“Below” 2006.2 1

E L O W !B

Quarterly Journal of the Shropshire Caving & Mining Club Summer Issue No: 2006.2

Library AdditionsNorth Wales CC: Newsletter, 296,January-June 2006. Has reports onthe dig in Ogof Dydd Byraf (Minera)where the old dig was shored up withtimbers from the roof of the nearbycollpased Hoffman kiln. Other tripreports include the French Jura andParys Mountain.

Stone Chat: Newsletter of theNorfolk Mineral & LapidarySociety, Vo.26 No.3, Spring 2006 -has interesting items on the “Historyof Wheal Jane”, a Hawaiian volcanoobservatory and “Sugar limestone”in Upper Teesdale.Vo.26 No.4, Summer 2006 - hasitems on Kelly Mine, a trip to USA &Canada, Mining Scripophily, theNational Stone Centre and The ShellMuseum, Glandford, Norfolk.

NAMHO Newsletter, June 2006.

Beet Factory to CloseAssociated British Foods announcedat the beginning of July that it is toclose the Allscott Sugar Beet factorywith the loss of 117 jobs. Localmeetings have been arranged todiscuss the proposed closure. It isnot clear what will happen to theSocial Club or how many of thecurrent employees will be kept on atthe new ‘depot’.

Shropshire Star, July 2006

Gorge WorkThe first phase of a £20 millionproject to protect the IronbridgeGorge from the risk of catastrophicslippage will start at the Lloyds inSeptember after Telford and WrekinCouncil secured more than £3 millionin European Regional Developmentfunding (ERDF) .

The scheme involves sinking threerows of 750mm diameter reinforcedconcrete piles 30m into the ground.

The Lloyds has been identified as thearea with the greatest chance ofmovement, from the Free bridge tothe junction with the Coalport Road.The road will be closed from mid-September until at least June 2007.

Caver KilledDavid Briggs, an experienced caver,was killed on 25th March 2006 whiledigging in Astonhill Swallet, nearPikehall, Derbyshire. A large rock fellfrom the roof and landed on him.David was a member of PegasusCaving Club, DCRO and PDMHS.This was the first caving death inDerbyshire for 15 years.

NAMHO 2006Thank You

Cornish World HeritageCornwall’s bid for World HeritageSite (WHS) status has beensuccessful. The bid focussed on theexpansive phase of industrialisationdue to the advent of steamtechnology and deep lode copperand tin mining.

Although steam technology wasbrought to Cornwall from outside thecounty, it was undoubtedly here thatthe high pressure steam engineemerged and deep lode miningattained levels of sophistication bothin terms of technology, management,labour structure and financing, whichtransformed large parts of thecounty, and neigbouring westDevon; economically, socially,culturally and politically. The bid areaincludes the Tamar Valley and DevonGreat Consols. Find out more at:

www. cornish-mining.org.uk

A big thank-you to everyone whohelped to make this year’s NAMHOConference such a success. We havehad quite a few letters of thanks andappreciation from delegates.

The trips programme was certainlywell supported and quite a highnumber of delegates attended thelectures at the Royal Pavillionthroughout the weekend.

Everyone who attended seemed tohave had a good time, so all the hardwork paid off in the end.

Steve Holding

NAMHO 2007Now you’ve had a a month torecover from this year’s conference,next year it is being held in the TamarValley from the 15th to 17th June.The theme for the conference isplanned to reflect the long history ofmining in the area - “Pennies toPesticide: mineral exploitation in theTamar Valley through 8 centuries”.Contact Peter Claughton if youwould like to present a paper.

Dark Lane MemorialAlan Taylor reported at the JulyMeeting that the Club has beengranted planning permission for the“Memorial”, the next hurdle is theactual construction and materials.

2 “Below” 2006.2

News Round-Up 1by Ivor Brown

Miners Meeting HallA meeting, on the 11th March, ofYorkshire miners at Barnsley MinersOffices in memory of the 2 YorkshireMiners killed in the “Great Strike” 20years ago, made it possible toexamine the large meeting hall, withnumerous banners, busts of ‘heroes’of the past and mining memorabiliaon show. One large book in a glasscase commemorates an “Address anda gift of a purse of £700” by thecounty members of the Minersfederation of Great Britain in about1900 - Shropshire is one of theCounties listed.

Mining ‘refuge’The use of “refuges” underground asreferred to at Madeley Wood,Shropshire in “Below!” 2005.4 isbecoming a mining issue againfollowing three incidents (describedin Coal Magazine, March 2006). Onewas the rescue of one miner from a‘refuge’ at Sago Mine, USA, twodays after an explosion(unfortunately his 12 colleagues werefound dead). In January 72 potashminers were saved after beingtrapped in a ‘refuge’ for 30 hours in aCanadian mine, and recently threenickel miners in Tasmania survived afire because they found ‘refuge’ in achamber equipped with oxygencylinders, food and water.

Coal IndentureOn 19th April, 2006, an indenture(dated 1783) was offered for sale at aLudlow Auction. It related to thelease of an area of land at Asterley

for the purposes of extracting coaland slack, signatories were “JohnOliver of Shrewsbury, Gentleman”and “Richard Bennett, Edward Tiptonand Timothy Tipton, all colliers”. Thedocument described how theoperation was to work and the pricesto be paid for every load of coal andslack. Particularly, the colliers wereforbidden to convert the coal intocharcoal without the permission ofOliver who presumably could getmore for the coal by converting ithimself. The colliers were alsorequired to employ Oliver’s agrariantenants in the coal mining operation.The purchaser of the document is notknown to the writer.

Edge ChainsGlancing through a copy of the firstvolume of transactions of theMidland (Yorkshire) Institute ofMining Engineers, 1869-70 the writerwas surprised to find among thenames of 60 or so Yorkshire basedmining engineers, the name ofJ.Harris Edge - chain and ropemaker,Coalport, Shropshire*. Presumablyhe had business interests inYorkshire. His Company later movedto Shifnal from where it closed downin 1971. The writer has not found Mr.Edges’ name in the Shropshire/Staffsequivalent of the Midland Institute ofMining Engineers, and he seems tohave been a regular attendee at theYorkshire Institute. In more recentyears, Edges’ Company was operatedby British Ropes of Doncaster,Yorkshire!

[* There was a large waterwheelcomparable to the large Benthallwaterwheel, by the chain works atCoalport, although little has been writtenabout this large wheel. KL]

Engine Shaft SealedIn March 2006, English Partnershipspoured tonnes of concrete intoTrevenson Engine Shaft in Cornwallto cap it permanently. This wasdespite an attempt by BaseresultHoldings Ltd (who hope to re-openSouth Crofty Tin Mine) to preventthe shaft being sealed.

Mining Journal, April 13, 2006

China TunnelsChina is well known for its mineaccident record - but its just as bad intunnels. Recently 44 workers died inan explosion of gas in a 2,500m longroad tunnel being constructed nearChengdu. Days later 11 workersdrowned in a flash flood in a 7,879mrail tunnel under construction inHubei Province.

