1“Below” 2009.3

E L O W !B

Quarterly Journal of the Shropshire Caving & Mining Club Autumn Issue No: 2009.3

Dog Rescue at Old GritMonday, 20th July 2009 at 14:00, atwo-year old black Patterdale terriercalled Tess (owned by a Mr. ShaunPanter) chased a rabbit through thefence surrounding the Old GritPumping shaft and fell approximately40m down the shaft into water.

It appears the dog managed to climbout of the water into a small ledge/inset and could be heard barkingwhen her name was called. The alarmwas raised and the RSPCA andShropshire Fire & Rescue Service(from Minsterley) attended. Steve Holding, who was actually atNenthead received the first call fromShropshire Fire & Rescue ControlRoom informing him of the incident at17:30 and then contacted AndyHarris and Andy Wood.

In all 7 Club members attended theincident; Andy Harris, AlanRobinson, Vicky Robinson, AndyWood, Peter Eggleston, Kelvin Lake,and Nick Southwick.

Nick and Andy Wood’s Land Roverswere used to ferry the kit across thefields to near the shaft. The pitch wasthen rigged with an SRT rope, ahauling rope (for a 1 ton builders bag- to hold the dog) and a safety linemanned by the Fire Brigade.

Alan Robinson drew the short strawand made the descent into the shaftwith Andy Harris at the top of theshaft liasing with him. The FireBrigade lent us a radio, but whenAlan got near the bottom all we could

hear over the radio was the dogbarking!

Tess was very agitated and it tookAlan some time to get her into thebag - he suffered a few ‘nips’ for histrouble!

Once safely in the bag, Alansheltered in a shallow inset at waterlevel while the bag and Tess werehauled to surface. Looking down theshaft, Andy Harris said all he couldsee was the dog’s eyes reflecting inthe light of his cap lamp as it ranround in circles inside the bag!

Once back on the surface and as

Above: Old Grit Pumping Enginehouse, in January 2009, with theopen (but fenced) shaft on the left.See page 21 for some backgroundon the shaft.

Right: View of the shaft top.Pictures: Kelvin Lake - I.A.Recordings.

soon as she saw her owner Tess,calmed down compeletly and after afew dog biscuits was back to normal,looking around for rabbits!!

A successful, smooth, rescue, and itonly took us an hour from the timewe arrived on site, to the dogreaching the surface. Although, dueto the location of the incident, it didtake about 2 hours for all the teammembers to arrive - a useful timescale that’s worth remembering, sincewe are unlikely to be able to reducethis too much.

continued on page 3 ...

2 “Below” 2009.3

News Round-Up 1Ivor Brown

Ifton Colliery BandIt is understood that the IftonColliery Brass Band was reformed aspart of the recent celebrations tomark the 40th anniversary of theclosure of Ifton Colliery. Events arealso planned to mark a similaranniversary at Highley CollieryVillage later in the year.

Coal Closure EventsIn the Coalbrookdale Coalfield threeevents were held to mark the 30thAnniversary of the Granville Collieryclosure and the ‘final’ laying up ofthe banner of the Miners Lodge:

Talk: The talk by I.J.Brown wasattended by over 60 people. It ishoped to publish parts of this asseparate papers.

Walk: The walk, on Saturday 4thJuly, was held in sunny weatherand about 15 attended. It includedseveral very knowledgable localminers. The sites of the pits calledBarnyard, Barn, Lodgebank,Waxhill, Muxton Bridge andLodge (Slaughter) and theFurnaces at the Lodge werevisited.

Church Service: On Sunday 5th Julya Miners’ Reunion Service washeld at the Madeley FletcherMethodist Church, some 80people attended. Four former mineworkers and the daughter of theMadeley Lodge Secretary andcheck weighman (1938-1964) tookpart. The original shaft-sectionscrolls for both Granville andStafford Pits dating from the 1860swere on show. The promisedreturn from the Ironbridge GorgeMuseum of the ShropshireMiners’ Banner did not take place- an explanation for this is givenon page 21 ! After the service teaand cakes were available. Anexhibition of photos provided bythe Club proved a great attraction.

The events were made possiblethrough the kindness of theIronbridge Gorge Museum Trust,Birse Construction (the Museum’sContractors ), the Church Stewards,the Madeley Local History Projectand the Club.

Miner’s Sculptures

The cottage, sketched (quickly) byIJB, 1960.

Bill Bennetts CottageThe site of Bill Bennetts cottage hasrecently been visited - only a heap ofrubble and the base of the walls canbe seen. IJB sketched it about 1960.

The cottage is up the hill at the top ofPerkins Beach. When sketched thecottage was about to be abandonedby Bill, an old barytes miner with‘dust disease’, as he moved downhillto live in a caravan behind theStiperstones Inn.

TunnelRe-openedHeath Hill railwaytunnel has now beenre-opened and trainscan once again passthrough it.

It is oval shaped,constructed mainly ofbrick and about 60metres long. Havingbeen disused sincethe 1950s it is nowpart of the TelfordSteam Railway line.

maintained, but holes are appearingin the metalwork.

The “headstock” on the island atWoodside roundabout also needs alittle attention and some of the tilesare coming off the walls in themassive “strata section structure” atthe Nabb.

Telford now has an interesting rangeof mining structures perhaps a leafletcould be produced showing them tomark the Club’s own anniversaryshortly?

The opportunity was taken duringthe above weekend to inspect someof the local mining sculptures.

The life-size “miner with pony andtramway waggon” display on Asdaroundabout, Donnington Wood wasfound to be in remarkable condition -except for a four foot high treegrowing through the ‘penny’ wheels(it is a flanged track).

The mine tub “coal on rails” exhibit atHoreshay is reasonably well

Left: The newly re-opened tunnel atHeath Hill, Horsehay

3“Below” 2009.3

Dog Rescue at Old Grit20th July 2009

Both the RSPCA and Fire Brigadeseemed pleased with ourpreformance. One side effect hasbeen the establishment of betterrelations with the Fire Brigade - thiswill take a more concrete form withthem observing at the rescue practiceon the 3rd October at Huglith.

Left: AlanRobinson, AndyHarris and VickyRobinsonrigging the pitch.

Right: Rigging the pitch - thefarmer’s 4x4 was used as a belayfor the haulage bag.

Picture: Kelvin Lake - I.A.Recordings.

Right: Andy Harrisdirecting thehauling and life-lining from thepitch head.

Picture: Andy Wood.

Left: View fromthe pitch head,showing thehauling ropes,safety line andSRT rope(belayed to thefarmers truck),with Clubmembers andFirefighters readyto haul.

Picture: Andy Wood.

Left: AlanRobinson makesit back to thesurface, slightlybitten!

Picture: Andy Wood.

Below: Tess safe and sound backon the surface.

Picture: Andy Wood.

See page 21 for some background on the shaft. >>

4 “Below” 2009.3

Blists Hill Mining Displays - how are they coming on?Ivor Brown

In 1969 the writer was asked by theGroup developing the Blists HillOpen Air Museum to write a shortnote on the then, “Mining History ofBlists Hill, Madeley” and to putdown some ideas as to what shouldor could be displayed on site torepresent it’s past mining history. Atthe time reports were also beingprepared on other aspects of the sitesuch as the iron industry,brickmaking, canals and railways andit’s natural history.As far as the writer is aware only thereports on the mining history and,later the Tar Tunnel were everpublished. ‘The Tar Tunnel’ by theMuseum in “Forge”, 1971, and the“site history” by the Club in theShropshire Mining Club Journal,1976.

The short report on possible miningdisplays pointed out how the TarTunnel and Shawfield Colliery sites(both of which where just outside theproposed Museum site) should betreated separately as they wereunique sites of considerablehistorical interest. The museum sitecould be extended to encompassthem.

On the proposed site itself, it wassuggested that four different types ofmining operations could beconstructed:

1. Small family type, an adit (footridor day-eye), “bell pits” and “surfacescratchings”.

2. Partnership or small company type,shafts with hand winches, horse ginand furnace ventilation (chimney) asused at local fireclay mines.

3. Medium size company pit, shaftswith engines etc. perhapsreconstructing the Blists Hill RedClay mine itself.

4. Large company mine, shafts withtypical Shropshire-type tandem H-section headframes, such as atKemberton and Grange pits. Thiscould be built or rebuilt adjoining thesite of New Hill Pit on the site itself.

The Cinderhills area near the railwaytunnel by the old entrance to BlistsHill. Alternatively it could beconstructed on a site adjoiningShawfield Pit with it’s historic Heslopengine house just outside theproposed limits of the site. Thiswould represent an ironstone andcoal mine.

Even before the Group’s technicalreport was published in 1971 workhad already begun on preparing a‘miners’ walk on the derelict BlistsHill site using volunteers and theShropshire Mining Club. For examplein August 1970 the writer and a teamof “Borstal Boys” (with Officers) hadconstructed an adit ‘seven yardslong using cut and cover methods’.

