineshaft.

Engineers claimed that collapse ofthe mine was “very unlikely but notimpossible”, and “future stabilitycould not be guaranteed”.

Compiled from BBC reports

More details are available on:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4212579.stm

Devon Iron Mine - Housing problem

16 “Below” 2005.1

The Madeley Court Colliery, Madeley, Shropshire, Part 3The Pits and other Surviving Features, by Ivor Brown

The PitsNo.1; SJ 698 005 Water Pit was usedsolely for raising water. In 1911 BenBennett, the pumper fell down theshaft and was drowned, his body wasthen brought up by means of a hook.Pumping was continued by theMadeley Wood Co. to prevent theflooding of their neighbouring minesuntil two Rees Roturbo pumps wereinstalled at the Halesfield Pit shortlybefore the First World War. Therewas at least one “old steam engine”on this site.

Nos. 2 and 3; SJ 6982 0513Platform Pits (also called Gypsy Laneor Bailey’s Pits) produced ironstoneand coal. The stone was taken fromthe pit over the bridge to theadjoining mound by horse and cart. Itwas then sorted by women pickers,loaded into iron boxes and thencarried on the head by girls to bebuilt into ranks. Each rank was madeup of walls of large stone about 3ft.high which were filled with smallstone. After the stone had weatheredfor several months the girls wouldadd another ‘rank’ to the first. Thiswould continue up to 4 ranks inheight by which the girls had to useplanks of timber to reach the top.After weathering the stone wascalcined near to the furnaces. Coalonly was worked after the furnacesclosed, by Levi Bowen assisted byeighteen men underground and 5 onthe surface (1905). From 1903, when acandle ignited firedamp in anexploratory heading, the use of flamesafety lamps was enforced. Therewas an engine at this pit. The pitclosed shortly after 1910 when it wasemploying 31 underground and 7 onthe surface. There was a steamwinding engine at this pit, probablythe one shown in the photograph.

No. 4; SJ 6932 0480 was probably atrial pit.

Nos 5 and 6; SJ 660 472 (Holmesand Dainties) had closed by 1882.They were explored during theSecond World War by F. Bridges(son of the Kemberton Pit manager)for a Mr. Raleigh using a fire bucket

for ventilation and horse gin forwinding. Tom and Ted Jones ofDawley actually made the descentand found the mine to be dry. Theengine was to the south of the No. 6pit.

Nos. 7 and 8; SJ 6980 0521(Furnace Pits) worked by Bowen andBuckley. No. 7 shaft, 706ft. deep by8ft. diameter. No. 8, 709ft. deep by 8ft.diameter, furnace ventilated. 16 menunderground, 22 on the surface,working Clod Coal and Ironstone in1905. The pillar beneath the furnaceswas extracted from here in 1904-10.There was also a steam engine at thismine. In 1910, 14 were employedunderground and 16 on the surface.The ironstone produced was sold tothe Madeley Wood Company after1902.

Nos. 9 and 10; SJ 6955 0486(Hopleys) both 696ft. deep by 8ft.diameter. No. 10 was abandoned in1894, No. 9 in 1903, the latter wasthen working with No. 11, the DoubleCoal which had become “unprofitableto work”. The final report on Nos. 9and 10 dated July 1894 stated that thecoal was too thin to be workedprofitably. The Two Foot Coal wasonly 1ft. 8in. thick in the shafts butincreased to 2ft. 6in. towards themagazine.

It was free from sulphur and made agood coking coal, but a bad housecoal. Difficulties had beenexperienced with the seam beingcrushed by subjacent working in theClod Seam. The shaft section showsthe following economic minerals tobe available in this area:-

Top Coal 4ft.Fireclay 6ft.Yard Coal 3ft.Blue Flat Ironstone 4ft.Flint Coal 3ft.Pennystone Ironstone 7ft.Stinking Coal 1ft.Viger Coal 1ft. 6in.Two Foot Coal 2ft.Best Coal 3ft.Randle Coal 2ft.Clod Coal 2ft.Little Flint Coal 2ft. 6in.

at a depth of 702ft. The steamengines for this and Guys (Nos. 11and 12) were back to back, withvertical cylinders and two arms forstarting and stopping.

Nos. 11 and 12; SJ 6950 0492(Guys), both 503ft. deep. No. 11 was7½ft. diameter, No. 12, 8ft. No. 12 wasalmost certainly sunk in 1872. No. 11was abandoned in 1903 (see above).The engine was back to back withHopleys (9 and 10) who also workedNo. 13.

Nos. 14 and 15 were probablynear the standard gauge railway, butthe Geological Survey has recentlyindicated alternative positions nearPits 11 and 12. No further informationis available about 14 and 15 exceptthat shaft indications at thesepositions were reported recently.

Nos 16 and 17; SJ 7010 0528(Guests or Fosters Pits), were theeasternmost shafts. They were usedfor both coal and ironstoneproduction. Both shafts were 8ft.diameter and 867ft. deep. As theseshafts were very close to those of theMadeley Wood Co. it was necessaryto come to an agreement regardingsharing the cost of de-watering. Thisagreement was made in 1893.

About 1903 the Madeley Wood Co.took over these pits and continuedusing them for drainage purposes.The Pennystone seam was 5ft. 8in.with 1ft. 6in. Stinking Coal beneath. Itwas worked towards Cuckoo Oak,using longwall methods and ceasedproduction in September 1902.

Surface EquipmentThe surface equipment for thecolliery in 1882 consisted of one ‘old’and one more recent water engine,seven winding engines, Nos. 1 to 7(but unfortunately the numbers donot tie in with the pit numbers). Allwere powered by steam.