Tunnelling Journal,Jan/Feb. 2006 Issue 18

Computerised MiningDuring a talk given in Wakefieldrecently the chief electrical engineerfrom Dawmill Colliery, Leicester, 90miles away and 7 miles from pitbottom to the face underground, wasable to check the Eichoff coal cutter-loader, stop it, make ‘adjustments’and see it working again - all bymeans of a lap-top and a screen, infront of an audience of 80 members ofthe Institute of Mining Engineers.His co-lecturer was followingproceedings and giving his part ofthe talk via video link from theEichoff factory in Germany. Also onscreen was a register of themachine’s coal production. Duringthe one-hour talk it produced nearly800 tons despite stops fordemonstration purposes (about thesame tonnage a Shropshire pitproduced over 2 shifts in the 1950s).The old colliers would be bewilderedby all this modern stuff!

Gypsum MineA new underground mine for gypsumis being opened near Kingscourt inEire. Two drifts are being constructedalthough there have been water-problems. Two gypsum mines closedin this area in 1989 and since then allproduction has been from an openpit.

from Wakefield Express April 2006

“Below” 2006.2 3

A Cornish lifeboat man is to receivean award for his courage in rescuinga girl trapped in a sea cave in October2005.

Helmsman Gavin Forehead rescued aman and the girl when they becametrapped in a cave at Chapel Porth,near St Agnes, by huge waves.

The RNLI announced on Thursdaythat Mr Forehead, senior helmsmanon St Agnes’ inshore lifeboat, willreceive its prestigious silver medalfor gallantry.

The IncidentSt Agnes inshore lifeboat was calledto help on 16 October after FalmouthCoastguard received reports ofpeople in trouble at Chapel Porth,half a mile south of St Agnes Head.

Helmsman Forehead and his crewspotted four surfers in difficulty, twoof whom managed to return to shore.

But the other two, Chy Start-Walkerand her friend’s father JustinAdcock, were swept towards thecave. Two other surfers, TomRoberson and Jamie Kent, had alsospotted the group and were on theirway to offer help.

In a 6ft (2m) swell and Force Fourwinds, Mr Forehead manoeuvred thelifeboat into the cave and pulled Chyand Mr Adcock to safety.

At the time Mr Forehead said: “In my11 years of doing this, that was thetrickiest rescue I’ve been involved in.

“It was a situation where if we did

Award for RNLICave Rescuer

mess up we were going to make thesituation a lot worse.”

Crew members Rory Bushe andJames Watkins will each bepresented with the Thanks of theInstitution Inscribed on Vellum fortheir part in the rescue as will thesurfers Tom Roberson and JamieKent.

Howard Ramm, RNLI trainingdivisional inspector, said “HelmsmanForehead’s actions were trulyrepresentative of a helmsmancompletely in control of the situation.

“There is no doubt the actions of allconcerned saved the lives of a younggirl and a close family friend.”

from RNLI Newsand BBC Reports

The epic rescue of trapped goldminers Brant Webb and Todd Russellwas a magical moment for the smallTasmanian mining town ofBeaconsfield.

They had spent 14 days trappedalmost a kilometre under groundfollowing an earthquake.

The joy of this close-knit communityin northern Tasmania was temperedby the death of Larry Knight, aveteran miner who was killed in theearthquake that caused a devastatingcave-in on 25 April.

However, there is now doubt overthe mines future. Three separateinquiries are investigsating thedisaster and they will determine themine’s future.

The mine’s owners have said itwould reopen if it was safe and viableto do so. Seismic activity or mini-earthquakes in the area are pressingconcerns.

Last October there was a cave-in atthe Beaconsfield facility not far fromthe rock-fall that killed Larry Knightand trapped Todd Russell and BrantWebb.

If safety cannot be guaranteed thentheir triumphant rescue will be thefinal chapter in a century of goldmining in the town.

There are still rich seams to beexploited, but trade unions will insistthat commercial considerations mustnot cloud judgements on safety.

The mine is the community’seconomic heart, employing about10% of its population of 1,500 people.

Should the mine close a proposedpulp mill on the nearby Tamar Riverwould certainly help and locals areoptimistic that tourism in the regionwill continue to flourish. Wineriesand walking trails are already popularattractions. The mine itself could beanother irresistible draw for tourists(but for how long?).

The Miners

Todd Russell34, married with three children. Afterhe was rescued he wantedparamedics to stop off at a fast-foodoutlet. He also asked for newspapersto scan for other jobs and overtimepay!

Brant Webb37, married to his childhoodsweetheart. Also has three children,including teenage twins.

Both men were determined to walkout of the mine when rescued.

While the mine might be under threatthe two miners may well have nosuch worries about the future.

Their stories could be worth up toAU$2m (US$1.5m). They arehousehold names whose cheekygood humour has endeared them tomillions of Australians.

So much has been written and saidabout these two burly miners fromTasmania, but almost nothing hasbeen heard from them since theirgreat escape.

Australian TV heavyweightsChannels Seven and Nine arethought to be leading the chase foran exclusive deal, while newspaperreports suggest that US chat showqueen Oprah Winfrey is also in therunning.

from BBC Reports

Tasmanian Miners Rescued

4 “Below” 2006.2

In about 1895 J.C.Burrows publisheda book “Mongst Mines and Miners”,containing underground photos ofCornish mines. In his introduction herefers to similar photos being takenby H.W.Hughes of Dudley. In the1960s the writer tried to findinformation about these, but Dudleylibrary and museum said they knewnothing of them. In the 1970s thewriter obtained a copy of Hughes’book “A textbook of Coal Mining”,(published 1892) which did containabout 6 excellent pictures.

During the 1984/5 strike the writerheard of a young married miner (PaulBracken) of Doncaster who had a setof old glass plates with miningpictures on them which he wished tosell to raise badly needed funds. IJBvisited him to see if the YorkshireMining Museum could buy them. Itdid not prove possible to buy them atthat time, but suggestions were madeas to how they might be used to raisefunds, such as getting thempublished (Harry Parker Sheffield StarNewspaper, NUM or Mining Journaletc.). Eventually 16 of them werepublished by the “Yorkshire Miner”,

Early Mine Photos of the West Midlands,Dudley Area

Postcard No.8: “Fixing Timber Props” and Photo 2 of H.W.Hughes’book 1892.

journal of the NUM Yorkshire Area,as a set of postcards. Whathappened to the original glass platesis not yet known.

More recently, because there isnothing otherwise stated on thepostcards the pictures have beenclaimed to be scenes underground inYorkshire, but they are not.Reference back to Hughes’ bookshows that at least 3 of them were

used in this book, for examplepostcards No.8 & 10 are shown onplate 2 (opposite page 155) and theyhave “H.W.Hughes Photo” printedunderneath.

The pictures on the glass plates usedfor the Yorkshire postcards aretherefore definitely Hughes’ butwhere now are Paul Bracken’s glassplates?

Ivor Brown

New role for coal?Technology challengeSoaring oil and gas prices havehelped fuel a revival of interest incoal, which currently provides abouta third of all electricity generated inthe UK.

So, too, has growing confidence inso-called clean coal technology,which would allow coal-burningpower stations to drastically reducegreenhouse emissions such ascarbon dioxide, allowing them to meetenvironmental legislation.

One firm, Scottish and SouthernEnergy is about to develop a cleanercoal plant for its Ferrybridge PowerStation in West Yorkshire. But whatremains to be seen is how much ofthe coal burnt at these ‘cleaner’power stations will be mined in theUK.

According to Department of Tradeand Industry figures British coal

production rose 8.2% in the firstquarter of 2006, and the industryestimates that at current rates ofexcavation coal reserves should lastup to 30 years. UK Coal, thecountry’s biggest producer,estimates that at least another 100million tonnes lies nearer the surfaceand could be obtained throughopencast mining - if planningpermission were given.