Others brought in and re-erected thesteel headframe from Farm Mine nearDawley. The SMC transferred theheavy artifacts salvaged from theRock Mine, Ketley, which had beenon loan for exhibition at ShrewsburyMuseum. These included twohandwinches and a Siskol CoalCutter. Unfortunately the woodenhandwinch was found to be already

too rotten for immediate re-erectionand the cast iron winch was badlydamaged when it fell from the lorry.

Plans were also afoot to transfer thetimber headframe previously usedwith a gin from Shrubbery Mine nearKetley and the electric winder fromthe Rock Mine which had beendonated by it’s owner Isiah Jones,(and Deputy Chairman of the NewTown Corporation). By 1973 all theabove had been completed and thewinder was provided with a moresubstantial brick engine-house (seeMap).

During 1973-5 the SMC, the BorstalBoys and the NCB (using a tractordesigned for underground use, with atub on rails) cleared out the first 110yards of the Tar Tunnel and Messrs.Thyssens removed the top 45ft. of fillfrom the Blists Hill Clay Mine shaft.

The Club, with othervolunteers andmuseum stafftransferred theMilburgh Pit steamwinding engine toBlists Hill where it wasrebuilt. Site staffprovided a brickengine house on theoriginal engine housebase and built awooden headframe to

the design of the original.

In the succeeding years however,until this year, little more has beendone other than maintenance and anarchaeological dig around theoriginal Blists Hill Upper Shafts.

Above: Mock Adit, Blists Hill nearingcompletion, 1970.

Below: Shortly after completion, 1970 Pictures: Ivor Brown

Club members David Adams andColin Lears salvaging equipmentfrom the Rock Mine, 1964.

5“Below” 2009.3

Three of the four “types” of mine hadbeen substantially represented butnone was really complete.

What is the presentsituation?

1. Of the family type pit the aditremains although it is now gatedand a collapse has occurred half-way along it. (Against the writersadvice nails were used to hold thetimbers together during theconstruction!). No “scratchings”or “bell pits” were everconstructed.

2. On the small company orpartnership site the timber gin-headframe remains, but no ginwas ever constructed. It washoped that a cog-and-rung ginwould have been built here asdistinct from the overhead typemore commonly erectedelsewhere. The cog-and-rungtype was a feature of Shrubberyand some other local pits. The“second shaft” with steelheadframe and small electricwinder remain, although thewinder can no longer be seen.

The “shaft and adit” built of largediameter concrete pipes designedfor “adventurer trips” seems to belost in vegetation. For thereasons given above thehandwinches were never rebuilt(on their original site both workedon a single shaft, one provided

Blists Hill Mining Displays - how are they coming on?continued ...

winding for men and materials theother provided support for a fire-bucket to give ventilation).

3. At the Blists Hill Red Clay minethe medium sized company pit,the steam engine and woodenheadframe is in use daily but thesecond shaft and adjoiningbuildings, although exposedduring an archaeological digabout 1984, are not ‘interpreted’and are easily overlooked.

4. No work has been done on therepresentation of a large companypit display either at the New Hillsarea or at Shawfield. The uniqueHeslop Engine house atShawfield was, with otherbuildings destroyed ‘for safetyreasons’ in the late 1970s. Thereconstruction of a set of tandem-frames at either site was always a‘long-shot’. It is fortunate

however that a set has beenpreserved at Grange Pit, in theNorth of the Coalfield.

The Tar Tunnel remains and is ahighly important feature of theMuseum, it is open to the public andgenerally well maintained.

Since the 1970s ‘local mining’ hastaken a ‘back seat’ at the Museum,and it seems more to aspire to being aregional social history museum.

However the recent development of amining-type inclined plane, a minenarrow gauge railway and a clay minefeature may do something to correctthis. The display includes a narrowgauge railway (with batterylocomotives) and a 50 metre coveredjourney into a simulated clay minewith commentary. It is nowaccessible - try it. What do youthink?

Left & Right:Clearing out theTar Tunnel,1974.

Pictures: IvorBrown

Shawfield Engine House (right) and mine building (left), Madeley, 1968Picture: Ivor Brown

6 “Below” 2009.3

The incline feature was much used inlocal mines on the surface andunderground. The writer was, as ayoung mine entrant in 1952, trained inthe use of such an operation atKemberton Pit about 3 miles fromBlists Hill. This inclined plane or ‘jig’as it was called, connected at theLittle Flint Coal Seam workings withthe Viger Coal Seam workings.

Blists Hill Mining Displays - how are they coming on?continued ...

Above: The new Blists Hill Clay Mine Electric Battery Train, 26th June 2009

Blists Hill Red Clay Mine, 1981Picture: Kelvin Lake - I.A.Recordings

Right: Inside thenew “Clay Mine”before constructionof the exhibits.

Pictures: Ivor Brown

Bibliography (All by I.J.Brown)

1. The Club, the Tar Tunnel and theIronbridge Gorge Museum,SCMC Quarterly Journal ‘Below’,Summer 1992.

2. The Tar Tunnel and Blists HillPits, Shropshire Magazine, 1967

3. The Sinking of a shaft to the TarTunnel - a proposal, 1980, IGMT.

7“Below” 2009.3

One of the most publishedphotographs of a mining landscapein Shropshire is that of shallow mineworkings on Catherton Common,usually claimed to be medieval1 .There is no doubt that there wasmedieval mining on the Clee Hill, butuntil recently its extent and locationhas been very difficult to determine.This article presents recent researchabout the medieval mining.

The earliest documentary referenceto mining on the hills is in fact to coalmining on the Brown Clee, the morenortherly of the two hills. In a mid-13th Century charter, Walter deClifford, the owner of the Clee Forest,granted to Robert de Halston alicence to dig coal to sell or giveaway within his land in the CleeForest, adjoining land of Philip deBaggesore2 .

The charter is not dated, but isprobably from about 1260. Thelocation of Robert’s land is notspecified, but both he and Philip deBaggesore are particularly associatedwith Cleobury North. The primarypurpose of the licence was not in factcoal production but to allow Robertto grow crops on an enclosure of 6“royal” acres (about 12 modernacres) and there is no proof that therewas any coal under this land.

However, there can be little doubtthat coal was being produced on topof the Brown Clee at this date or elsethe clause in the licence would neverhave been inserted. There areshallow workings in Cleobury Northparish, around SO 602865 and there isevery chance that some are from the13th Century.

On the Titterstone Clee, the earliestmention of coal mines is in 1291, in adocument known as Pope Nicholas’staxation. The Pope raised a tax onchurch property and as a result adetailed list of the assets of churchesand monasteries was drawn up. Itwas noted that the Abbot ofWigmore received 5/- profit that yearfrom coal mines in Snitton andCaynham3 . As with the Brown Clee,

the exact location of these mines is amatter of conjecture. Collectively,Caynham and Snitton (a township inthe parish of Bitterley) cover theentire Knowbury coalfield (adetached part of the Clee Hillcoalfield) and a small part of the maincoalfield on the western side of thehill itself (Figure 1).

Wherever these mines were, theywere certainly not at Catherton onthe east of the hill, in one of themanors associated with CleoburyMortimer.

There is however evidence for miningon Catherton within a few years ofthe Cainham/Snitton reference. Anumber of accounts survive for themanor of Cleobury Mortimer from theearly 14th Century. Those for 1328/9record payment for three loads ofiron taken from Doddington toLudlow4 . Doddington is on thesouth-east flank of the Clee; themanor included land on the top of thehill and, most significantly, the wholeof Catherton Common (Figure 1).

The only reason why iron would bemoved from Doddington was if it hadbeen made locally; in turn, theironworks would undoubtedly haveused locally mined iron ore. AtCatherton Common there is a densenetwork of very shallow ironstone

workings on the outcrop; there isevery chance that these include themines at work in the early 14th

Century.

Given that iron working and miningwas taking place at Stottesdon in the13th Century5 , it would be verysurprising if the Clee industry wasnot of a similar date. There is onemore piece of evidence for mining atthis time on the hill. In a list oftaxpayers for Hints and Coreley in1332, John le Foderer is mentioned6 .There seems to be a Latinisedversion of “John the digger” (fodereis the Latin verb “to dig”); adescription that is often applied tomedieval miners.

For the mines on the Brown Clee andCaynham/Snitton, there are norecords after the original mention.This may simply reflect the poorsurvival of records, although it islikely that mining was only carriedout sporadically and would havebeen particularly vulnerable to crisessuch as the Black Death, which killedaround 1/3rd of the population in themiddle of the 14th Century.

However, for Catherton there isdocumentary proof of sustainedmining, thanks to research carried outby James Lawson of the ShropshireArchaeological Society. By 1412

Medieval Mining on the Clee HillsDavid Poyner

Medieval manors associated with mining on the Clee Hill. The map showsparish boundaries; Catherton and Doddington formed a single manor, bothoriginally in the parish of Cleobury Mortimer. The boundaries of Hints andSnitton are approximate; their exact extent is unknown.

Figure 1

8 “Below” 2009.3

Doddington and Catherton hadbecome the property of the Earls ofArundel; the account of the stewardfor 1412/13 records receipts of 2/4 forcoals dug upon the Clee and sold,but nothing for ironstone7 .