No. 2 was a typical engine and wasdescribed as “a condensing beamengine, 26in. cylinder with a 5ft. 6in.

“Below” 2005.1 17

The Madeley Court Colliery, Madeley, Shropshire, Part 3The Pits and other Surviving Features, continued ...

18 “Below” 2005.1

working stroke, with nozzle checker,hand gear and parallel motion. 17½in.air pumps and condensers with headand foot valves (in wrought ironcistern). 3½in. boiler pumps includingfly-wheel, shaft, cranks and plummerblocks, spring beam, silling andholding down bolts, top packing andbottom floors, cistern and sills underengine.”

Winding gear. 3ft. 4in. spur wheel,9in. barrel shaft. 13ft. long, twoplummer blocks, 6ft. 9in crown wheel,two sets of drum rings and arms andsill plates.

Typical of the steam raisingarrangements were that described forNo. 1 and 3 winding engines as:Boilers, cylindrical egg-ended 6ft. x26ft. 6in. and 25ft. and 8ft. x 22ft. 6in.(five boilers in all). Mountings, threefurnace grates, steam and feed pipes.Much of this equipment was sold forscrap in 1904 at the time the furnaceswere being dismantled. There werealso 14 pithead frames with 6 pulleys,plus 75 chain-supporting roller postswith 65 pulleys.

Surface RemainsThe most dominant featuresremaining from mining activity 1840sto about 1910 are the now tree-covered waste heaps of low height,typical of ironstone working, but

covering a fairly large area. Theirextent can still be establishedalthough many changes have beenmade around the fringes in recentyears. The routes of the old GypsyLane, Court Lane and sections of theold tramways can still be followedand the former Coalport Branch Lineis now the Silkin Way, a majorpedestrian route through TelfordNew Town. The railway itself, usedby the writer daily in his school days,ceased to have passenger traffic in1952 and goods in the 1960s.

The principal structure remaining isone of the two bridges over GypsyLane and fencing around the site ofshaft 14. Most of the shafts were stillvisible up to the 1970s, when theDevelopment Corporation cappedthree shafts and fenced off nine.Since then further work has beencarried out on these. The enginelocations are not clear butA.J.Mugridge has attempted to showevidence of them in his recent smallbook. The part of the mounds whereshafts 9, 10 and 13 where once isnow used as an artificial ski-run andanother part, near the site of the oldblast furnaces is an industrial estate.This is the successor to Parker’sWorks, described in some detail in‘Below’ 2004.2 . These works, theCourt Works, operated from theclosure of the mines about 1910 to1980.

The Madeley Court Colliery, Madeley, Shropshire, Part 3The Pits and other Surviving Features, continued ...

During the 1930s/40s many of thetips in this area were planted up withsilver birch, a quick growing specieson the local ironstone shales, forfuture use as pit props. Theregimented lines of these plantingscan still be discerned. The shafts andengine hollows were used as tips fordomestic waste and black sand fromthe moulding shop at the CourtWorks. The furnace slag from thepre-1900 operations seems to havebeen taken over a bridge across theMadeley-Dawley road and can beseen on the Halesfield side of theroad. From here it was quarried in the1940s for road use.

A public house, called the ThreeFurnaces, remains to this dayreminding visitors of operations thatceased over 100 years ago.

The nearby village of the Aqueduct,named after such a structure, stillsurviving from the local tub-boatcanal system, was built up by theFosters for workers at their mines andfurnaces (See Part 1 in ‘Below’ 2004.3for photos). Many buildings stillsurvive standing parallel to the oldCoalport Branch Railwayembankment. This was a traditionalindustrial village with brickworks,railway station, clay and sand pits,housing, a pub, a Mission Church(built by the Fosters in 1851), a

Madley Court Pits,about 1906.

From the authorscollection

“Below” 2005.1 19

Methodist Chapel and a number ofshops. Only the Church (inalternative use), the pub and housingnow survives.

In the fields nearby a cart-track led toa powder magazine (the writerremembers this in the 1940s) and toPearces Hall. The present positionregarding these structures has notbeen established.

Thanks for assistance in theproduction of these notes must begiven to Neil Clarke and many localresidents over the years.

NoteIn Part 2 (‘Below’ 2004.4, p17) it saidthat the works remained with WilliamOrme Foster “to the end”, i.e.: about1902. It is now known thatW.O.Foster died in 1889. He wasfollowed by William Henry Foster.W.H.Foster’s son, Major A.W.Fostersucceeded his father as Lord of theManor of Stockton, 3 miles south-east of Madeley, and resided atApley Park (near Bridgnorth). In the1940s this was a fine estate of over400 acres (“with a herd of about 400deer”) through which the Severnflowed.

“On the east side is a terrace, 2 mileslong having excellent views”. Themansion stands on “a gentleeminence and is an elegant structureof Grinshill Sandstone”. The presentwriter delivered weekly newspapersthere at this time and met MajorFoster on several occasions - butunfortunately never thought to ask ifhe had any records ormemories of the Court Minesand Furnaces! (Quotationsform Kelly’s Directory1941).

Appendix 1(from Donnelly Thesis (IGMT), 1964)Notes taken from, “Schedule andValuation, Madeley Court,Stourbridge, Brockmoor, Brierley andShut End Collieries and Ironworks.”Wellington, Salop, March 1882.S.Danks, Engineers and Valuer.

Fixed Plant 1 Old water engine. High pressure,

beam, on brick piers. 2 Pumping gear. 3 No’s. 1 and 3 Winding engines. 2

condensing beam engines. 4 Winding gear. 5 Boilers, cylindrical egg-ended.