Coal Mining FiguresOnly six coal mines currently remainopen, employing about 3,000 staffand an estimated 10,000 in relatedservices.

The current annual coal output of 21million tones is about half of the 1995levels.

The NUM now has just 2,000members compared with 183,000 atthe time of the 1984-5 Miners Strike.

Over the weekend of 8th-9th Julyabout 50,000 people lined the streetsof Durham City for the traditionalMiners’ Gala - the 122nd in itshistory.

The event, which began as amemorial to miners who died workingin the pits, used to attract crowd ofover 300,000 in the 1950s and 1960s.Since then, as in other former coalindustry heartlands, its relevance tomany local people has drifted. Thestar attraction of this year’s gala wasX-Factor duo “Journey South” notArthur Scargill or another trenchantunion leader.

While there is no prospect of it evencoming close to its former importancein areas such as the North-East, thegovernment’s energy reviewsuggests there could still a role forcoal - even coal mined in the UK, aspart of the nation’s long-term energypolicy.

“Below” 2006.2 5

Wolverhampton Air Raid Shelterto be Preserved in Concrete

Wolverhampton City planners arecontemplating “preserving” the airraid shelter on Tettenhall Green,Wolverhampton by filling it withconcrete in a project estimated tocost about £40,000.

Wolverhampton Civic Society,Woodthorne Primary School, KingsSchool Tettenhall and local residentsare concerned about the “infilling”and believe a golden opportunity isbeing lost and money wasted. Theschools see it as a valuableeducational tool and residents feel itis an important part of their heritage.

The air-raid shelter dates from WorldWar II and runs under the corner ofTettenhall Green by the PelicanCrossing at the junction of Wergs

Road and the lower part of the HighStreet.

There are two entrances: one by thetraffic lights at the foot of the stepsleading up to the Memorial Clock(which is on top of the shelter) andthe other around the corner.

If you stand on Upper Green near tothe Memorial Clock, the outline of theshelter can easily be traced - there isa definite ‘bank’ towards that cornerof the Green. A manhole cover in thegrass marks the site of a safety hatchin the shelter roof.

One of the problems for the shelter isthe trees that have grown up on topof it (including the Christmas treewhich is illuminated each year) havedestabilised the roof with their roots.

The current plan for the shelter is tofill it with foam concrete (which isclaimed to be a reversible method), sothat in the future it could be re-opened. The entrances will then bepreserved and reinforced and thetrees protected. Plaques will then befixed on the doors.

Wildlife conservationists areconcerned that a valuable bat habitatmight be lost, and until a bat surveyhas been done on the site, nothingwill happen to the shelter.

The plans for this shelter have alsoprompted calls from heritage groupsto conduct a complete survey of allsurviving shelters inWolverhampton.

Left: The entranceto the shelter onWergs Road.

It is interesting tonote that all thewalls around thisside of the Green atTettenhall aremade from high-temperature blastfurnace slag - thisis quite common inthis area ofWolverhampton,despite the nearestblast furnacesbeing on the other side of the city !

Below: View across Wergs Road ofthe air-raid shelter, the WarMemorial clock and Pelicancrossing lights.

Below: The entrance to the shelter in High Street,Tettenhall, with the Green behind.

Pictures: Kelvin Lake - I.A

.Recordings, 2006

6 “Below” 2006.2

News Round-Up

Vietnamese ExplosionEight miners were killed on Monday6th March in an explosion at a coalmine in northern Vietnam that wasbelieved to have been caused bymethane gas. Rescuers in QuangNinh province, 190km (120 miles) eastof Hanoi, recovered the bodies afterconducting a five-hour search.

The miners were only 15 minutes intotheir shift when the suspectedexplosion from a methane pocketoccurred.

Quang Ninh is the country’s maincoal-producing region. The country’sworst mining accident, which killed16 workers, also occurred in QuangNinh, in 1999.

Coal exports earned Vietnam a record$658m (£376m) in 2005, with Chinaand Japan the main destinations.

BBC News report7th March 2006

Tunnel Roof-fallCrushes Woman

Milena Delvalle died when concreteceiling panels fell on her car as shewas driving through the network ofunderground roads in Boston, USAon the evening of Monday 10th July.

A multi-ton chunk of concrete fellfrom a ceiling in part of the city’smassive network of undergroundroads, crushing Mrs Delvalle (38) andslightly injuring her husband AngelDelvalle.

Some of the road tunnels are nowclosed. The accident has raised freshdoubts about the city’s $14bn “BigDig”, the largest public works projectin US history.

The Big Dig dates from the late 1980sand has been plagued by problemsincluding flooding in 2004.

Following the accident, inspectorswere examining 17 other sites in theroad network where construction wassimilar to the section that failed.

It is expected to be several daysbefore the New England city’sturnpike tunnels are fully open again.

BBC News report11th July 2006

Woman Rescued AfterDevon Cave Fall

Emily Seleck was helping on a tripwith Kingsbridge Community Collegewhen she fell about 3m (10ft) near thebottom of Pridhamsleigh Caves,Buckfastleigh on Tuesday 20th June.

The 19-year-old, from Kingsbridge,sustained possible spinal injuries inthe fall and was airlifted to hospital.

About 30 members of Devon CaveRescue Organisation (DCRO) wereassisted by Devon Fire and RescueService, Westcountry Ambulanceand paramedics during the three-and-a-half hour-long rescue.

She fell when she was near thebottom of the cave. A warm air heaterwas taken below ground to preventhypothermia during the rescue.

The school party had been cavingwith a qualified instructor and thecaves are regularly used for cavingactivities and are considered to besafe.

BBC News report20th June 2006

China Clay Job cutsImerys, the French owned Chine Claycompany (that took over EnglishChina Clays) plans to cut 800 jobs inDevon and Cornwall as part of areorganisation. The firm is blaminghigh energy prices, a weak dollar andstrong overseas competition forsignificant losses.

More than 700 jobs will go inCornwall and up-to 85 jobs will go inDevon as the company closes its pitat Lee Moor (near Plymouth).

The 800 redundancies amount toalmost half of the French company’s2,000-strong workforce in the region.It is Cornwall’s largest privateemployer.

Some of the current operationscarried out in Cornwall will be movedto Brazil. Imerys has added that it isto invest £25m in Cornwall over thenext two years to secure itsoperations there.

China ClayAlso known as kaolin:• A traditional use is to soothe an

upset stomach.• Used in ceramics and bricks.• As an insecticide, food additive

and toothpaste ingredient.• Largest use is in the production of

glossy paper.

The china clay industry in Cornwallwas started 260 years ago this yearby English China Clays, which wastaken over by Imerys in 1999 for£756m.

BBC News report5th July 2006

Carbon StorageOne method of reducing carbondioxide emissions from coal firedpower stations is to capture the gas,liquify it and then store it inunderground voids such as depletedoil and gas fields.

Even environmental groups such asFriends of the Earth, have concededthat carbon storage has its pluspoints, even if it is only to “buy time”until greener methods are put inplace.

Geevor Lottery BidThe Heritage Lottery Fund hasapproved a £3.8m bid for buildingrestoration work and the creation of amajor new museum at Geevor. It willalso include work on the biodiversityof the site in conjunction with theNational Trust.