Subsequent years show a pattern ofsmall-scale, intermittent coal mining;20d received in 1414-15, 9/9 in 1416-17, 4/10 in 1418-19, 3/- in 1419-20 and5/9 in 1422-238 .

The record for 1418 is particularlyinteresting as it reveals the names ofthe two men paying for getting thecoal; William Pracy and WilliamGilbert9 . These may well have beenthe master colliers who actuallymined the coal. The most likely placewhere this mining was taking placewould be at Catherton, although thecoal outcrop can be traced fromFarlow through to Doddington, allplaces in the ownership of the Earlsof Arundel (Figure 1).

What might be considered the finalbackwards glance at medievalindustry on the Clee comes from theItinary of John Leland. Lelandtravelled throughout England onbehalf of Henry VIII, reporting onantiquities and anything else that heconsidered of interest. He was inShropshire around 1540 and reportedon the Clee Hills:

“Plenty of cole yerth stone,nether exceding good for lymewhereof there they make mucheand supply the country about…There be some blo shopps tomake yren [iron] apon the ripes orbanks of Mylbrooke, comyngeout of Caderton Cle or CassetWood”10 .

This confirms that coal mining andiron making were both flourishing inthe first part of the 16th Century. Thecoal was used to support thecommercial production of quicklimeand the iron making (and hencemining) was centred on CathertonCommon, the continuation ofindustries established severalhundred years earlier.

Medieval Mining on the Clee Hillscontinued ...

China - Coal BlastAt least 11 people died in a gasexplosion at a mine in the northernChinese province of Shanxi, on 26thAugust. It is reported that the blastripped through a shaft at theXingguang company coal mine in thecity of Jinzhong.

Two miners were rescued and threepeople are still missing a week later.

At least 3,200 people died in China'scoal mines last year, making them thedeadliest in the world. China hasbeen attempting to crack down onviolations of safety regulations atcoal mines, and many smaller mineshave closed in recent months.

Oldest Pottery Found?Examples of pottery found in a caveat Yuchanyan in China’s Hunanprovince may be the oldest known toscience. Carbon dating more than 40samples of bone fragments andcharcoal, the specimens were foundto be 17,500 to 18,300 years old.

The Yuchanyan cave was the sitewhere the oldest kernels of rice werefound in 2005, and it is viewed as animportant link between cave-dwellinghunter-gatherer peoples and thefarmers that arose later in the basin ofthe nearby Yangtze River.

The previous oldest-known exampleof pottery was found in Japan, datedto an age between 16,000 and 17,000years ago, but debate has raged inthe archaeological community as towhether pottery was first made inChina or Japan.

References1 See I.J. Brown, The East

Shropshire Coalfields, Tempus,Stroud, 1999, 124. Wisely, Ivorhas made no claim as to the ageof the workings shown on thephotograph!

2 A photograph of the charter isfound in D. Bryan, Ditton Priors;a settlement of the Brown Clee,Logaston, Woonton Almeley,2006, 90. It was first described indetail by the 19th Centuryhistorian R.W. Eyton.Unfortunately Eyton made a rareerror in naming the beneficiary ofthe licence as John de Halston;everyone since, (includingmyself!) have simply quotedEyton. However, the photographclearly shows that the name isRobert. There is no other recordof any John de Halston at thistime but Robert de Halston heldthe manor of Cleobury North.

3 R.W. Eyton, Antiquities ofShropshire, Vol 4, 1857, 356

4 National Archives, SC 6/965/105 D.R. Poyner, Medieval mining in

the Wyre Forest, Below, 2009.1,21-3.

6 National Archives, E179/166/27 Shropshire Archives 6000/75078 Shropshire Archives 6000/7510,

12, 13, 14, 169 Shropshire Archives 6000//975010 L.T. Smith (ed), The Itinerary of

John Leland in or about the years1535-43, Bell, 1910, 189-90.

Above: Aerial view of oldenclosures and Bell-pits onCatherton Common, 1985.Picture: Kelvin Lake - I.A.Recordings

9“Below” 2009.3

Persons present: Steve Holding, IanDavies and Ian Cooper (briefly)

We initially parked at the North endof the King Arthur’s Labyrinth carpark, Ian Cooper said he knew theposition of the Briach Coch upperadit entrance (Level 3) and led theway up to the entrance. When wearrived we found the entrance to befirmly gated and locked. Ian was on aphotographic trip so left us, wedecided to try to enter Gerwern slatemine by the upper quarry entranceand drove further up the Corrisvalley, parking in the Corris Uchaf carpark.

We got changed in to caving gear,tried to make ourselves look likewalkers, then made our way to thetrack going up to the mine and aditentrance. The track was gated, lockedand covered in barbed wire so wedecided to walk further up the valleyand try to come in to the quarry fromabove.

We left the main road by an outdoorcentre facility and headed up thevalley into the forest. This path ledus to the Ty’nyceunant slate mineworkings, there are some extensiveand impressive inclines and buildingsto be seen here. Plus a number oflarge open stopes probably withindividual adit entrances, we locatedone such entrance which wasdrafting strongly and would be easilydug out. This site is well worth areturn visit in the future.

We continued to walk up the hill andover to the Gerwern quarry where wefinally located it’s adit entrance, witha ledge high up on the quarry sideface leading to it. The path to the adithas been rigged with stainless steeltraverse lines as this mine is used bya local outdoor centre.

We entered the level which went infor some distance and came to apoint where we went up a short insitumetal ladder complete with hand lineto reach a higher level. We followedthis past a number of stopes eachfitted with a stainless steel traverseline.

Trip Report - Corris Slate Mines8th March 2009, Ian Davies

At the far end of the final stope wedescended to a second level. Thisdescent was down a rubble slopewithout the need of any tackle. Ingeneral the stopes appear to slope atan angle of 30° to 45°.From the second level a manwaygoes down to an intermediate level.This manway is on an angle ofapprox 45° and requires a hand line.

From here there is a short length oftunnel to a short easy climb backdown to the main level. We followedthis until it led us to an exit; this isprobably Adit No 4 of Gerwern mine.

We retraced our steps and found theroute down into Briach Coch slate

mine. This is again a manway downan incline of 45°, there appears to besteps carved in the floor, however itwould be advisable to use a hand lineand abseil down as the manway exitsonto a ledge at the top of anotherstope. Steve says that from herethere was a traverse line to go alongthe stope ledge. We did not go downthe manway but made our way outand returned to the car.

Our main observation was thatGerwern mine appears to be generallydevoid of any artefacts but thestopes are extensive and a winchcould be seen on the far side of onechamber.

New dinosaurAustralian palaeontologists say theyhave discovered a new species ofdinosaur on a sheep farm in thenorthern state of Queensland.

The fossil remains of the large plant-eating sauropod, nicknamed ‘Zac’,are about 97 million years old. Theywere found near the town ofEromanga, in a fossil-rich area thatwas once covered by a vast inlandsea.

Palaeontologists say the findconfirms Australia's importance as acentre for dinosaur discovery. Thecountry's largest dinosaur, Cooper,was found on the same sheep farm in2004.

Cooper was almost 30 metres longand was a new species of titanosaur -enormous, armour-plated creatures.

Zac’s skeleton was smaller thanCooper’s, but more complete. Zac, incommon with other sauropods, had avery long neck, a small head andblunt teeth, and a long tail tocounter-balance the neck.

Three new dinosaur species werefound in the same area earlier thisyear, “Matilda”, “Clancy” and“Banjo”, all dating to the sameperiod as Zac - about 100 millionyears ago in the Early Cretaceousperiod.

Cavers’ SpanishCall-out

Four members of Oxford UniversityCave Club initiated a call-out afterbecoming trapped in caves innorthern Spain.

The Spanish cave rescue service wasalerted after the four OUCC memberswere cut off due to floods in thePicos de Europa mountain range.

On 26 July, two club members on thesame trip called rescuers after ‘losinghold’ of their rope in the same caves.

The latest trapped members had gotout before rescuers reached them thefollowing morning.

The OUCC, who were on their annualexpedition to Matienzo, had calledthe rescue service during the latestincident as a precaution whenmembers failed to regroup at the timethey had set.

No-one had been hurt and the cavershad taken extra food and supplieswith them for warmth.

This incident comes after Britishstudent Andrew Lucas, fromLincolnshire, fell to his death whilewalking in the Picos de Europamountains on 30 July

New Reports, August 2009

10 “Below” 2009.3

“The Rats Pits” OakengatesIvor Brown

The Photograph of the Rats PitEngine in the last issue of ‘Below’ isthe butty to the one shown in EastShropshire Coalfields (figure 1 below)and it is mentioned in an article in theTransactions of ShropshireArchaeology Society, 1949.

The Transactions only showed thepicture used in my book, so the oneshown opposite makes up the pair.

It is also interesting to note that if thediagram from the Midland MiningCommission report of 1843 isreversed it seems to be an exact

match of this engine - said to be anold form in 1843.