6’0” x 26’6” & 25’0” & 8’0” x22’6” 5 No.

6 Mountings. 7 Boilers. 3 furnace grates. 8 Steam and feed pipes. 9 Winding engine No.6

condensing beam engine.10 Winding engine No.4

condensing beam engine.11 Pumping and winding gear.12 Boilers, egg and flat ended,

frames, dampers, pulleys(balances etc.)

13 Winding engine No.5.14 Winding gear.15 Boiler.16 Winding engine No.2 (a typical

entry in full) condensing beamengine, 26” cylinder working 5’6”stroke with nozzle checker handgear and parallel motion, 17½” airpumps and condensers with headand foot valves (in wrought ironcistern) 3½” boiler pumpsincluding fly wheel,

The Madeley Court Colliery, Madeley, Shropshire, Part 3The Pits and other Surviving Features, continued ...

Right: A typicalexample of horse ginthat might be found atmany Shropshiremines.

From ‘Colleries & the CoalTrade’, 1840

shaft cranks and plummer blocks,spring beam, silling and holdingdown bolts, top packing andbottom floors, cistern and sillsunder engine.

17 Winding gear. 3’4” spur wheel, 9”barrel shaft 13’0”, two plummerblocks, 6’9” crown wheel, twosets of drum rings and arms andsill plates.

18 Boilers, steam and feed pipes.19 Winding engine No.7.20 Winding gear.21 Boilers.22 Pumping engine.23 Boilers.24 Pumping gear.25 Pumps.26 Pit frames, 14 frames with 6

pulleys, 75 roller postswith 65pulleys.

27 Pit conductors, pitch pine rodsand wire rope conductors.

28 Winding chains, capstan ropesetc., 3 link flat chains etc.

29 Cast Iron pipes. Rails & sleepersNames of Pits:Big Flint Coal,Double Coal,Little Flint Coal,Clod and Best Coal,Platform Pennystone,Guests Pennystone,Hopleys Pennystone,Brick Kiln.

AlsoBrick works.Driving gear, stocks, tools andduplicates etc.Mine engine.New mine engine.No.1 winding engine.

20 “Below” 2005.1

The Madeley Court Colliery, Madeley, Shropshire, Part 3The Pits and other Surviving Features, continued ...

No.2 winding engine.No.3 winding engine.No.4 winding engine.No.5 winding engine.No.6 winding engine.No.7 winding engine.No.1 furnace.W. Hopley’s pit, Little Flints.R. & G. Guy coal pits.B. Buckley’s coal pit.L. Shepherd, stone pit.R. & P. Guy, stone pit. 312 yards,3” pipes, 145 yards, 2” pipes withhorse boxes to pits.W. Hopley’s stone pit.F. Guest, stone pit.Sinker’s tools.Castings, spares etc.,Coalport wharf.Brickwork.Bricklayer’s tools.

References1. Notes on the Mines of the

Madeley Court Co. by I.J.Brown,“Shropshire Arch. Soc.Newslettre No.38”, June 1970.

2. Scehdule and Valuation, MadeleyCourt etc.., March 1882, byS.Danks, Engineer & Valuer (inthesis by D.J.Donnelly, 1964,IGMT).

3. “The East Shropshire Coalfields”,by I.J.Brown, Tempus 1999 p61.

4. Mines Inspectors Reports andLists of Mines - various years.

5. Aqueduct by Marilyn Hickson,Telford Historical &Archaological Society, JournalNo.3, 1999.

Further Reading1. “Some Mines of the Madeley

Area”, by A.J.Mugridge,Privately Published, 1998.

2. Old Ordnance Survey Maps,“Madeley Court 1901”, reprinted1996. Introduction by B.S.Trinder.

3. Halesfield & Kemberton Collieriesin ‘Below’.

4. “A History of Shropshire Vol.11Telford”, by G.C.Baugh, 1985(map p24).

5. “The Aqueduct - an EastShropshire Industrial Settlement”by N.Clarke, Shrop. Arch. Soc.Newsletter 39 (1970), 40 (1971).

Tourists face theft chargesA statement by the Algerian Interiorministry said they would appearbefore a court for “violation ofregulations regarding the movementof tourists in the Sahara and accessto Tassili National Park, as well as fortheft of protected archaeologicalobjects.”

The Tassili National Park features onUnesco’s World Heritage List.

Apart from outstanding geologicalformations, it has what is describedas one of the most importantgroupings of prehistoric cave art inthe world - thousands of drawingsand engravings depicting animal andhuman life in the region.

from BBC reports (21/11/04)

Five German tourists who wentmissing in the Sahara may facecharges for allegedly stealing ancientobjects from a protected site. TheAlgerian authorities said the fivewere found on the 20th November(2004) near the town of Djanet in thefar south, they had been missing forseveral days, after giving their guidethe slip.

No details were given of what wasallegedly stolen from the TassiliNational Park - a vast world heritagesite near the Libyan and Nigerborders.

They were reportedly found campingin the desert about 300km (180 miles)from the border with Niger.

Major Chinese Accident - Monday 14th Feb. 2005occupied Manchuria. (The worstEuropean mine accident occurred atCourrieres Colliery, Pas de Calais,France on 10 March 1906 when 1,100were killed in a dust explosion.)

China has two kinds of mines - big,state-run operations, generallythought to be safer, and smallerprivate mines where the majority ofdeaths occur.

The increasing demand for energy

from China’s rapidly expandingindustry means the price of coal hasgone up, leading some unscrupulousmine operators to cut corners toincrease production and jeopardisesafety.

Others have been accused of re-opening mines which had been shutdown because of poor safetystandards.