The project is a partnership betweenPendeen Community Heritage, thesite managers, Cornwall CountyCouncil, the site owners, PenwithDistrict Council and the NationalTrust; with 20% of the funding fromObjective One European funding and6.5% from the County and DistrictCouncils.

They expect to complete the projectby September.

NAMHO Newsletter, June 2006

“Below” 2006.2 7

Mining Incidents in Shropshire - Oakengates Railway Tunnel,Part 2 by Ivor Brown

(e) In 1856 the Greyhound Pits (SJ69869 10210) were sunk to thesouth of Holyhead Road andabout 30 yards from theGreyhound Tunnel. The shaftpassed through Threequarter Coal(18in), Yard Coal (3ft.), YellowMeasure Ironstone, ‘Clear’ Coal(2ft. 6in), New Mine Coal (4ft. 7in.),‘Clear’ Coal (3ft.), Two Foot Coal,Best & Randal Coal (2ft. 8½in. and3ft. 8in., giving about 6ft. 10. total).They found that the Double Coal,Blue Flats Ironstone and Flint Coalhad already been worked.

By late 1856 John Bennett, mineowner who had bought the mineralrights in the area made known hisintention to work the mineralbeneath the tunnel, but the Tunnelowners objected and the casewent to arbitration in 1858, thedocuments concerning this are inthe County Archives (see page 9).

(f) In 1857 an Act of Parliament wasobtained to convert theShropshire Canalinto a railway (laterLMS Railway) andthis was completedby 1861. At theGreyhound the newrailway actually ranat the same level as,but immediatelyalongside, the canalso that the “shorttunnel” was muchaltered by widening.

In the 1970s rushescould still be seengrowing in the oldcanal bed alongsidethe track and part ofthe original canaltunnel remainedadjacent to the laterrailway bridge.Research showedthat, in parts, the topof the 1850Greyhound Tunnelwas only about 3mbelow the 1861railway bed. The

1861 railway line was closed in1966 and the track lifted.

(g) In 1972 it was proposed toconstruct the New Town’s EasternCentral Primary Road (now calledQueensway) on an embankmentroughly along the line of 1861(now disused) railway and to forman interchange with the A5(Holyhead Road) over the 1850Tunnel. In order to determine thesituation regarding old workingsin the coal and ironstone seams itwas decided to put down anumber of 35m deep exploratorybore-holes. To ensure that none ofthese drilled through a passingtrain in the tunnel (as hadhappened recently in SouthernEngland) British Rail wereapproached for plans showing theposition of the tunnelunderground. This they said theycould not (or would not) provide,but they did give permission forthe tunnel to be surveyed in theearly hours of a Sunday morning.

This was done and several holeswere drilled successfully (note 2)which showed that the seamswithin the depth of this hole hadbeen worked at some time.

The results of the arbitration of1858 are not known to the writer,that is, whether Bennett got hiscompensation for not workingunder the tunnel or whether he didnot proceed with the project - butwhat is known is that most of theseams had in fact already beenworked!The evidence of witnesses at theArbitration do however give muchinteresting information on themining conditions and techniquesof the period (see page 9).

(h) About 1980 the new roads wereconstructed and the 1850 railwaytunnel continues to be used tothis day (2006), despite the closeproximity of numerous old mineshafts and extensive mineworkings. The present writer was

Above: Tractor mounted Dando 250 compressed air drill in action, operated bySabre Drilling Co.

*

*

8 “Below” 2006.2

Mining Incidents in Shropshire - Oakengates Railway Tunnel,Part 2 continued ...

not involved in the laterinvestigation works or in anyremedial measures undertaken.

Note 1The Greyhound Pit, sunk 1856 wasstill open in 1891, the shafts wereabout 270ft. deep to Little Flints (seeShaft Section below). They were both7ft. 6in. diameter and had a platformat 198ft. down, the level for workingthe New Mine Coal (Sulphur orStinking Coal). The abandonmentplans show that the PennystoneIronstone was also worked. The mineprobably closed in the 1890s.

Note 2In total 7 deep holes were put downbetween The Greyhound and StationHill, mainly along the disused LMSrailway track. There was up to 20mthickness of spoil and drift deposits,two geological faults, evidence oflandslip and rubble mainly fromSnedshill Marl Quarry and workedseams of coal and ironstone. TheQueensway now follows this route,preliminary drilling was done by atractor mounted Dando 250compressed air drill operated bySabre Drilling Co. Below: The tractor mounted Dando 250 compressed air drill passing

over the level crossing on Station Hill, Oakengates.

Greyhound Shaft Section(from 1970 Borings and 1928 Geological Survey Memoir)

Measures c100 - 0 (ft. and inches)Top Coal 3 - 0Measures (with 3/4 coal) 10 - 4Double Coal 4 - 7Measures (with Yellowstone) 4 - 11Yard Coal 3 - 0Measures (with Blue/white flatstones) 35 - 0Flint Coal 4 - 0Measures (with Pennystone) 35 - 8Measures (with Stinking Coal) 12 - 10Clunch & Two Foot Coal 12 - 2Measures 0 - 4BR & Clod Coals (with dirt parting) 8 - 2Measures 24 - 10Little Flint Coal 1 - 6

About 270 ft.

“Below” 2006.2 9

Mining Incidents in Shropshire - Oakengates Railway Tunnel,Part 2 continued ...

10 “Below” 2006.2

The Greyhound Tunnel Mineral Dispute,by Ivor Brown

It would appear that when the GreatWestern Railway Company boughtthe land for the railway and tunnelfrom J.Charlton in 1847 the Companywould not buy the minerals becausethey thought he was asking toomuch. The Company thenconstructed the tunnel and it cameinto use in 1850.

In 1852 John Bennett leased theCharlton Estate and in 1856 he is saidto have purchased the minerals.Three months later Bennett informedthe Company of his purchase andintention to work under the tunnel.

A shaft was sunk and someinvestigation carried out. A numberof seams of coal and ironstone wereidentified as suitable for working butsome others had already beenworked.

In his evidence he gives much usefulinformation on mining at the time andabout the nearby mines. Theevidence is all about how muchmoney he would expect to makeworking under the tunnel. His minewould have to be put out to contract,the “charter” would include a pricefor all expenses of labour, candles,grease, oil, etc.. and costs of raisingthe coal to surface. He would providedrains, square and tackle, enginepower, ropes, gins and rails. Onemonths notice was necessary in suchcontracts.

Units of WeightThe units of weights used were, forcoal, tons and cwts. 1 ton is equal to2,520 lbs (for use in royaltypayments), for large purchasers thereare 120 lb per cwt, while for small it is112 lb per cwt. For ironstone theunits were dozens, stacks anddraughts, “one dozen” varies withthe seam of ironstone. InYellowstone 1 dozen is a stack 2 ft. 4in. high, 6ft. 6 in. square containingabout 4 ton 8 cwt.

In charters Bennett would expect thecharter-price to be; for ThreequartersCoal, about 5/- per ton, Yard Coal 2/3d per ton, Clear Coal 9/2d per ton for

large lumps, 8/4d for small, New Mineabout 2/3d. Charters normallyincluded everywhere within 150 yardof the shafts. Selling price is oftentwice the charter price e.g. 4/- charterwould sell at 8/- per ton.

There was some disagreement on thevalue of slack coal, Bennett thoughthe could sell it (proportion of slack tocoal was 1/6 or 1/7) for about 10d perton. A Mr. Baugh, for the Company,said he did not think slack would sell- there was a “heap within 100 yardsof his dwelling, it set fire andconsumed itself”.