The note in the transaction says thatthe engine in the photographs doesnot resemble a Boulton & Watt but isvery early 19th C.

Above: “Old Beam Engine, formerly standing between Wellington and Oakengates” (Trans. Shrop. Arch. Soc., 1949)

Below: “Old Form of Engine still in use in South Staffordshire” - image reversed to matchpicture above. (Midland Mining Commission Report, 1843)

11“Below” 2009.3

Below: “Rat Pit, Oakengates, 1899, G.F.Hill, The Nabb” - from Below 2009.2 (Photograph from Keith Lewis)

AN INDUSTRIAL RELICThe photograph reproduced herewith is one of two which were brought to my notice on March 17th, 1949, byMr. L. Jones, of Ketley Bank, Oakengates, by whose permission it is reproduced. It illustrates an old beamengine which stood formerly at “ Rats’ Pits,” beside the Great Western Railway line between Wellington andOakengates, and which long ago disappeared. The original photographs have the name “ G. F. Hill, The Nabb“—perhaps that of the photographer—written on the back, and are said to have been taken about 1899, whenthe engine was obviously already derelict.

The engine was of a type which I did not recognise, so I submitted copies of the photographs to the ScienceMuseum, and Mr. A. Stowers, the Deputy Keeper, was good enough to write as follows on April 4th, 1949 :-

“ I have been unable to trace any record of the old steam winding-engine of which you have sent twophotographs. I have also shown the photographs to Dr. H. W. Dickinson, past president of the NewcomenSociety and an authority on the history of the steam engine. He does not recognise the engine and all we cansay about it is as follows : it was a beam engine, double-acting, rotative, geared for colliery winding. It wasprobably non-condensing, as we cannot see any trace of a condenser. The piston rod was cross-headguided, and possibly the cylinder had a long D slide-valve ; the crankshaft was probably of cast-iron. Thearm like a spoon handle, shown in one photo [that reproduced], was probably one of those of a spider for thewinding rope. The engine does not resemble those made by Messrs. Boulton and Watt. As regards date, wecannot say nearer than very early nineteenth century. The gearing shown may mean that it was used forother purposes in addition to winding, but what they were we cannot say now. The two photographs wereobviously taken at different times, as the one without the man [not reproduced] shows a broken inclinedwooden support for the main bearing of the beam, and a broken arm.”

Shropshire played such an important part in the early development of the coal and iron industries that itseems desirable to put on permanent record this interesting relic of an early phase of the county’s industrialhistory.

L. C. LLOYD.

“The Rats Pits” Oakengatescontinued ....

Above: Reprinted from Transactions of the Shropshire Arch. Soc. Vol. LIII (1949)

12 “Below” 2009.3

On Tuesday evenings from theSpring Bank Holiday to the end ofJuly a series of walks visited some ofthe best remains of the Shrewsbury (aka Hanwood)Coalfield1 . Generally the dozen or soof us were blessed with goodweather and even the one wetevening dried up later.

Not the least pleasant aspect of theevenings was the research into thepubs used by the miners, includingthe New Inn, Hook-a-gate, The LeaCross Tavern, The Cock at Hanwoodand the Nag’s Head.

May 26th Moat HallHoward Davies led the walk to seethe remains of the last stage of theColliery, pits 6 and 7 and of thetramway from them to Annscroft.

Though it is probable that earliermining took place, the first referenceso far found is to two shafts forMessrs Crapper and Proctor in 1851,it was held by the Shorthouse familyfrom c1856 to around 1919 when itwas sold to Mr Fielden whoincorporated it into his HanwoodColliery as Hanwood and Moat HallCollieries (Salop) Limited in 1921.Coal winding carried on until 1931when the mine was connectedunderground to Hanwood, whichclosed in 1941.

Shrewsbury Coalfield Walks May and June 2009, Part 1Mike Shaw and Andy Wood

The earlier shafts were south of thepresent remains and have now beencompletely erased. The sites ofshafts 6 and 7 are in woodland withlow remains of a brick building,presumed to be an engine house atNo.7. These shafts date from the1870s and were about 450 feet (135metres) deep to the Half Yard coalwhich was described as quicklighting and free burning and found aready market in mid and south Wales.

There was a proposal for a standardgauge line from Redhill on thePotteries Shropshire and NorthWales Railway to serve the mine butthis came to nothing. A narrowgauge tramway was built about 1886from the mine to a road-side wharf atAnnscroft which appears to havesurvived the end of coal winding,remaining in use in 1934, and said tohave still functioned in the SecondWorld War.

The route of the tramway is traceablefrom the pits to where it crossed thedrive to Moat Hall, from that point tothe wharf it has been ploughed out.Lengths of rail and wire rope survivein fences and hedges and Mr MartinDavies of Moat Hall has otherremains including a blue enamel signof the colliery’s from the side of acart and a length of rising main. MoatHall’s last beneficial use is as watersupply, for a time it supplied Meole

Brace via a reservoir at Welbatch,which is still used by the farmer therefor his cattle.

I would like to thank Howard formaking the arrangements and leadingthe walk, and for allowing the club tocopy his fine archive of collierydocuments and photographs. It isalso worth noting that he is theGrandson of a blacksmith atHanwood colliery and has had (atleast) four earlier generations of hisfamily in the local coal industry.

Thanks must also go to Mr and MrsMartin Davies of Moat Hall Farmwho permitted the visit andwelcomed us into the farm to showus their various mining finds.

June 2nd Longden Common.By kind permission of the propertyowners, about a dozen club membersmet at New House Farm inPulverbatch for a stroll around theremains of some collieries inPulverbatch and Longden Common,led by Andy Wood. Although NewHouse Farm is located on New HouseLane, this is a comparatively recentname for the lane. On older maps it isnoted as Coalpit Lane and the 1839Church Pulverbatch tithe map showsseveral field names implyingindustrial activity, eg Coalpit Leasow,Gin Leasow, Marlpit and MarlpitLeasow and Rough.

The fields north of New House Laneshow evidence of many shafts and itis known that many more existed buthave been filled and ploughed out bylocal farmers.

There is very little documented aboutNew House Colliery but theabandonment plans, dated 1882,indicate that there was still coalremaining to be extracted and anumber of older workings werenoted. The sites of the two mainshafts are still clearly visible and anembankment for a cart track is stillobvious running from the southerlyshaft across the fields past other pitmounds to reach the road just insidethe woodland containing the marlpitsMoat Hall Colliery, c1920 (Howard Davies Collection)

13“Below” 2009.3

The northern pit mound issubstantial and shows evidence ofthe footings for a building as well aswhat appear to be the walls of areservoir - possibly to hold water fora steam engine. All the coal extractedwas taken from south of this shaftand it seems that this lower lyingshaft was used for pumping, as waterwas a serious problem. The bricklined shaft is at least 125ft deep andstill contains the pump rods and therising main.

Despite the mine having closed in1882, this shaft has a concrete capwith some initials and the date 1934scratched into it. It seems probablethat the shaft had been left opensince closure but was full of water,which issued from it. It transpiresthat, in 1934, a ram pump wasinstalled lower down the field tosupply water from the shaft to NewHouse Farm. A take off pipe for thiscan be seen in the shaft and it is clearthat newer bricks were used to raisethe shaft lining to take the concretecap. The letters WP form one set ofinitials and it is known that WilliamPowell, a relative of Charles Powell inPulverbatch, was one of the workmeninvolved in this installation but theother initials have not yet beentraced.

Coal mined on New House Farm wasused for brick manufacture after 1832.1931 copies of plans exist showingthe status of the mine in 1882.

There is also little documented aboutCastle Place Colliery but it is knownto have closed originally in the latterpart of the 19th century. The 1917sale particulars for the LythwoodEstate show large spoil heaps at thetwo ‘old shafts’ together with abuilding by the west shaft, which iswhere the engine is known to havebeen. Power was taken from thesteam engine here across to the eastshaft for pumping purposes.

After the second world war, R and JFowles re-opened the mine withHarry Wood as the sole employeebut achieved very little beforeclosing finally in 1947. As a young

Shrewsbury Coalfield Walks May and June 2009, Part 1continued ...

Above: The surface area around thenorthern shaft at New HouseColliery, with the shaft cap near thecamera and the reservoir areabehind.Picture: Andy Wood

Right: The top of the pump rods andrising main inside the shaft cap.Picture: Kelvin Lake - I.A.Recordings

Below: The initials and ‘1934’ dateinscribed on the concrete cap of thepumping shaft.Picture: Andy Wood

Right: Detail from an earlyOS Map showing thelocations of the shafts andwater courses.

14 “Below” 2009.3

lad of about 14, Brian Hobson ofCastle Place farm, recalls descendingthe shaft in a bucket, travellingunderground to the other shaftbefore returning to be winched backup again. Since then, much of thespoil has been removed and althoughthere is a cap on the west shaft allother evidence has been obliteratedby the building of a sewage worksthere. Nonetheless, small pieces oflow quality coal can still be foundaround the edges of the pit mound.The spoil heap from the east shafthas been levelled to provide the baseof a manege but a steady flow ofclear water issues from the cappedshaft’s overflow and the watersupply for Castle Place farm is takenfrom here, being pumped electrically.This source replaces a ram pumpinstalled at the edge of a field nearbyand powered by the little stream it isnext to.