Complied from reports onBBCi 16th Feb 2005

The latest coal mining accident inChina has been hitting the headlinesas the deadliest reported by China’smining industry since the communistparty took power in 1949.

The explosion, 242m (794 ft)underground at the Sunjiawan minein the north-eastern city of Fuxin,Liaoning province, killed 210 miners,with others being reported as‘missing’.

Fuxin, is one of China’s oldest coalmining regions, and is a particularlyrisky place to work due to the lengthof the workings.

The scale of the disaster has shockedthe local community, many thoughtthe mine had closed for the Chinese(Lunar) New Year holidaycelebrations.

BackgroundChina is considered the World’smost deadly mining industry - 6000killed in 2004.

China last year produced 35% of theworld’s coal but reported 80% ofglobal deaths in colliery accidents.

The World’s worst mining accidenttook place in China in 1942 when1,549 people died in Japanese

“Below” 2005.1 21

Shropshire Mines - One Hundred Years Ago (1905)by Ivor Brown

W.N.Atkinson, the Mines Inspectorreported:

(a) 3,009 men employed undergroundin ‘coal’ mines (including 2 boysaged 13, (6 boys aged 14-16), 683on surface at mines (5 aged 12/13), 78 females on surface 6 under16 years). Total 3,770. There were68 mines at work.

The workers produced 800,829tons coal, 17,469 tons fireclay,15,089 tons ironstone, 210 tonsiron pyrites and 64,277 tons of redclay. Total 897,874 tons.

(b) Unlike the previous year therewere no electric or compressed airpowered coal cutters at work. Theoverall productivity (tons mineralper person employed) had fallento 238 tons in the County (lowestin the District) against a nationalaverage of 287 tons.

(c) There were 4 deaths fromaccidents in ‘coal’ mines, allsingle, i.e. no multi-fatalaccidents. These were at FreeholdPit (fall of roof), Meadow Pit,Madeley (fall of roof), Highley(fall of roadside) and Highley(burnt by spilled paraffin oil) - seebox below. In addition 14 otherpersons were seriously injured inaccidents. Two were ‘notable’(given as examples of ‘unusual’or ‘avoidable’). In one the

‘hooker-on’ at Lawley New Pitwas injured when a tub fell out ofa cage when it was lifted beforethe catches had been applied(this still happened in the 1950sto the writer’s personalknowledge). At Stafford No.3 Pit,Priors Lee a shotfirer was tooclose to the blast when he fired itand was hit by flying stone.

(d) The Inspector gave the results ofa survey of safety lamps in use ineach County in the District. InShropshire:

Kinds of lamp1. Two gauze and shielded: 1,192

lamps2. One gauze and shielded: 2 lamps3. Mueseler shielded: Nil4. Mueseler unshielded: 1,319 lamps5. Other kinds: 1 lamp

Methods of Locking1. Lead rivets: 4122. Magnetic: 7253. Screws: 1,377

Illuminants1. Colza or mixtures of Colza and

Petroleum: 2,1742. Volatile Spirits: 340

Lamps lighted electrically725

The Inspector was obviously hopingto reduce the proportion usingscrew-locks, he reported that theproportion had decreased inShropshire from 90% in 1900 to 55%in 1905. In North Staffordshire it hadbeen reduced to 14%.

(e) Only 6 of the 16 Candidates forthe Managers’ Certificate passedin this District in 1905. SeeAppendix for the questions in the‘Sinking’ paper (there were 9papers to be taken in total).Have a go, but no prizes offered.

(f) Abandonment Plans weredeposited during the year forOakengates Colliery (OakengatesColliery Co.) and Red LakeColliery (Ed. Pitchford).

(g) The Inspector did not prosecuteanyone in Shropshire in 1905, but18 in Staffs. However, Shropshiremine-owners prosecuted thefollowing:

1. Lilleshall Co. Ltd. - a roadmanfor moving a brattice sheet thathad been put up to keep a hole inthe roof clear of gas. Fine 7/6d,costs 5/-

2. Madeley Wood Co. - a horse-driver for refusing to obey theorders of a fireman and usingabusive language. Fine 2/6d,costs 8/6d.

3. Madeley Wood Co. - 17 horse-drivers for “absenting themselvesfrom work”. Eight were fined 2/-with 6/- costs, 8 fined 1/9d with 6/3d costs and one 1/- with 7/-costs. (There must be a storyhere, was it a strike? Why thedifferences - but in every case thefinancial loss was 8 shillingseach!).

(h) There were 8 ‘non-coal’ mines atwork employing 131 undergroundand 60 on the surface (5 of whichwere 14 to 16 years old). Inaddition there was one female(above age 16). Total 192 personsemployed.

These mines produced 8,923 tonsbarytes, 683 tons lead ore, 154

FATAL ACCIDENT AT HIGHLEY COLLIERY,2ND JUNE 1905

A horse driver, Alfred Davies aged 17, was burned in thepit by paraffin oil. The drivers used small torch lamps fedwith paraffin oil and were allowed free access to a tank ofthe oil, from which they were in the habit of taking suppliesin bottles and tins.

When the accident happened a boy was filling a lamp froman old fruit can, the oil in which caught fire and he droppedit, and the burning oil fell on the legs and feet of thedeceased, whose clothing was oily and he was so severelyburnt that he died next day. After this accident the use ofparaffin oil for the drivers lamps was abandoned andColza oil substituted for it.

22 “Below” 2005.1

Appendix - Question PaperSinking Colliery Managers Examination, 1905

1. What plant would you require to expeditiously sink a 16ft. diameter dryshaft, 600 yards deep? Give general dimensions of headgear, engines,bowkes, ropes etc.