In a charter the PennystoneIronstone at nearby Birches Pit, wasa seam about 6ft. thick which gave3,500 tons to an acre; for the Top Bedit was about 10/- per dozen, for theBottom or Lower it was about 14/- perdozen.

The Yellowstone Ironstone (whichBennett intended to work) wasconsidered the finest in theneighbourhood “so rich they nevercould work it until they got the hotair (Neilsons Process), it did notproduce enough cinder to flux thework” it “consists of one measure 8to 9 inches thick or 7 or 8 inches, 6cwt to a square yard sold at 17/- perton”. Charterprice was usually 6/3dper ton or 12/6d a dozen. The stonelost one quarter to one third incalcining but this adds value of 2/6dper ton.

Working at the MinesThe evidence describes workings atBirches Pit, Owens Pit, Ketley Pit,Peplows Pot, Mad Nannys, RoundHouse and the Nabb.

At Ketley Pit for example, they had 7miners holing and breaking in thePennystone Seam, 3 were getting(called ‘bondsmen’) and 2 heading,“The 2 headers get more stone thanthe 3 get out in one day”. Headerswere paid by the yard. The workingwas 7 yards high (in Pennystone),pillars 3 yards long and 2 to 3 yardswide. The stalls were 7 yards wide.

Mr. Peplow (of Peplows Pit) haddriven a horse gin since 6 or 7 yearsof age, “he now employs one manand a boy underground”.

One of the experts called, a Mr.Woodhouse of Derby, said he hadbeen down the Greyhound andOwens Pits “but not Peplows - it wasa very bad winding chain, I dare notgo”.

One expert claimed that Bennettwould not be able to work the fullthickness of Stinking Coal since itwas usual “to leave one foot in thetops lest the roof would come in”.

Mining WisdomSome pearls of mining wisdom werealso provided;1. Pennystone yields 1 ton of rough

iron for each 3 ton of stone used.2. A shaft pillar for a pair of shafts

should be nearly ¼ acre.3. Spoil heaps were limited to a height

of 15ft. (no reason given).4. Gob (waste material in the mine)

fills twice its original volume until itis again pressurised with time.

5. When a (cubic) yard comes to thesurface it becomes 2 ‘cubic’ yards.

6. You cannot take more than onefourth of a seam without “movingthe surface” i.e. subsidence.

7. Pillars are often taken out when apit is to be abandoned.

“Below” 2006.2 11

What the Journals Were Saying100 years ago - The Worst Pit Disaster

A colliery disaster which beats all previous recordsso far as the death-roll is concerned occurred onSaturday in the Courrieres Mine, near Lens, in thePas de Calais district, and resulted in a loss of over1,200 lives. The disas-ter is attributed to a greatfall of coal being immediately followed by atremendous explosion of gas, a fearful burst offire, and the usual spread of deadly afterdamp.

The day shift of about 1,800 men descended themine at six o'clock, and it was a little before seveno'clock, or shortly after the men had begun work,that the explosion occurred. The dull subterraneanthunder of the explosion was plainly heardthroughout the little mining town of Courrieres,which has a population of rather more than 4,000,chiefly composed of miners' families. For a longtime, owing to the fact that the great tongues offlame shot upward from the pit shafts, and thatsubsequently the whole pit was permeated withthe suffocating after-damp, it was quite impossibleto take any steps to ascertain the extent of thecatastrophe, to say nothing of forming rescueparties.

The difficult and dangerous work of recoveringthe bodies of the dead and searching for any menstill alive was continued through-out Saturdaynight. A crowd of about 20,000 people, many ofthem wives and children of the men who were atwork when the disaster occurred, watched theoperations. The re-turn of each party of searcherswas awaited with the most intense anxiety, andwhen it was seen that there were none of the livingamongst those brought from the pit there wereheartrending cries of grief and disap-pointment.The searchers were greatly hindered by the intenseheat in the pits. One of the rescuers who wentdown the shaft said that the scene recalled one ofthe battle-fields of 1870. Dead and woundedwere everywhere. The scenes below were of themost awful de-scription. Bodies were found lyingin heaps, and the groans issuing from these ghastlymounds showed that living men wore there. Theworking parties did their best to rescue thosesurvivors, but in many cases they could not reach

WELLINGTON JOURNAL & SHREWSBURY NEWS, MARCH 17, 1906FRENCH MINE DISASTER - OVER A THOUSAND DEATHS

them, and had to leave them to their fate. By 6 p.m.400 men had been rescued. It was then foundimpossible to proceed further, the galleries havingfallen in, and the work of rescue was reluctantlyabandoned.

Reuter's Lille correspondent, telegraphing onSunday evening, says:— The cause of the disasteris difficult to state. The theory is advanced nowthat it was caused by a mixture of explosive gasescoming into contact with an open miner's light,resulting in an explosion which set fire to the coaldust. Some, however, are of opinion that fire-damp was the real cause, or possibly the collapseof some of the barriers created to cope with thefire which broke out recently in the Cour-rieresmine, where the men have always worked withnaked lights.

It is officially stated that the victims of the disasternumber 1,219.

FRENCH MINE DISASTER.RESCUED AFTER TWENTY DAYS

A Reuter’s telegram of yesterday mentions a mostextraordinary circumstance connected with theterrible mining accident at Lens, France.

It says:- “Fourteen miners have just been broughtup alive from Shaft No. 2 of the CourrieresMines, where they had been entombed since thecatastrophe three weeks ago. They have keptthemselves alive with food left by their deadcomrades and on oats which they found in thehorses’ stables. They are all seemingly in a goodcondition of health, except one man, who hassuffered much from entombment and privation."

MARCH 31, 1906

12 “Below” 2006.2

The NCB Full-face Tunnelling Machineby Ivor Brown

The development of this machine, amonster 18ft. diameter and 180ft.long, which still survivesunderground, began in 1959. It wasdesigned and built by the NCB’sMining Research and DevelopmentEstablishment (M.R.D.E.) at Bretby.It’s first trials were carried out atSwadlincote Test Site, Derbyshire. In1961 the machine was tested in rock“the hardness of PennantSandstone” at Cloud Hill Quarry,Breedon, Leicestershire, where it issaid to have cut 90ft. in a singleweek. In 1962 it was re-erected in aprepared underground chamber atthe Dragonby Ironstone Mine,Scunthorpe.

Here it was to drive “a 2-mile tunnelthrough a 30ft. seam of ironstone.” (Itcould not be tested in a coal mine asit did not yet have a “flameproofcertificate”). The writer first saw it atDragonby in July 1964 when it waspartly dismantled for adaptionpurposes.

The whole of the face of the machinerotated. It had two contra-rotatingheads, the inner head being 9ft.diameter and the outer 18ft. diameter.The outer head was driven by threeidentical motors, the inner by a single120kW motor. Initially each head wasfitted with roller cutters (as used inwell-drilling) but later some rollerswere replaced by disc cutters. Behindthe head was a static roof shield, the

whole machine was moved forwardby hydraulic thrust cylinders whichreacted between the fixed head andthe anchor unit.

In all there were 22 motors on board,of total 1334.5kW, for cutter drives(4), horizontal steering and anchor,vertical steering and advance, rearsupport jacks, roof bolter, machineconveyor, oil pump, compressordrive (4), compressor coolers (4),ventilation (2), dust extraction andoutbye conveyor drives (see Figure2).