Close to the east shaft is a very oldproperty known as Starr’s Coppice.This dates from before 1580 and wasoriginally two cottages inhabited bya series of farmworkers or miners.An interesting and sunny eveningwas completed by a visit to theTankerville Arms in Longden, whichdisplays a number of Howard Davies’old photographs of coal mining atMoat Hall and Hanwood.

June 9th Cruckmeole-Shorthill

A chance meeting with Mr Culliss ledto the club being invited to see hiscellar and yard on the former coalmine and brickyard site initiallyknown as Shorthill (despite therebeing pits actually at the place of thatname and an Old Shorthill Colliery,see 7th July walk) and later renamedCruckmeole (one word or two).Instructions were somewhat vagueand half the party went to MrMyddle’s part of the site, rather tothat gentleman’s surprise! But Nick’sSCMC sweatshirt and the clubsreputation got us an invitation tovisit that area later in the evening.

Shorthill Colliery first appears inrecords (so far) with a lease of 1838,by 1873 it was owned by Samuel

Atherton, who sold it to Mr Fielden.In 1920, it became part of theHanwood and Moat Hall Collieries(Salop) Limited in 1921 and closedwith Hanwood in 1941.

After 1900 only pumping was carriedon here and at some stage, possiblyearlier, the coal from Hanwood wasscreened here, this carried on untilclosure. When Mr Fielden took overhe had a power station built tosupply the group of mines.

A brickyard was developed here in1911 which presumably closed withthe colliery though some sourcesquote 1945.

Mr Culliss’s house is called Engine

House but no one seems to knowwhat engine it housed, it is possiblethat it was the 1930s Power House.Some timber mounting survives inthe cellar along with glass insulators.

The rest of the site as well as MrMyddle’s portion has undergone agreat deal of alteration. One floodedshaft with an inspection cover existsnear the house and one range ofbuildings from the brickyard surviveas workshops. The weigh-house atthe main road entrance survives, asdoes part of the line of the tramwayfrom Hanwood Colliery includingmarks where the haulage ropes havecut into the parapet of the A488bridge, across which the tramwaypassed.

The cellar of Mr.Culliss’ house -possibly the1930s PowerHouse.

Pictures:Kelvin Lake -I.A.Recordings

Above, left: The Colliery weigh-house near the road.Above, right: Buildings along the mine road, possibly engineeringworkshops, stores etc.

Right: Remainsof the brickworkspug-mill buildingon Mr. Myddle’sland.

Shrewsbury Coalfield Walks May and June 2009, Part 1continued ...

15“Below” 2009.3

Also surviving though on the otherside of the railway line is the brokenremains of what must be a reinforcedconcrete pylon which presumablycarried power to Hanwood.

Thanks are due to Mr Culliss for his‘formal’ invitation and to Mr Middlefor his rather ad-hoc one.

16th June WelbatchMr Kent, the farmer showed us roundwhat remains on his land.

Mining may well have taken placebefore 1700 though the earliestknown reference is that of the deathof the then owner, Robert Smith in1773. The mine passed throughvarious hands with the last owner MrSlater taking over from 1848 toclosure about 1870.

The principal remnant is a pit moundnorth of the farm, in summersurrounded by head height GiantHogweed. This was ‘Engine Shaft’, itwas difficult to decide where theshaft had been but the low remnantsof the walls of a small engine housesurvive, a return visit in the winter iscalled for.

Several shafts are known fromrecords and several pit mounds eitherexist or have existed but it is difficult

now to relate the records to the site.Dingle pit (now lost) was the deepestat 226 feet (68 metres) to the HalfYard coal. At a sale in 1848 asignificant length of rail was soldwhich suggests that there may havebeen a surface tramway.

Mr Kent took us to a possiblelocation of such but the amount ofundergrowth and alterations madewhilst putting in a sewer left mattersin doubt, another winter job.

Very interesting and much clearerwas the reservoir in a dingle to thesouth of the road which used tosupply Meole Brace with water (seeMoat Hall above). The (now empty)brick reservoir is the size of a smalldomestic swimming pool and couldcontain about 80,000 gallons, it was

in part supplied from a Moat Hallshaft. It no longer supplies water fordrinking but does supply Mr Kent’scattle.

A very interesting and quitestrenuous evening with thanks to MrKent.

Notes1 The Geological Survey of Great

Britain ‘Shrewsbury District’(HMSO 1938) is very preciseabout this. There is Draytoncoalfield, Leebotwood Coalfieldand Shrewsbury or HanwoodCoalfield which together form theShrewsbury Coalfields. Thanks toNick Southwick for the loan of hiscopy of this book.

Left: GarethRushton, IanDavies andMr. Kentinspectingthe well inthe Welbatchreservoir -fed withwater fromMoat Hallshafts.

Right: Mr.Kent andNickSouthwickexamine apit mound,with lots ofsmall coalstill visible.

Right: NealRushton andMike Moorestudying theovergrownremains of asmall enginehouse at Engineshaft, on Mr.Kent’s land,Welbatch.

Shrewsbury Coalfield Walks May and June 2009, Part 1continued ...

16 “Below” 2009.3

What the Papers Said - From the Colliery Guardiansubmitted by Steve Dewhirst

THE reduction in wages has had no effect upon theprice of coal, which may be quoted at the CoalportSevern Wharf at former prices. The fact is, coalcompanies here could sell, at present rates, twice asmuch as they now do if they had it to dispose of; butwith the prospect of an exhausted field beforethem, it is scarcely likely that coal owners will stripthemselves of the means of working up otherminerals, yet abundant, for mere temporaryconvenience.

I had an opportunity, the other day, atCoalbrookdale, of witnessing, in operation, one ofHorton’s patent equilibrium valves- A new inventionfor the purpose of preventing explosions of steamboilers. It appeared to act freely and satisfactorily,giving out in puffs the surplus steam whenever thepressure became greater than that deemed desirable.

Mr. Horton, of Brierly-hill, has, for some time,devoted his attention to the construction of a valvewhich should be capable of retaining the steam toany desired amount of pressure, and beyond thatamount of pressure, presenting an outlet of sufficientarea to carry off the surplus. And which, should alsobe so acted upon when the water in the boiler fallsbelow its proper level, as to allow the steam toescape. This he appears to have accomplished bymeans of a large valve having two seats, the upperpart being fitted as an ordinary engine-piston which,so long as the steam acts on each side of it, remainsclosed ; but the instant the steam is shut off from the

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT AT COALPORTTHE COAL TRADE—PRICES OF COAL—HORTON’S PATENT EQUILIBRIUM VALVE

THE price of coals in this district has experiencedno variation. At the Hales Field pits, where a goodtrade is done in what is called land sale, “hard tops,”are selling at 11s. 8d. per ton ; lumps at 8s- 4d. ; andrefuse slack, 5s. per ton ; “big flints “ are 10s., and“flint lumps “ 7s. 6d.; hard tops, as they are called,represent the best top coals, a highly bituminousseam of no very great thickness, and by no meansgeneral throughout the Shropshire field. A singularlayer of cannel coal is usually found associated withit, and this is appropriated to the use of theworkmen- The ton consists of 20 cwt- and not of

21 cwt., as it does when sent by canal to Coalport,where the extra hundred weight is allowed for loss.The men are this fortnight at work at the reducedprices, and, as I anticipated in a former letter, haveresumed labour without hesitation, although animpression generally prevails among the men thatthe improved tone of the trade will very likelyinduce the masters to withdraw the reduction. Thebooks of some of the largest firms, it is true, havenot been so barren of orders for iron for eighteenyears as they were a month ago, but they nowpresent an improved aspect.

23rd January 1858

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT AT MADELEYSTATE OF TRADE—PRICE OF COAL—HARD TOPS AND CANNEL—REDUCED

WAGES THE IRON TRADE

upper side, opens and allows any excessive pressureto escape. To effect this, there is affixed to thelarge cylinder of the piston a pipe with a valve atthe top, opening upwards, and on the same stalk,at the bottom, another opening downwards.

The upper valve is loaded to the pressure required,the space between the lower one and its seat being1/50th of an inch. When the latter valve is lifted byan increase of force that 50th of an inch, theopening is immediately closed, shutting off allsteam from the top of the large piston valve inanother cylinder which at once lets off the surplusand re-acts immediately to produce an equilibrium.

This action may be witnessed a hundred times aminute, so susceptible is the machine to pressure.Within the boiler is a lever of 8 inches long, witha spherical hollow float weighing 20th suspended.

The distance from the fulcrum to the centre of thevalve is 3 inches, so that as the water falls, the floatfollowing it raises the small valve even if loaded to100 lb per square inch without the assistance ofsteam, and only requires to move 16/50ths of aninch to open the large valve 3 inches. The inventioncertainly seemed to me exceedingly ingenious, andefficient, and capable of preventing the possibilityof explosion from undue pressure.