2. Give a fully dimensioned sketch of a bricking scaffold. Say how youwould raise and lower same. Say how you would support it whilstbricking, and what precautions you would take for the safety of men on it.

3. Describe, with sketches, how you would fix rigid conductors or wireguides in a shaft 16ft. diameter; and what are the advantages anddisadvantages of each system?

4. Describe the method you would adopt for stripping an old shaft from 10ft.diameter to 16ft diameter and state precautions to be observed where theground is bad and faulty. The 10ft. shaft is an upcast, the ventilation ofthe mine having to maintained through it whilst the stripping is going on.

tons zinc ore and 1,560 tonslimestone.

There were no fatal accidents inthese mine, but one miner wasinjured at Wotherton barytesmine by the explosion of a chargeof gunpowder in a paper bagwhile he was stemming it in ashot-hole with a copper-shod ironstemmer. There was also anaccident on the surface atSnailbeach Mine when a loco-driver slipped while he wasgetting onto the engine while inmotion.

(i) There were 52 quarries at workemploying 1,394 persons (7 boys,14 to 16 years, were employed inthe “quarry holes”). Theseproduced 40,199 tons clay, 8,994tons sand and gravel, 321,033tons igneous rocks, 147,641 tonslimestone and 35,824 tonssandstone.

There were also 6 quarriesemploying 24 persons producing40,199 tons clay “exceeding 20ft.in depth” and where the clay wasused for bricks and tilemanufacture.

(j) No quarry employees were fatallyinjured during the year, butseveral were seriously injured,two were “notable”. A workmanat Nantmawr limestone quarrywas injured by “slipping androlling down a steep and ruggedpath”, another was injured by afall of stone at Clee Hill basaltquarry.

A fatal accident (but not to anemployee so not commented onabove) occurred at Dhu StoneBasalt Quarry in June 1905, whena 10 year old boy was killed bybeing run over by railway wagonsat the quarry wharf.

Shropshire Mines - One Hundred Years Ago (1905)by Ivor Brown

Christmas Wordsearch - AnswersIn case you didn’t find all the words here is the answersquare:

The WordsAlderleyParysGritCothercottHuglithOnslowSnailbeachScottGattenCliveCwmystywthSugnalNentheadKarabinerShovelBucketSpeleotechnicsPetzlWhimberryDescentCameraHelmetRopeTapeCompassTackle

Word Change LadderHow to turn Hemp into Rope in 6steps by changing just one letterat a time to make another word:

S P E L E O T E C H N I C S KN H - - - - P N - H - - - Y AA - O - - A - E - U E P O R RI - N V T - - N - G - - - A AL T S - E T - T - L Z T E P BB A L - K L N H - I G R I T IE C O - C - S E - T A - - A NA K W - U - S A C H T - A L EC L - - B - A D E S T - R D RH E - - - - P L - - E - E E T- Y R R E B M I H W N D M R T- C L I V E O - S U G N A L O- - - T T O C R E H T O C E CC W M Y S T Y W T H - - - Y S

Hemp

Rope

HelpHeldHold

HoleHope

“Below” 2005.1 23

In the last issue of ‘Below’ thequestion was posed as to how manyunderground waterwheels still survivein Britain.

I suggested that there were 3 still inexistence, the ones I had in mind were:

Ystrad-Einion (Wales),Brewery Shaft (Nenthead) andWheal Charlotte or George & Charlotte

Mine at Morewellham in Devon.

However as I was putting this issue of‘Below’ together I discovered that thewaterwheel and chamber atMorwellham were constructed in 1986by Bob Le Marchant, so while it is anunderground wheel, there was notoriginally a wheel there (Bob also cutthe chamber for the wheel).

Paul Thorne, has sent in a list ofproven underground wheel sites withevidence in-situ:

Ystrad Einion (complete wheel)Brewery Shaft base (complete wheel)Goldscope lower level, Cumbria (hand

picked wheelcase in rock)Burtree pasture (two underground

wheels, one pumping, one winding,in vaulted chambers)

Allenheads mine (four cascadedpumping waterwheels, remainsunsure)

Harehope Gill mine (documentaryevidence, remains unsure)

There are also a number of conjecturedsites, evidence as stated:

Engine shaft into Carrs mine (veryunsafe wheelpit chamber entered 80feet down in side of shaft. Feed racefrom river Nent)

Knotlow Mine, Derbys (undergroundwheelpit chamber ? obvious waterfeeder from natural stream 30 footabove floor, submerged lowerworkings)

There is also the reconstructedunderground wheel at Killhope (but notin an authentic location).

Does anyone have any ore knownlocations to add to the list?

Kelvin

Underground Waterwheels- a round-up

Above: The 16ft. diameter waterwheel at Ystrad-Einion.Picture: Kelvin Lake

Right: Thewaterwheel nearthe bottom ofBrewery shaft,Nenthead.

Picture: Ian Cooper

24 “Below” 2005.1

From the Club’s Archives - 40 years ago.The Club in 1965, by Ivor Brown

Nineteen sixty five was another yearof notable events and progress. TheYearbook records a total membershipof nearly 60 (as against 40 in 1964and 20 in 1963) - about 10 of theseearly members are still involved in theactivities of the Club in 2005. Othernotable events included:

the transition from a handwrittenbanda-type monthly newsletter toa more professional typednewsletter in July,

the big weekend when PDMHSmembers stayed at theClubhouse,

the formation of North Wales RescueOrganisation, and of course

the salvaging of the Rock Mine andthe rediscovery of the TarTunnel.