The 1967 MRDE Report said that themachine had been re-equipped with“20 disc and 11 roller cutters”, themachine was still working but “nogreat length of drivage had beenachieved because of the extremewetness of the site”. During testshowever a maximum advance rate of4.15 metres per hour (13 feet 7 inchesper hour) had been achieved. Thecomplete machine weighed about 350tons and is about 120ft. long,excluding the loading arrangementsat the back.

The Report for 1968/69 says that themachine was cutting the ore withoutdifficulty and the general handlingand steerage was good. However theplate-conveyors for removing thedebris had finally broken downowing to the wet conditions and themachine had been stopped. Straight

belt conveyors had been deliveredfor running over the top of themachine and its tail-end sledge. Inaddition new loading-out blades hadbeen delivered to load on to thestraight-belt centrally on top of themachine. To fit them however anaccess tunnel had had to be driven tothe front of the machine. A majorproblem with the machine seems tohave been that the removal of debriscould not keep up with the rate ofcutting. Trials with the machine seemto have ended in late 1969, when “thepressing need for major-tunnelling inthe NCB was reduced” but the NCBstated that valuable experience hadbeen gained by these trials. Themachine was left on site more or lessintact (see Figure 1, below).

In February 2006 the writer was ableto visit the machine underground atDragonby but it was found to be in avery rusty condition. It can beexamined from the back, along theside (on metal walkways) and fromthe front using the access tunnelmentioned above. This tunnel seemsto have been increased in dimensionto those of the normal tunnels in themine, some 20ft. x 20ft. There isevidence that the machine must havebeen drawn back some way so thatthe access tunnel could cut throughit’s tunnel although this is notmentioned in any of the reports. Thecomplete circular walls of the tunnelare standing well. However, because

Figure 1

“Below” 2006.2 13

The NCB Full-face Tunnelling Machinecontinued ...

of the generally confined space andshort distance views it is difficult togain a good impression of the scaleof the machine - or to take decentphotographs!

Dragonby Mine (opened in 1950) wasmerged with the original SantonIronstone Mine (opened in 1938) in1969 and the combined operationceased production in 1981. Theworkings were reopened forinspection and safety purposes in1984 and have been in use since as

the principal source of water forScunthorpe Works.

As stated above the tunnellingmachine is still in place, but graduallyrusting away. It survives withvarious other items of the 1960s and70s era, gathering arm loaders, trucksetc. The machine is probably thesecond “largest” surviving mineralexcavator in Britain at 120ft. long and350 ton weight. Only the walkingdraglines are larger.

References

1. Rees P.B. etc al. Full FaceTunnelling machines in Tunnelling76 Conference organised by Inst.Min. Met. London.

2. Hay J.D. et al. The BretbyTunnelling Machine, Proc. I.C.E.Vol. 119, 1959-60 pp 649-674.

3. Hughes H.M. MechanisedStonework, Min. Eng. Vol.128.Sept. 1969.

4. NCB MRDE Annual Reports.

Figure 2

Tunnelling Machine asOriginally Designed

Pit tribute to anti-Franco miners A ceremony marking the sacrifice ofWelsh miner volunteers in theSpanish civil war and a plaquecommemorating their struggle wasunveiled at Big Pit, Blaenavon, onSunday 16th July.

An estimated 300 people from Walesenlisted in the International Brigades,fighting Franco in Spain during the1930s to support the fledglingSpanish republic. Almost everyWelsh mining community had an aid-for-Spain group.

The ceremony is the latest in thecampaign by the InternationalBrigades Memorial Trust (IBMT) formore recognition of Britishvolunteers in their fight againstFranco’s fascist movement in 1930sSpain.

An estimated 45,000 internationalvolunteers from 54 countries, signedup. More than 500,000 people died inthe civil war, about 200,000 of them incombat.

BBC News Reports17th July 2006

Checking through old newspaperitems with a view to adding them tothe web site, I came across thereference below to Cwmdyle mine onSnowden. Does anyone know exactlywhere this mines was/is ?

Kelvin

Snowden Mine

The Cwmdyle mine, near the summitof Snowdon, is likely to turn out tobe a profitable speculation, a lode ofcopper, several feet in thicknesshaving been discovered.

The Illustrated London NewsDecember 5th, 1857.

14 “Below” 2006.2

In April several Club members, whoare also members of the MiningHeritage Trust of Ireland visited anumber of mining sites in the SouthWest corner of Ireland around Bantryand Allihies.

One of the interesting sites visitedwas the remote Gortavallig coppermine on the Sheep’s Head Peninsula(NGR V 763 374). It’s quite a lengthydrive along narrow country lanes toreach a small slipway at NGR V 762366.

After a 20 minute walk along thecoastal Sheep’s Head Way you reachthe main mine site. En-route you passwhat appears to be a coastal slatequarry, where material was loadeddirectly into boats, plus at least oneopen mine shaft.

Approaching the mine site you passa row of 9 derelict miners cottages,with an open shaft behind them. It isclaimed that by 1847, fifty peoplewere employed here, but they hadnot raised any ore1.

Just past the houses, a narrow cliffpath with a rope handrail takeswalkers about 60m above a smallcove with a miners path that leads to2 adit entrances (one of them runsunder the cliffs below the cottages -I’ve called this one ”Barracks” adit;and the other runs in the oppositedirection under the mine reservoir -“Reservoir” adit. Near the base of thecliffs, almost at sea level is the site ofa dressing floor.

In the 1840sSolicitorWilliam Connelland Partners(who wereworkingCoosheenCopper mine inthe 1830s)commissionedan unnamedCornish Miner to conduct a mineralsurvey along the coast of TheSheep’s Head. He discovered strongmineralisation in the cliffs atGortavallig. During 1845 Connell setup a holding company, the“Gortavallig Mining Co.” with 1,000£1 shares and acquired the mineralrights there.

Des Cowman1 refers to a ratherdubious arrangement that took placefollowing this, where a secondcompany the “Southern and WesternMining Company of Ireland” wasformed (with the same partners as thefirst company!). This new companythen agreed to buy their own mine for£20,000. The company was to be

bought out in 10,000 shares of £15each with a deposit of £2 10/-

The Mining Journal hailed this as“the rising dawn of prosperity andgreatness”.

It seems that only 20% of the shareswere sold. Most of this money wasthen spent on obtaining a RoyalCharter which it is claimed, uniquelyexcluded each shareholder frompersonal liability for company debts.

If you keep to the cliff path you reachthe mine reservoir and a series ofshafts and small open stopes. Theseappear to connect to the “Reservoir”adit.

Gortavallig Copper Mine,Sheeps Head Peninsula, Ireland

An open shaft and multi-lingualwarning sign on the cliff pathleading to Gortavallig Mine.

Pictures: Kelvin Lake - I.A.Recordings, 2006

Below Right: The mine reservoir - the dressing floor is at the bottom of the cliffs to the left.

Below: Remains of some of the Miners Cottages

“Below” 2006.2 15

By 1848, it is claimed 88 tons of orehad been loaded from the dock at thebase of the cliffs. This dock wasactually built by tipping the wastefrom the mine into the sea betweenpurpose built walls. However due togeological faults the mine had closedby late 1848 or early 1849.

An attempt was made to restart it inthe 1850s, but was unsuccessful. Itdid operate briefly in the early 1860swhen Captain John Penrose (fromBrowhead mine) was put in chargeand sinking below the old adit wasstarted (after drawing up a plan of theold workings), but there is no recordof ore sales.