6th February 1858

17“Below” 2009.3

Lilleshall Company Mines - A Brief History of DevelopmentBased on a talk to the IGMT, 2009 by Ivor Brown

Until the eighteenth century noserious mining had taken place in theNorthern part of the CoalbrookdaleCoalfield. This was due to a numberof reasons - it was a long way on thesurface to water for transport andpower, while underground it was theopposite situation - too much water!

It is possible that the Romans hadsome workings along Watling Streetand there is a record in 1330 of theGower family (the principallandowners) leasing minerals andland.

In 1764 the Gower’s decided to workthe mines themselves as “mineralworking was being mismanaged andspoiled”. They worked the limestoneand coal, and leased the ironworkings to the CoalbrookdaleCompany. To improve transport theybuilt canals, with the Gilberts andothers as partners.

The Donnington Wood Furnaceswere blown-in, in 1785, and not longafter they were taken over by EarlGower & Co. - who already ownedthe Lilleshall and Donnington MiningFields.

Donnington Wood Co.By 1802 Earl Gower & Co. wereknown as the Donnington WoodCompany and owned four MiningFields:

1. Lilleshall - mainly limestone andcoal.

2. Donnington Wood - notable forits surface and undergroundcanals which were developedbetween 1765 and 1798.

3. Wrockwardine Wood.4. Wombridge - notable for drainage

by soughs and for having deepermines.

From 1810 mining began in earnest. Asmall book in the IGMT library“Account of Sundry Pits Sunk in theDonnington & Wrockwardine Woodbetween 1818 and 1835” gives detailsof 74 new shafts and workingsincluding Rookery, Waxhill, Meadow,Barnyard, and Lodge (1825).

About 1822 the Lodge Furnaces wereopened and by 1836 the LilleshallCompany (or Donnington Wood Co.)is said to have had 200 working pits,producing 240,000 tons of mineral (1pit equated to 1 shaft, later 2 shaftswere counted as a pit or ‘pair’).

The Company continued to expandbetween 1835 and 1856, they tookover the Snedshill Mining Field alongwith the old Snedshill furnace andthe Priorslee Field - a new furnacewas built at Priorslee in 1851.

The first official list of mines,produced in 1855, shows theLilleshall Co. operating theDonnington, Wombridge,Wrockwardine, Priorslee and LodgeCollieries.

Edward Jones, writing in 1856, says100 pits were at work (100 “pairs” =200 shafts) producing 480,000 tons ofmineral (double that recorded in 1836)and the company was then known asthe Lilleshall Company.

Expansion continued in the 1860swith the Company taking over theHadley Mining Field in 1860 and thesinking of several new pits:

Pit OpenedGranville 1860-3Stafford 1862-6Grange 1867-8

However in the 1870s contractionbegan, Wombridge & WrockwardineWood were closed (two disastersoccurred at this time). A newspaperreport says “little had been done atthe above in recent years”.

By 1871 Donnington had 21 pairs ofpits, Priorslee 10 pairs, Hadley 9 pairs(Total 80 shafts), producing 545,000tons of mineral (420,000 coal, 120,000iron, 5,000 tons clay), plus 700,000tons of shale (from which iron wastaken) and 2,400,000 tons water.

In 1879 Hadley was closed, fireclayand ironstone production was falling:1871 - 120,000 tons iron,

5,000 tons clay1874 - 87,600 tons iron,

4,800 tons clay

Box 1 - Pits making up the Lilleshall Co.Collieries (late 1870s). Not all were working.

Donnington Colliery(N.T.Beech, Manager)Barn,BarnyardBarracks (Waxhill)Blue FlatChimney DraytonFreehold GranvilleGrange (Abert & Alexandra Pit)HortonJervis BuildingLangley Lodge BankLodgewoodMeadowMuxton BridgeNobbyOverleys (Overtons)RookerySaleSour LeasowStephensWaxhillWhiteWoodfield

(23 pits)

Priors Lee Colliery(R.Moffitt, Manager)

AlbionBowerCockshuttDark LaneFerridaysFireclayHallHydraulicHangman's HillLawnLittle HayesNelsonRickyardSlaughterSpring (Top and Lower)Stafford 1, 2, 3 & 4TarryVillageWestcroftWoodhouse 1, 2, 3 & 4

(20 pits)

18 “Below” 2009.3

Lilleshall Company Mines - A Brief History of Developmentcontinued ....

Above: Detail of the Granville Pit engraving at the top of the 1864 shaft section scroll(the pit was 409 yds. 1ft. 4 inches deep when it was drawn).

19“Below” 2009.3

The 1883 Official list shows 6“collieries” (with 2 mamagers Beech& Moffitt):

Donnington,Priorslee,Hadley ‘field’,Woodhouse,Stafford,Granville

This had reduced to 2 collieries with17 pits in 1889.

1. Donnington - Barn, Waxhill,Freehold, Grange, Granville,Lodgebank, Meadow, Muxtonand Overtons.

2. Priorlsee - Dark Lane, Fireclay,Lawn, Rickyard, Stafford (2),Woodhouse (2).

The next few years saw more pitclosures, although coal productionwas increasing generally.

By 1910, only 6 pits survived(ironstone was only workedinfrequently), employing:

1. Donnington - Freehold; 364,Grange; 189, Granville; 273 men.

2. Priorlsee - Hydraulic; 20,Stafford; 396, Woodhouse; 404men.

(N.T.Beech was the CertificatedManager of both collieries,employing 1,646 miners total)

In addition to the collieries there werepumping engines at Stevens, Lawn,Pudley Hill, Waxhill, and Muxton.

Employment peaked at WoodhousePit in 1922 with 742 men. However,from this date the slow declinebegan.

Pit ClosedStafford Pit 1926Freehold 1928Woodhouse 1940Grange 1952

Pumps stopped at Waxhill andMuxton in 1930, Stafford and Lawnabout 1940 and Woodhouse in 1960s.

Box 2 - Employment Figures, 1894 to 1977

Date No. No. NotesPits Employed

1894 17 1,472 nearly 1,000 at just 7 of them.1910 6 1,6461920 5 1,810 1927 = 400,000 tons coal.1930 3 1,108 1937 = 300,000 tons coal.1947 2 466 produced 120,000 tons coal.1957 1 634 produced 134,000 tons coal.1964 1 644 produced 246,000 tons coal.1968 1 800 produced 309,000 tons coal.1977 1 582 produced 236,000 tons coal.

Lilleshall Company Mines - A Brief History of Developmentcontinued ....

Numbers Employed andProductionAccording to Ed Jones (Manager atthe pit in the 1870s - one of firstCertified Managers, CertificateNo.259) in 1848 the DonningtonWood Co. had 200 pits employingbetween 3,500 and 4,000 people.

By 1866 the Company employed5,000 people in their collieries ofwhich 582 were women and girls.

In the 1870s there is an estimate ofabout 2,700 men and John Wheeler’sdiary mentions 600 pit girls in 1872.

In 1873 200 pit girls went on strike.They sought full pay for Saturdayswhen they ceased work at 2:00pm!

Some ReferencesOfficial Inspectors Reports and Lists

Abandonment Mine Plans

Various Royal Commission andSelect Committee Reports

Iron & Coal Trades Directory

Limestone Mining in Church Aston& Lilleshall, D.R.A.Adams, 2007

Underground Canals in ShropshireMines, by I.J.Brown, MiningHistory PDMHS, Vol.13 Nov.4,1997

The Hadley Mining Field, byI.J.Brown, Telford Hist. & Arch.Soc. Journal No.4, 2000

Above: Detail of Stafford Pitsengraved at the top of the1866 shaft section scroll (pitwas 248 yds. 1ft. 3 inchesdeep on 8th Dec. 1866).Right: “E.Jones, MiningEngineer” on the bottom rightcorner of the Stafford PitsScroll - with pit chain border(triple linked winding chain).

20 “Below” 2009.3

Some Notes on the Mines of the Lilleshall Company, No.1 by Ivor Brown

The mines covered here are nowpartly within Granville Country Park(see map in next issue).

Pits in the DonningtonField (Colliery)This information is mainly from theofficial lists, inspector’s reports,abandoned mine plans andcorrespondence from Mr Atkinson,former colliery engineer for theCompany.

1. Barn, SJ 718 125Worked: Coal and ironstone,Sunk: 1828 to 1831,Closed: Before 1910.No ‘section of strata’ for shaft hasbeen found. In 1891, shafts 2 x 7.5 ft.in. dia. Deepest 495 ft, ventilated byfurnace, airways 1,922yd. in length.

Equipment described as ‘old’ in an1899 report. An engine house and atleast three shafts shown on oldplans. No information on winding orpumping engines.Employed 58 underground, 18 onsurface in 1894. Last fatalitiesoccurred in 1894 and 1898.