The salvaging project commenced onthe 9th January, but blackdamp wasfound to be mushrooming out at thetop of the 110ft. shaft due to lowbarometric pressure. The height ofgas at shaft centre was determined asthe point at which a candle wasextinguished - about 2ft. aboveground level !

Members retired to the Queens Head,Ketley where Mr. Wright the landlordshowed them his collection of miningplans and leases and a prototypemodel of a Lilleshall steam engine

with the beam beneath the cylinderi.e. upside down. He said this hadbeen intended for either Granville orFreehold Pit. Next day a furtherattempt was made, but againblackdamp filled the shaft and evenlowering the firebucket failed to moveit. A tub some rails and points, awinch and bell system were removedfrom another shaft at this site.

On 30th January the Club returned tothe Rock Coal Mine shaft to find itwas clear of gas, a small group wentdown and travelled 60 yards to a wallof blackdamp, just a few yards fromthe Siskol Coal Cutter. Tests withcandles showed that the gas wasadvancing towards the shaft, theparty retreated fast and got outsafely. A firebucket was lit andlowered, the level of gas in the shaftfluctuated but never more than 9ft.from the shaft bottom. It was decidedto keep the firebucket alight, raisingand lowering it throughout the nightand return on the 31st. A rota ofvisits was set at one hour intervals.

On the 31st. the party succeeded ingetting to the Coal Cutter andbeyond. Lit candles were affixed topit props at about 5 yard interval andwork commenced on getting theequipment out of the mine. By mid-afternoon the gas was seen to beadvancing again, extinguishing the

candles as it came and hurriedly theparty completed its work and got outof the pit. In addition to the CoalCutter, its drills and bits, angling gearand equipment dan, the partyrecovered 2 tubs, 2 dans, a hand drilland later, a horse gin post found onsite. Another winch, some smallerequipment, the mine’s emergencyNeil Robinson stretcher, its collectionof books, records and maps, lampsand items were also removed.

In March the Club acted as hosts fora PDMHS visit. On the Saturday,visits were made to theCoalbrookdale Company’s Museum(before it passed to the IronbridgeGorge Museum) and to the LilleshallCompany’s Museum and steamengines (before they were moved tothe IG Museum). A snack lunch waskindly provided by the Company.

On the Sunday, visits were made tothe Rock Mine (several parties wereable to get underground), then to thecoal seam in the cellar of thePheasant Inn at Broseley duringlunch break. In the afternoon themining remains in the IronbridgeGorge were visited including therecently relocated adits and shafts inthe limestone and the remains of abeam pump at The Lloyds.At other times exploration continuedin the South Shropshire lead mines

Removing the manriding (in background)and firebucket(foreground) winchesfrom The Rock CoalMine shaft, 1965.

SCMC members:From right to left:Mr. Corbyn (back tocamera)D.R.Adams,T.J.Davies, “Blogg”(back to camera),and one other (Doesanyone remember whohe was?).

Picture: I.J.Brown

“Below” 2005.1 25

area (including a joint ‘camping’weekend at Perkins Beach mineentrance with PDMHS members).Other visits were to mines in NorthWales and Derbyshire (occasionallythese trips also visited caves. OgofDydd Byraf and Dan-yr-Ogof beganto claim an increasing amount oftime).

During July/August the Coalport TarTunnel was rediscovered andexplored and a provisional surveymade - despite the Tunnel now beingan important Tourist Mine thissurvey has never been completed!

Two main camps were held duringthe year at Easter and Whit (15campers at Pwli-y-Rhyd, and 10 atForce Crag (in the Lake District)respectively).

The Fourth AGM was held at theBarley Mow on 25th September 1965,15 members were present. The ‘headsof departments’ gave their reports.

P.R.Gaut, Treasurer, had spentalmost twice as much as the previousyear (£195 against 105), including £72on the cottage and £37 onequipment. Income included subs£53, publications £26, trip levies £16,equipment sales £13. Balance for theyear £30.

I.J.Brown, Associate MembersSecretary and Newsletter Editor,reported the death of J.L.Hobbs, andthat 11 newsletters had beenproduced (not 9 as in the minutes).

T.J.Davies, Social Secretary, hadcollected £34 in cottage fees and

urged members to help more inkeeping the Cottage clean.

D.Stevenson, Geological, discussedways of displaying specimens in theClub House and urged members tobring back more samples.

M.Summerfield, Photographic, wasdisappointed at the number of goodphotographs taken, but said thingsshould improve next year.

J.M.James, Tacklemaster, requestedpurchase of a hydrometer and askedfor more ladders to be made quickly.More care was needed when usingClub’s equipment.

P.Summerfield, Librarian, had madea list of Club books and plans, somehad been borrowed, could membersreturn them quickly!

D.Adams, Publications,had produced 50copies of Account 2(South ShropshireMines - PDHMSOffprints), 40 copies ofNo.3 (Levant Mines)and 50 Yearbooks(previous year).Drawings forLlanymynach OgofSurvey were wellunderway.

D.Adams, Secretary,said that a largernumber of letters hadbeen dealt with.

D.Adams, Club Leader,commented on death of

From the Club’s Archives - 40 years ago.The Club in 1965, by Ivor Brown

Left: Lilleshall Co. prototype model of an underslung beamengine, on display in the Queens Head Public House, 1965

Picture: I.J.Brown

Mr. Hobbs, setting up of NWCRO,number of Club expeditions (22 toNorth Wales, 8 in Shropshire, 9 inDerbyshire plus others). Preservationwork underway at some mines,lecture meetings held and 2successful camps.