At the site today, the obviousremains are the shafts, open stopesand the reservoir. A trip down the oldminers path leads to two cliff adits.

“Reservoir” adit has a couple ofwinzes and some over-hand stoping.On the visit Martin Critchley of theMHTI traversed round the wallabove the second winze to reach thecontinuation of the level - from thishe was able to communicate to otherson the surface through an openstope and another shaft. Along thelevel there was some evidence ofmineralisation and plenty ofsecondary copper staining too.

“Barracks” adit initially lead into alarge chamber with a possible winzeor ore chute in the floor, thencontinued, passing under the shaftnear the miners cottages through asmall stope with stacked deads untilending at a couple of headings whichwere obviously driven to try and re-locate the vein. One of these levelswas hand-cut with very distinct pickmarks.

There is a rectangular outlet from thereservoir which is reputed to havefed a waterwheel about 60m down thecliff, where it drove the stamps.However it seems a very large dropto be directly powering a waterwheel.

References1. The Abandoned Mines of West

Carbery, D.Cowman and T.A.Reilly,GSI 1988

2. The Mines of Ireland, TonyOldham, 2005

Left: Martin Critchley after traversingthe second winze in the “Reservoir”adit.

Below: View along the “Reservoir”adit, past a cross-cut towards thesecond winze. Note the smallstoping over-head.

Below: Mathew Parkeslooking at the “bent”timbers under thestacked deads in“Barracks” adit.

Bottom: Peter Egglestonexamining the pickmarks near the inbyeend of “Barracks” adit

Gortavallig Copper Mine,Sheeps Head Peninsula, Ireland

16 “Below” 2006.2

Employment at Shropshire’s Biggest CollieriesOver the Last Century, by Ivor Brown

(Collieries with over 100 employees at 10 year intervals)1

1894 1905 1915 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975(a)3 Hanwood 132 122 89 258 143 closed 1940(b) Highley (Alverley) 181 307 328 505 582 851 1030 796 closed 1969(b) Kinlet 18 386 265 270 270 closed 1936

Billingsley - 29 203 closed 1921(c) Freehold 19 203 89 346 closed 1928(c) Grange 283 244 204 212 150 151 closed 1952(c) Granville 211 272 284 342 336 295 570 587 576 closed 1979(c) Overton*2 139 closed before 1905(c) Stafford 230 385 139 131 closed 1925(c) Woodhouse 223 374 570 700 503 closed 1940(d) Kemberton* 217 465 478 586 462 635 690 518 closed 1967(d) Meadow 113 50 82 closed 1920(d) Halesfield* 183 87 82 closed 1925(e) Madeley Court* 102 small numbers to 1920(c) Barracks 100 closed 1902

Totals 2151 2631 2763 3466 2446 1932 2290 1901 576

Notes5. National Grid References for mines in the Coalbrookdale

Coalfield are:Lilleshall Co.Freehold: SJ 717 134Grange: SJ 712 114Granville: SJ 725 120Overtons: SJ 711 115Stafford: SJ 715 091Woodhouse: SJ 713 103Barracks (Waxhill): SJ 716 129

Madeley Wood CompanyKemberton: SJ 712 055Halesfield: SJ 704 051Meadow: SJ 690 040

Madeley Court Co.No.16 (Guests): SJ 701 053

6. Ifton Colliery was a small mine in Shropshire until the1920s when it was connected with Brynkinallt Mine inWales. For some time both mines were at work but in the1940s men were transferred to Ifton and this was thename given to the joint operation.

Employment since this time has been:1950: 9471955: 12301960: 12601965: 1000

The mine closed in November 1968, it had beenShropshire’s largest colliery.

1. Excludes Ifton Colliery (mainly in Wales)

2. Asterisk (*) indicates also worked ironstone and/orfireclay

3. Owners:(a) Hanwood Collieries(b) Highley Colliery Company(c) Lilleshall Company(d) Madeley Wood Company(e) Madeley Court Company

4. In 1894 over 43% of the mining labour force worked atthe bigger pits, but after massive closures of the pitsemploying 25 to 99 men after the mid 1920s, over 90%worked in the bigger pits.

No. of Mines OperatingPit size 1914 1925 1945over 100 employees 10 9 425 to 99 employees 6 1 3less than 25 employees 33 41 14

“Below” 2006.2 17

Snailbeach Fun Dayand Open Day

Over the weekend of 15th and 16thJuly two events were held atSnailbeach at which Club and MinesTrust members helped out.

On the Saturday, local villagers helda “Victorian Fun Day” on the site.Members were involved in takingpeople into Day Level and in settingup various activities around thebuildings. The “side-shows”included a “greasy-pole” - built andmanned by Andy Yapp, “the stocks”- which seemed VERY popular withchildren who insisted in putting theirparents (mainly fathers) in them andthen getting very vicious with wetsponges!

Combined with the excellent weather,the day was a big success.

This was followed on the Sundaywith an Open Day at the mine. Manylocals who had been at the Fun day,returned for trips into Perkins Level,plus a large number of visitors to thearea.

Trips ran virtually non-stop intoPerkins Level - some of us barely hadchance to get down to the village hallfor a cup of tea and a cake!

Edwin Thorpe and Steve Holdinggave the Perry a thorough testing,while waiting for customers at DayLevel

Adrian and Stephen Pearce provideda “supporting” role at Day Level

Right: Andy Yappsupervising the“Geasy pole”

Right: NickSouthwick,managed toentice severalunsuspectingfathers into thethe stocks!

Below: Enjoying the atmosphere around Georges shaft.Below, right: the barbecue queue at the Miners Dry

18 “Below” 2006.2

Book Reviews

The Coal Industry in theLlynfi Valley

By David Lewis 160pp price £16.99

The book traces the development ofthe Coal Industry in the valley,looking at its geologicalcharacteristics, the entrepreneurs ColJohn North and Sir Alfred Jones,transport systems, disputes andindustrial growth.

There are details and photos of thefollowing Collieries: CaedefaidColliery, Caerau Colliery, CoegnantColliery, Garth Colliery, MaestegColliery, Oakwood Colliery, St JohnsColliery and details of smaller minesin the area.

Mike Moore,www.moorebooks.co.uk

Geevor ExhibitionThere will be a new exhibition atGeevor from the 6th to the 18thAugust 2006. Organised by the St.Just Mines Research Group andPendeen Community Heritage andsupported by St. Austell Brewery,the exhibition is called ‘GEEVOR - AMINER’S VIEW’. It uses some ofthe huge wealth of photographstaken by the miners of Geevor aboveand below ground up to the finalclosure of the mine in 1990.

Admission to the exhibition is free. Itis open from 10.00am to 4pm. Pleasenote that Geevor is not open onSaturdays.

More details can be obtained fromBill Lakin, Chair of TrusteesPendeen Community HeritageGeevor Tin Mine Pendeen CornwallTR19 7EWor their web site: www.geevor.com

One interesting thing to note is thatthey are marketing Geevor under the“banner” of:Geevor - The Biggest MiningHistory Site in the UK”.

What qualifies it for this title?

NAMHO 2007In 2007 the NAMHO Conference willbe held from the 15th to 17th June, inthe Tamar Valley which forms theborder between Devon and Cornwall.