2. Barracks (WaxhillBarracks), SJ 718 129Worked: Coal and ironstone,Sunk: About 1820,Ceased production about 1903, butpumping continued until February18th 1930.No section of strata for the shaft hasbeen found. In 1891, shafts 2 x 7.5 ftdia. Deepest 630 ft. (796 ft. atclosure), ventilated by furnace,airways 1,650 yd. long. Up to 6 shaftsshown on old plans. Working DoubleCoal and Blackstone Ironstone in1891.

Winding: Steam engine recorded in1840, in 1908 there was a horizontal,single cylinder, 18 inch diameter, 3 ft.stroke, drum 10 ft. Winding from 855ft., (information from the report on anoverwinding accident, one mankilled).

Pumping: In 1870 there was a 61 india. double acting, condensing,

pumping engine, pumping from adepth of 300 yds, one lift and 4forcing sets varying from 11in. to13in. in dia.

Reports suggest two engines werepresent in the 1920s, pumpingstopped in 1930. Engine remained onsite since Atkinson (engineer) said itwas similar to the Lawn Pit engineabout 1940, (vertical, condenser,cylinder connected to the pump rodsby a beam in the top of the house).

On the opposite side of the canal tothe colliery there was an olderpumping engine at Near Waxhill Pit(shown on Lilleshall Co. WaterMains Map 1878, and on the ParishMap of 1857 but does not appear onpre-1850 maps). This could be the oldDonnington (Boulton and Watt)Pumping Engine, described as beingat ‘Near Waxhill Pit’ when sunk in1828.

The mine had its own community,The Barracks, (1804 - 1905) completewith Methodist Chapel (1862 - 1890s).32 families (153 people) lived here inthe 1850s.

Employed 57 underground and 43 onthe surface in 1894. Last fatalities in1894, 1895 and 1908, many of thesurface workers were girls, (see fig.p76 East Shropshire Mines). Thereare some walls remaining of theMethodist Chapel and possibly ofthe pumping engine house.

3. Barnyard, SJ 720 127Worked: Coal and ironstone,Sunk: Probably 1820s,Closed 1880s.No section of strata has been foundalthough there is some confusion onold plans as to whether this is theLodgebank Colliery, for which asection is available. Mine plans showfive shafts on site.

First shown on 1837 plan and with abuilding on an 1878 plan. This isprobably the winding engine houseof which parts survive. Probablynamed incorrectly on an officialcompany scroll of 1879 as

Lodgebank. Earthworks at the site arewell preserved including an inclinedplane, mineral railway and footings ofa rectangular building about 40 ft by12 ft. No information on pumping oremployment has been found. Site hasbeen surveyed by IGMT.

4. Muxton Bridge,SJ 722 133

Worked: Coal and ironstone,Sunk: 1820s and 1840s,Closed 1905, reopened 1910 - 12.Chartermaster working ceased in1894.No section of strata for the shaft hasyet been found although anincomplete one is given by Doody1879. In 1891, shafts 2 x 8 ft. dia..Deepest 720 ft., ventilated byfurnace, airways 3,146 yd. long.Workings officially abandoned in1928.

Winding: A report refers to anengine in 1840 and, about 1884, a pairof horizontal engines in use. Awinding engine house survives inruins. It is said that a winding enginewas removed to a Staffordshire mine(probably Florence) in 1912.

Pumping: In 1820 a 26 in. beamengine was in use. Atkinson said thatin the 1940s the pump was similar tothat at Stafford Pit. (A Bull-typeengine built by the Company, 45in.dia. cylinder and 7½ ft. stroke overthe shaft, the cylinder was directlyconnected to the pump rod and had abalance box consisting of a largeweight in an iron tank). Pumpingceased in 1930. Part of an enginehouse remains on site.

Employed 59 underground and 29 onthe surface in 1894,18 persons in totalin 1905. Last fatality here was in 1910.

References1. Granville Country Park by

M.Horton and S.Biddle publishedby Ironbridge Institute 1987.

2. A Fatal Overwind at WaxhillBarracks Pit by Ivor J.Brownpublished by S.C.M.C. QuarterlyJournal ‘Below’, 2008.1, March2008.

21“Below” 2009.3

Miscellanyand Letters

Dear Dr Brown

Re: NATIONAL UNION OF MINEWORKERS’ SOUTHSTAFFORDSHIRE & SHROPSHIRE DISTRICT MINERS’ BANNER

Further to my telephone call today, I am writing on behalf of theIronbridge Gorge Museum Trust to offer our sincere apologies for ourfailure to deliver the loan of the National Union of Mineworkers’ bannerin time for the special church service which was held on Sunday 5 July2009.

I understand that this was a great disappointment to many people, someof whom had travelled a significant distance to be at the service. I wouldbe grateful if you could pass on our deepest apologies to all thoseaffected by our failure.

Steve Miller Chief Executive, IGMT

Part of the letter from the IGMT to Ivor Brown, about the non-appearance ofthe Union banner at the July 5th Church service:

Union Banner LetterOld Grit Pumping EngineShaft – Shaft DetailsSome notes for those not familiarwith Old Grit - the scene of the recentdog rescue, it is situated over the hillto the East of White Grit. The remainsof a very early beam pumping enginehouse survive beside the open (butfenced) shaft: NGR: SO 3273 9824

John Heathcote in club accountNo.12 (1979) refers to Rider Shaft(which is up the hill behind the farm,SO 3244 9811) as being 230ft fromit’s collar to Wood Level, with thedistance to water as being measuredas 200 ft. Account 22 states the shaftwas descended in 1994 to a blockageat 130ft. including a dead cow.

Using the above details as a roughguide plus Google Earth and OSmaps, Rider shaft collar is at 338maod while the pumping engine shaftcollar (SO 3273 9824) is about 324m.So if Rider Shaft was 230 ft. (70m) toWood Level then it implies Old GritPumping Engine shaft is 184ft. (56m)to Wood Level.

I’m not sure where the 110ft. in thepress reports has come from, but wewere at the end of our 50m ropes,with about 6 to 8m on the surfacefrom the edge of the shaft, so I wouldcalculate that Alan was down about40m (131ft.) at the water level, soabout 16m above Wood Level.

Account 10, with the maps and plansin, has plans of the workings at Grit,but unfortunately they have notreproduced very well, making it verydiffcult to read the fine details, itwould be interesting to see if wehave a better copy in the Club libraryor if anyone has a better photocopyfrom the Shropshire Archive - whichis where I presume the originals arenow deposited.

Kelvin

Slate Directors Jailed

Glensanda QuarryOn the remote Morwern Peninsula onScotland’s West coast is Europe’slargest super quarry. It has a one-milelong tunnel between the primary andsecondary crushing facilities and nomain road access. Products areremoved by sea.

Quarry Management, July 2009

new management. Parent companyAlfred McAlpine was bought byconstruction rival Carillion inFebruary 2008.

The SFO acknowledged that thepurpose of the fraud was not todirectly enrich the defendants but toconvey to the main board ofMcAlpine that it was moresuccessful than it was.

News Reports, 18th Sept. 2009

Three former executives of the AlfredMcAlpine slate division in Bethesda,North Wales have been sent toprison for inflating sales figures withmore than £10m in false invoices.

The Serious Fraud Office said that44% of the firm’s reported debtorswere fiction. Christopher Law, GeraintRoberts and Paul Harvey, admittedfraudulent trading and weresentenced at Caernarfon CrownCourt. Law was jailed for 30 months,Roberts got 16 months and Harveywill serve 10.

The crime uncovered by parentcompany Alfred McAlpine inFebruary 2007 when it’s audit teamwas asked to investigate whyoutstanding debts on the falseinvoices were not being collected.

It was found that customer letterswere created to give the impressionthat payments were in the pipeline,while delivery notes andtransportation invoices for non-existent consignments were forged.

The slate division was previouslyvalued at £100m before the fraudwhich led to a £40m drop in profitsand the loss of 126 jobs. Thebusiness was sold for £31m at theend of 2007, and now trades under

Memorial Unveiled Alex Salmond, First Minister ofScotland unveiled a bronze statue ofa miner to mark the 50th anniversaryof Scotland’s worst mining disasters,when 47 men died in an undergroundfire (caused by an electrical fault1,000ft below the surface) at theAuchengeich Colliery in NorthLanarkshire on 18 September 1959.Only one miner who started the shiftsurvived the blaze.

The miners were overcome by smokeas they travelled down to start work.Rescuers were unable to save themen and had to flood the pit toextinguish the fire.

The statue stands in the newmemorial gardens near AuchengeichMiners’ Welfare Hall inMoodiesburn.News Reports, 20th September 2009

22 “Below” 2009.3

ISBN: 978-906663-09-4Softback, 320 pages, over 200 b&wphotographs, drawings and plans.Price £12.95.

Available from Mike Moore or onlineat www.moorebooks.co.uk

The Lead, Copper & Barytes Mines of Shropshire

Books, Library, and News

Library AdditionsNorth Wales Caving ClubNewsletter, Issue 311, April-July2009. Articles cover 25 years sincePool Park discovered by NWCC,World’s End Cave and Mine, plus areport on the BCRC 2009 Rescueconference.