The President D.B.Corbyn lead adiscussion on the Club Constitution,possible change of Club name toinclude ‘Mining’ (left to voted on atnext years AGM) and on change oftitle ‘Leader’ to Chairman (approvedunanimously). Officers for next yearwere elected, except Vice Chairmanand Duplications Officer which weredropped.

A dinner followed, attended by 35persons with films on caves shownas after-dinner entertainment.

This type of beam engine was developed about 1800, knownas a “Side-lever” engine, the beam was arranged low down toreduce the engines centre of gravity, with a view to installingthem in boats. Side-lever engines went out of ‘fashion’ forships by the 1860s with the development of improved highpressure inverted vertical engines - the Lilleshall Companybuilt many engines of this type. Perhaps this model was anApprentice piece? Kelvin

The fire bucket and winch at Rock Mine’s No.2 coalmine, 1965.

26 “Below” 2005.1

Books andConferences

The Great Laxey Mine,Isle of Man

Andrew Scarfe, Hard back 315mm x255mm, 232pp colour photos andplans including a large pull out plan

This must be the best value miningbook I have ever seen the very largepublication means it will deservedlystand out in your book collectionit is superb. No expense has beenspared to produce this volume withfull colour modern photos and planssupplemented with black and whitehistorical records.

The Book traces the development ofthe Great Laxey Mine and charts itseventual decline as the mineral veinbecame more elusive and competitionores brought about a fall in profits.The machinery is explained in detailwith technical drawings and plans.The building of the world famousLady Isabella Waterwheel isdescribed in full. The lives andworking conditions of the miners arealso part of the story. There wereaccidents, deaths, strikes, hardshipand appalling working conditions,and the comradeship of a close knitmining community which helpedthose down on their luck is alsoconsidered..

In addition the other mines in theLaxey area are also describedincluding Snaefell Mine, Glen RoyMine, North and East Laxey Minesand Dhoon Rhennie Mine.

£19.99+ £7.50 post and packing

Mike Moorewww.moorebooks.co.uk

Mountains and Orefields:metal mining landscapes in mid andnorth-east Wales.Nigel Jones, Pat Frost and MarkWalters, Softback, A4, 198pp

Very well presented details of surfaceremains of many metal mine sites inNorth and Mid Wales includingHalkyn Mountain, Belgrave,Eisteddfod Minera, Craig-y-Mwyn,Cwm Elan, Cwm Orog, Dalrhiw andNat y Car South, Gwestyn, Nant yrEira, Nantygarw, Nantiago, PenDylife, Penyclun, Lower Park Minera,Pool Park Minera and TalargochClive Shaft.

The extraction of natural resourceshas had a profound effect on theWelsh landscape, and theexploitation of metal ores has been afeature of rural upland landscapessince the Bronze Age. This reportbreaks new ground by providing asynthesis of information on a rangeof non-ferrous metal mining sites,and a broad chronological frameworkfrom Roman to Victorian times -focusing in most detail on the periodof rapid expansion in workingsduring the 18th and 19th centuries.The emphasis throughout is uponthe landscape perspective of themining sites, including topographyand setting, as well as theinterpretation from the physicalremains of the mining techniquesused above ground, the sources ofpower, methods of transport, and on-site processing.This will be of interest to readers witha broad interest in landscape historyindustrial archaeology, and mining.

£19.95 + £2.90 Post and packing

Cwm Gwyrfai,The Quarries of North WalesNarrow Gauge and The WelshHighland RailwaysGwynfor Pierce Jones and Alun JohnRichards, Softback A5, 368pp

To mark the revival of the WelshHighland Railway two of the leadingexperts of slate working in Waleshave come together to present adefinitive account of the slateworkings along its route and whoseproducts the WHRR’s precursor theNorth Wales narrow Gauge Railwaycarried. They have included a briefaccount of these lines and manyabortive schemes to bring railways toGwyrfai and Nant Gwynant. Eachquarry is described and includesaccurate Grid references and detailsof location imcludes useful black andwhite photos.£9.95 + £1.00 post and packing

Slate Railways of WalesAlun John Richards, A5, SB, 212pp

Starting with the Penirhyn Railway of1801, this book traces the chronologyof slate related railways andtramways throughout Wales. Somelines arose out of need, others out ofgreed until in all about 100 routemiles were dedicated to carrying slatewith a further 200 miles vying to doso with varying success. Apart fromenabling a great industry to prosperthey brought benefits of railconnections to the remotest part ofWales many of which would havebeen ignored by railwayentrepreneurs.

£5.95 + £1.00 post and packing

NAMHO Regional Research SeminarThe National Association of MiningHistory Organisations in associationwith the Centre for South-WesternHistorical Studies is arranging aresearch seminar entitled “Mining inthe South-West of England; newapproaches, new history?”

The seminar is to be held at theUniversity of Exeter, Parker MootRoom, adjoining the Amory Building,

Rennes Drive, 10am to 4:30pmSaturday 9th April.

A series of presentations, withdiscussion, looking at the mininghistory of the South-West from adifferent approach or in co-operationwith other disciplines. Consideringwhether a new approach can, orshould, change our view of mininghistory ?

Cost, inclusive of coffee and buffetlunch, will be £8.00 per head.

Booking forms can be downloadedfrom:

www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/contents.htm#conferences

Peter Claughton

“Below” 2005.1 27

Latest Mining Video from I.A.Recordings

Books and Videos

A Tour of Carrs MineExploring the nenthead visitor mine

There is also an introduction to theother things to see and do atNenthead, including the uniquecollection of Georgian and Victorianbuildings and ‘The Power of Water’ -an exciting hands-on exhibitdemonstrating the importance ofwater power for lead mining.