A lecture programme is planned toreflect the long history of mining inthe area - ‘Pennies to Pesticide:mineral exploitation in the TamarValley through eight centuries’ -along with contributions commentingon the way that mining heritage inthe area is currently being promoted.

If club members wish to contribute tothe lecture programme they need tocontact Peter Claughton with a shortabstract of their proposed paper.

Dr Peter Claughton,Blaenpant Morfil, nr. Rosebush,Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire,Wales SA66 7RE.

Email: P.F.Claughton@exeter.ac.uk

British Steel CollectionCumbria Record Office has beengiven funds to catalogue documentsin the British Steel Collectioncovering the Workington Iron andSteel Co. and including recordsrelated to the mines under theircontrol. It estimated that the projectwill last 2 years.

NAMHO Newsletter, June 2006

NO to MiningTelford and Wrekin BoroughCouncil’s planning department hascategorically denied any proposalsfor renewed open-cast mining ongreen fields between Lilleshall andMuxton. In early March 2006,Lilleshall and Donnington parishcouncil formed a committee to fightthe prospect, which was part of areview of the borough’s LocalMinerals Development Plan.

While Telford and Wrekin Councilacknowledge that there are reservesof coal and fireclay in that area, theprospect of working those depositsis considered environmentallyunacceptable.

In 1997 Clay Colliery dropped plansto mine thousands of tonnes of coaland clay from the site, which washighlighted as having potentially richdeposits of fireclay.

Telford Journal & ShropshireStar reports, March 2006

Human Remains FoundUniversity of Central Lancashirestudents undertaking a dig in apreviously unexamined cave nearWenvoe, south-west of Cardiff haveuncovered the remains of 7 peopleburied in a large pit near the entrance.

Along with the bones, which havebeen dated to around 5,000 years old,were stone tools, pieces of pottery, abelt fastening and jewellery madefrom jet and bone.

The discovery is of great interest interms of the use of caves in the area(Goldsland Wood). It appears thatthe bodies and some of theirpossessions were placed in the pit,which was dug for the purpose, andlater when the remains were reducedto skeletons the researchers believethat may have been moved tosomewhere such as the nearby St.Lythans chambered tomb.

The discovery is well preserved anda return to further excavate the caveis planned for later in 2006.

Descent , 190

Cwmystwyth GrillsCavers are being asked to keep awayfrom Cwmystwyth mine for themoment due to work currently takingplace on the site. Crown Estates arestill in the process of grilling shaftsand adits - this should continue untilSeptember and until this is completedthere is no access to any of theunderground workings.

The Welsh Mines Preservation Trusthope to enter in to discussions withthe Crown Estate and the CrownMineral Agent over access when thework is complete.

“Below” 2006.2 19

Books and Videos

Yorkshire Mining VeteransBy Brian Elliott, paperback, 176pages.A collection of stories told by the‘Veterans of the mines’. Spanningnearly a century from the early 1900sto the ‘great strike’ of 1984/5 as wellas the pit closures of the 1990s.Miners all across the Yorkshireregions from Selby Coalfield to theold West Riding area in and aroundBarnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster andSheffield share their experiences.

Set chronologically according to theage of the miner, the author profileseach of the 47 veterans and tells theirindividual stories based on hisinterviews with them. Their stories,all previously untold, together with asuperb collection of photographsmakes fascinating reading.

ISBN: 1-903425-58-1Price: £ 9.99

Goodbye Old PickBy Ann Goddard.Written as a tribute to her greatgrandfather, Charels Lawton 1839-1921.

Billed as a “compelling true story ofthe life of a coal miner facing dailythe hazards of the fiery pits ofStaffordshire in the nineteenthcentury”.

Based on Charles Lawton’s originalmanuscript, the book describes thelife of a working collier of the 19thcentury.

Lawton started work in 1847 at theage of eight in the collieries ofStaffordshire, where he survived twoof the worst explosions in the historyof those coalfields, playing a leadingrole in the rescue of his comrades.

He ended his career as Manager atFord’s Marehay Main colliery in 1908- after he retired he spent his finalyears lecturing on Pit Safety togroups around the country.

ISBN: 0-9551606-0-XPrice: £10 plus p&p

Latest Mining Video from I.A.RecordingsMining in the Landscape - Around Llangollen

53min. £12.95 - VHS or DVD-R(£10 to Club Members at meetings)

Made for the 2006 NAMHOconference at Llangollen, thisproduction explores the localextractive industries.

This area around the river Dee andOffa’s Dike isn’t one of the bestknown mining areas, but it had a richand varied industrial history andthere is a lot of evidence left to find.We start with one of the mostprominent landmarks, the limestoneescarpment of Trevor Rocks; andthen visit the mines marked byimpressive slate tips high up on theBerwyn mountains.

Slate mining and quarrying was veryimportant and had a great impact onand in the landscape. We see the oneremaining quarry at work, cuttinggreat slate blocks from themountainside and slicing them intouseful sizes. The abandoned Deesideslab mill and quarry and the bigmines at Glyn Ceiriog, Penarth andMoel Fferna are explored in depth.Their complex networks of hugechambers have many undergroundremains including inclines and aprecarious miners bridge.

On the surface are abandoned railtrucks for moving slate and wasterock, pressure vessels, haulageinclines with sheave wheels andbrake levers, a weighbridge andmany buildings.

Dressing sheds, machine houses,brakesman’s cabins and a powdermagazine all built of slate blocks stillstand. Ironically, many hadcorrugated steel roofs and theyhaven’t lasted well!

East of Llangollen we see how thebuilding of the canal andPontcysyllte aqueduct made the areaa hive of industry. Evidence of thewidespread brick and teracottaindustry is found, then we visitseveral coal mines including thepreserved Bersham Colliery with its670kVA electric winder and steellattice headframe.

Other industrial monuments such asthe stone vertical winding enginehouse of Wynnstay colliery, thebuildings of Plas Power, Pen Rhosand Bersham ironworks lead us viathe quarries and kilns of thelimestone industry of Esclushammountain to Minera lead mine.Southwards near Oswestry weremore ancient coal, clay and ironworkings, which formed a tight-knitindustrial area dating back to the 15thcentury.

for more details visitwww.iarecordings.org

20 “Below” 2006.2

Diary DatesClub Officers

20067th-11th August: NSS Convention,Bellingham, Washongton, USA.

11th-28th August: Craven PC gapingGill winch meet.

27th August: Columns Open Day,Ogof Ffynnon Ddu.

9th-10th Sept.: Friends of St. AidansBE1159 Dragline Open Day.

22nd-24th Sept.: Hidden Earth 2006.Leek High School, Staffordshire.

25th-26th Sept.: Lyon EquipmentTechnical Symposium, RhegedDiscovery Centre and Lyon TrainingCentre, Cumbria.

30th Sept.: Day School, Town Hall,St. John’s Chapel, Weardale. A jointventure between North PennineHeritage Trust and Friends ofKillhope. “Recent IndustrialArchaeology in the North Pennines”.

9th-17th October: InternationalMining History Congress (IMHC),Beringen in the Limberg miningregion of north-east Belgium. Visitsto sites in the area will take placeduring this period.

27th-30th October: SUICRO XXIISymposium, Ridge Pool Hotel, Balina,Co.Mayo.

Important Rope Care ......dry them carefully!

Hung the ropes up in the warm to

dry and ... they moved in !

Quick ... we need the

rescue ropes !Slight snag-ette there!

74

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