Mendip Caving Group, MCGNews, 354: January 2009, 355:February 2009, 356: May 2009.

Plymouth Caving Group,Newsletter & Journal, No.152,March 2009. Contains reports ontrips into Wheal Benny (Kit Hill),trips to the Mendips, Gaping Ghyll,Little Duke Mine (Tamar Valley) andMatienzo (in Summer 2008).

Subterranea Britannica,Subterranea, Issue 18: January2009 - has a feature on the TarTunnel, Coalport, plus sites inGermany, Turkey, Yorkshire,Cwmorthin and Brighton. Issue 19:May 2009 - visits to the ThamesBarrier, South Kensington Stationand District tube line, sites inSweden, Churchill’s Citadel and otherbunkers around London. Issue 20:September 2009 - plate rails in surreyfirestone quarries, Camden’s railwayhistory, Study weekend in NorthernFrance, Williamson’s Tunnels, RamHill Colliery (Gloucestrshire) plusmuch more!

Norfolk Mineral & LapidarySociety Newsletter: Stone Chat.Vol.29 No.3, Spring 2008. Vol.29No.4, Summer 2009. Vol.30 No.1,Autumn 2009,

Western United MinesNewsletterThe owners of South Crofty Minehave produced the first edition of“South Crofty News” intended tokeep people living near the mineinformed of developments, it isavailable for download on their website:

www.westernunitedmines.com/assets/documents/pdf/SOUTH_CROFTY_JULY_NEWSLETTER.pdf

valuable reference for mininghistorians - not to mention Club andTrust members looking to visit someof the sites mentioned!

This book is well worth adding toyour library as it successfully plugs agap in Shropshire mining history,pulling together histories of littleknown mines, along with the morefamous ones.

By Michael Shaw, Logaston press.

While SCMC publications have oftencarried articles about the variousmines covered by this book, therehas long been a need to try and pulleverything together into a coherentpublication. In this aim Mike Shawhas been very successful.

He has spent years researchingrecords and books, talking tosurviving miners, members of theirfamilies, SCMC members and trackingdown original documents and thesites of numerous mines - many ofwhich only lasted a year or two!

The first few chapters cover the earlymining history of Shropshire, theproducts and processes, beforedelving off into the different miningareas and covering the mines in moredetail, so it will have general appeal.

There are plenty of interestingsnippets and facts to keep‘enthusiasts’ engaged - for exampleMike has made an excellent job oftrying to untangle the ownershiphistory of Bog Mine (which seemedto change owners almost every yearat one time!), plus uncovering thehistories of a lot of small mines.

Coupled with the extensive gazetteer,and references section this is a bookthat after the first read, will become a

ISBN 978-0-9556081-2-4Softback, 172 pages, 112 b&wphotographs, 23 drawings and maps.Price £9 (£7.50 to Club members).

Snailbeach Lead Mine, ShropshireAs part of its efforts to raise fundingfor further restoration work atTankerville mine, the ShropshireMines Trust has published a newbook on Snailbeach. This book was“purposely designed to be read bysomeone with only a generalinterest”, but it is far better than that.

I hope you will support the Trust bybuying the book. Just the right sizeto slip in your pocket as a field guide.

Mike Gill

23“Below” 2009.3

Books and Videos

'Mongst More Mines

for details of availability visit: www.iarecordings.org

EXPLORATION OF SOUTHWESTERN MINES ABOVE &BELOW GROUND

The 2007 NAMHO conference washeld at Morwellham Quay by theriver Tamar. The organisers arrangedspecial visits to many mines inDevon and Cornwall and thisCompilation features some of them. Agroup from the Club spent thefollowing week exploring moreCornish mines and many visits arefeatured here.

The DVD starts with a look roundMorwellham Quay including a brieflook at George & Charlotte coppermine. Then we visit Excelsior tunnel,have a guided surface tour of thesuperbly preserved Kelly mineincluding the dressing mill, andexplore various levels of Great Rockshiny ore mine underground.

In Cornwall we visit the excellentBlue Hills tin streams, take a strollround the St. Agnes area, attend aspecially arranged visit to WhealPeevor before it was opened to thepublic, re-visit the always interestingTaylor’s shaft and Michell’s shaftNational Trust preserved Cornishengines in Pool and examine mines ofthe Basset sett after conservation forthe UNESCO world heritagesite.

A look round the splendidKing Edward dressing mill isfollowed by a visit to nearbyWheal Grenville stamps, thenwe have a quick look at avariety of sites: Brea tinstreaming works, SouthCrofty’s New Roskear shaft,the Red River near Roscrogganand the Cornish Gold Centre tosee what progress had beenmade with the unique Tolgustin streaming works.Afterwards, we stop briefly atSt.Euny’s churchyard tocontemplate the many miner’sgravestones.

An invitation from MarkKaczmarek gave a welcome

opportunity to re-visit the CamborneSchool of Mines (CSM) test mine(formerly Holmans Test Mine). Awalk round the buildings atBotallack on a fine sunny day isfollowed by a visit to Geevor tinmine, where we were very privilegedto be allowed to descend 79 metres ofladders in Victory shaft to Deep Aditlevel and explore it inland to adammed connection with the floodedLevant mine, then out along the longwinding level to the exit in theTrewellard cliffs.

Finally we see that the engine housesof Wheal Trewavas near Rinsey coveare just as impressive as Botallack,after which we move to Bodmin andmines around Caradon Hill: SouthPhoenix, Phoenix United and WhealJenkin near Minions, then end at theextensive remains of South Caradoncopper mine.

In many ways, this Compilationcomplements our popular 3-DVDProduction “’Mongst Mines andMine Explorers”.

£14.95 DVD(£10 to Club Members at meetings)

Madeley Court, ShropshireEdited by Shelagh Lewis in theTransactions of Shropshire Arch. &Hist. Society, Vol.81, dated 2006. A4size, 128 pages, many plans, photosand figures. Price about £10.

A very full report of present dayknowledge on this monastic grangesite founded c1200. It includes a 5page section on the coal andironstone mines as described in‘Below’ 2004.3 and 2004.4.

The Railways and Locomotivesof the Lilleshall Companyby Bob Yate, published by IrwellPress, hardback, 2008. A4 size, 138pages, many plans, photos andfigures about £21.

A fascinating book describing theCompany’s system of standardgauge track, about 20 miles, in all andthe places it served. At least twosections contain a significant amountof detail on the local mines.

A couple of errors have been noted,but may be forgiven in such acomprehensive work on railways - forexample the Madeley WoodCompany never “operated pitsnamed Lawn and Darklane” (asstated on page 16) and the churchknown as St. Chads was C. of E. notMethodist (page 81).

Ivor Brown

Roughton Gill and the Mines ofThe Caldbeck Fellsby Ian Tyler, HB, 320ppThe long awaited and penultimatebook by Ian on the Mining inCumbria, (it is dedicated to Jean Tylerwho passed away in 2007). Mininghas taken place on these fells forover 400 years starting with theGerman Adventurers of the 16thCentury to the Barytes Mines ofPotts Gill in the 1960s. The bookprovides details of each mine, plansand photographs where available. Ilike the Hardback style it does thebook justice, as ever Ian’s easy toread stlye comes through as herelates the story of each of the mines.There is also a list mine workers onthe fells.Price £20.00 plus P&P

Mike Moore

24 “Below” 2009.3

Diary Dates2009

Club Officers

23rd to 26th October: 25th SUICRO,Hylands Burren Hotel, Ballyvaughan,Co. Clare.

4th November: Newcomen SocietyMonthly meeting & talk “The Sinkingand History of Lea Hall Colliery” byDenis Jackson, 7pm at the Thinktank,Millenium Point, Birmingham.

14th - 15th November: NAMHOCouncil meeting at Nenthead, pluswinch on Brewery shaft. ContactSteve Holding for details.

20103rd February: Newcomen SocietyMonthly meeting & talk “Boulton,Watt & Wilkinson - the birth of theimproved steam engine” by JimAndrews, 7pm at the Thinktank,Millenium Point, Birmingham.

13th February: DCA AGM, 10amMonyash Village Hall.

6th March: BCRA Cave ScienceSymposium, University of Bristol.

27th - 30th April: IV InternationalKarst Symposium, Mallaga, Spain.

4th - 6th June: NAMHO 2010,Miners Institiute, Coalpit Heath,South Gloucestershire. Formsavailable from 1st January 2010.

The Perils of an Animal Rescue ......

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

Tak

e a

radi

o so

we ca

n ke

ep

in touch

Ok,

no pr

oble

ms

Hello ..

.

undergro

und ...

Hello

?

87

Thanks ...She’s such afriendly dog too ...

Membership, Insurance &BCA Rep: Mike Davies

Tackle: Andy Harris

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: Neal Rushton

Vice-Chair: Tony Wilson

Secretary: Andrew Woodscmc.secretary@factree.org.uk

Treasurer: Eileen Bowen

Training Officer: Ian Davies

Conservation & NAMHORep: Steve Holding