After the tour we go beyond theshow mine with SCMC members, toexplore areas of Carrs that peopledon’t normally get to see, including agleaming calcite-lined ‘grotto’ andunprotected sumps with waterpouring down to even deeper mines.

We also have a quick look into someof the other mines of Nenthead,particularly Smallcleugh with itsstone arching, ore chutes and airdoors.Written by Peter Wilkinson, JanetCresswell and Peter EgglestonRunning time: 31 mins.

www.iarecordings.org

For more details about videos andDVDs contact:I.A.Recordings,

PO Box 476, Telford, TF8 7RH

£12.95 - VHS (£10 to Club Members)DVD-R, £14.95 (£12 to Club Members)NGR: NY 783 431

Carrs mine is part of the phenomenalNenthead lead-zinc mining complexhigh on Alston Moor in theCumbrian North Pennines. Carrs wasfirst recorded in 1679 and by 1750 itwas one of the largest mines in thearea. From about 1800 it was takenover by the London Lead Companywho already ran most of theNenthead mines. They brought inmodern techniques such as horsehaulage on tram rails. In the early20th Century it was mined for zinc bythe Belgian Vieille Montagnecompany who introducedcompressed-air rock drills.

This is a record of a tour of the showmine guided by Peter Wilkinson,showing the superb dry-stonearching of the horse levels, the veinmineralisation, some of the miningmethods, tunnels and workings largeand small, timbered rises, iron railsand the shapes and beautiful coloursof mineral deposits - ‘the mysteriousunderworld of the leadminer’.

Ross Island Mining, Metal& Society in Early IrelandWilliam O'Brien (with contributors)A4 Monograph hardback 800 pages,120 plates, 259 line drawings.

This is the authoritive text on RossIsland Mine in Killarney Co Kerry.

It presents the results of a decade ofresearch on the Ross Island mine,undertaken by the NationalUniversity of Ireland, Galway incollaboration with other interests inIreland and abroad. The complexitiesof a multi-period mining landscapeare unravelled using historicalsources in combination with detailedsurvey and major programme ofarchaeological excavation. Differentaspects of this unique site areexplored from its mining history inearly medieval times to the workingof a copper mine some 4500 yearsago at the dawn of the Irish BronzeAge. The history and archaeology ofpost-medieval mining at Ross Islandare also examined. This inter-disciplinary study includes ananalysis of the Geology and naturalenvironment of the mine. Thesettlement background of the minersis examined within a broaderunderstanding of metal and societyin early Ireland.£55.00 + £9.00 post and packing.

Aspects of Welsh SlateShe is also concerned that thesemonuments are scheduled andprovides the criteria the NationalAssembly of Wales uses to decideon scheduling in addition there areuseful contact addresses. It is verywell presented and shows a uniqueenthusiasm for Slate Mining.£6.95 + £1.00 post and packing

All books mentioned, available from:Mike Moore

www.moorebooks.co.uk

Pip Knight- Jones, soft cover, fullcolour, A5, 71pp

The author has been painting forsome 40 years including painting forthe marine biological reasearch atUniversity of wales, in the book shehas attemptted to record a number ofslate mine sites with colour paintingsusing her artistic talents, these aresupported with informative text,colour photos, some plans andworking sketches.

July 8th-10th at Dorking in Surrey.The venue, close to cross channellinks and major regional airports,provides an ideal opportunity tobring together mining historians fromacross Europe.

As part of the conference it isintended to hold a seminar on ‘TheCommon Aspects of EuropeanMining History’. There will be theopportunity to network andestablish working relationships withother mining historians from acrossthe continent. If you are interested inattending contact:

Peter ClaughtonP.F.Claughton@exeter.ac.uk

NAMHO 2005

28 “Below” 2005.1

Diary Dates 2005Club Officers

12th March: NAMHO AGM,

5th-9th June: Centenary of flotationsymposium, Brisbane, Australia. Visitthe web site: www.ausimm.com.au

16th-19th June: 16th Mining HistoryAssociation Annual Meeting,Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA

17th-19th June: FoD CavingSymposium IV, English Bicknor

1st-3rd July: British Cave RescueCouncil Conference, Eastwater Farm,.Priddy.

4th-8th July: NSS Convention,Huntsville, Alabama, USA

8th-10th July: NAMHO 2005,Juniper Hall Field Centre, Dorking,Surrey.

22nd-23rd Sept.: ‘Dust, Disease &the Politics of Ill Health in mid-20thcentury British Mining’ (sponsoredby the Wellcome Trust).Details: TheCentre for Medical History, Uni. ofExeter, Amory Building, RennesDrive, Exeter, EX4 4RJ. (01392 263289)

20069th-17th October: InternationalMining History Congress (IMHC),Beringen in the Limberg miningregion of north-east Belgium. Visitsto sites in the area will take placeduring this peroiod.

A curious rescue call-out ....

What’s happened?

69

Oxygen deficiency?

Blackdamp?

Zzzzz !

Zzzzz !

No !

There’s so manybats this year ...

They keep falling asleepwhen counting them !!

Catch us on the World Wide Web. Club activities & the labyrinth: http://www.shropshirecmc.org.uk/

Tackle: Ian Cooper

First Aid Officer:Alan Moseley

Librarian: Alan Robinson

Bat Officer: Mike Worsfold

Rescue Officer:Neal Rushton

‘Below’ Editor, Publications:Kelvin Lake

e-mail: scmc@factree.org.uk

President: Alan Taylor

Chair: Eileen Bowen

Secretary: Mike Daviesscmc.secretary@factree.org.uk

Treasurer: Bob Taylor

Training Officer: Ian Davies

Conservation & NAMHORep: Steve Holding