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May 2016 Presidents Jottings

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May 2016 Presidents Jottings www.nmrs.org.uk May 2016 www.nmrs.org.uk Presidents Jottings Hopefully someone will come forward after reading Our AGM, held last month, was another successful this. After the meeting Bernard Bond led an interest- event. It is an ideal opportunity for our members to get ing meet – details of this can be found elsewhere in together for a catch-up after the winter and it was pleas- this issue. I would also like to thank the unknown ing to see some new faces. Norman Dray had kindly members who washed up and cleared away the table opened up Mealbank Hall for us and Bernard Bond and chairs while I was busy talking! placed the direction signs in place. As usual book sales I would like to welcome the following new were brisk and signed copies of David Joyce`s book members “Men of Lead, Miners of the Yorkshire Dales” were Mr & Mrs Kenneth Richardson -Brierfield available. If you would like a copy please contact me. Ms Nikita Sessler - Milwaukee We also had some recently donated books which are John Sykes - Littlehampton library duplicates for sale. After the usual excellent Tim Troman -Hexham buffet we had the formal part of the meeting, the reports Barrie Watson - Sheffield of which will be available on our website in the mem- We were sorry to hear of the death of Norman bers area. There were no further nominations for Com- Thomson, more can be found elsewhere. mittee positions so our Committee stays the same as for There are several interesting meets planned 2015. However Malcolm Street our Membership Secre- before our next Newsletter in August which Sallie tary and Webmaster has said he will not stand for Mem- has mentioned elsewhere. Please book with the meet bership Secretary at next year`s AGM due to increasing leader and we look forward to reading reports in commitments. Malcolm does a splendid job and will be future Newsletters. I know I have already pencilled missed in that role but we are pleased he will be able to in a few. Another thing to consider while out and continue as Webmaster. Obviously we need a replace- about this summer is our Autumn Meeting on Satur- ment Membership Secretary as we rely a great deal on day 22nd October at Gisburn Festival Hall where we the income we receive from that strand of our Society. have Member`s Presentations. These should be no Please contact Malcolm or myself if you are interested in taking over and want to find out what is involved. Contents Presidents Jottings ………………………….…….1 Recorders Report ………………………….….…..2 Editor Library News …………………………………..…3 Rob Needham Meetings Reports ………………………….….…..3 Pike House, George Lane, Littledean, Glos. Meets for 2016 ………………………………....…4 GL14 3LL Norman Thomson ……….………………….….…5 Forthcoming Events ……………………..…..……5 tel.:- 01594 823487 New Publications ……………………….…..…….6 email:- [email protected] Cononish Diary …………………………..….……8 New YDNPA phone app …………………..……...9 Would you please note that the deadline for inclu- Oaks Disaster death toll ……………………….….9 sion with the August 2016 Newsletter is the 31st Nent Haggs mine water treatment …………...….10 July 2016. 1842 Commission for Cornwall & Devon …...….11 Submissions are welcome that would be of inter- Jersey war tunnels ………………………………..11 est to members of the NMRS. These can be for- Letter to the editor ……………………………..…13 warded to me as text/disc by post or you can email Sealing Daw Mill Colliery shafts .….…………….13 or telephone. If you require anything returning Burma & its gold …………………………….…..15 Hemingfield Colliery open day …………………..18 please ask. Photographs, plans and drawings are Leeds to Liverpool Canal - 200 years………….…20 acceptable as long as they can be reproduced in Wolf Minerals update ………………………….…21 black and white. Sirius Mineral search for funds ……………..…...22 Lea Bailey gold mine outflow of water ……....…22 An unusual mining artifact ………….….23 Page 1 NMRS - Newsletter May 2016 longer than 15 minutes. Please let me know if you Fair in their Garden Rooms and we have organised might be able to offer one a stand for our Society and our publications. The auction centre is on Harmby Rd., Leyburn, DL8 Publication News 5SG and the event is open from 10am to 5pm (4pm The day after our AGM we had a stand for NMRS Sunday) With free entry and plenty of free parking at a Book if you are in the area a visit would be worthwhile. Fair at There is always plenty to see as a variety of show- Pendle cases display interesting items from future sales. I Heritage can also recommend the food in the café! Hopefully Centre at we will see some of you there. Barrow- ford, Lan- cashire. It was an op- portunity to show- case our publication “The Coal Mines of East Lan- cashire” and use the advertising board Ron Callender had kindly made for us. The Heritage Centre there have a specialist book shop, mainly of local interest and they stock our titles they feel they can sell. The Book Fair enabled us to display a wider variety of our publications. It was good to see a few of our members who visited. Tennant`s the well known auction house have expanded in the past few years and are now attract- Our next publication in our British Mining Series ing other events to their premises, making it a desti- will be mailed out with the August newsletter nation in its own right. On the 13th & 14th of August they are hosting the Leyburn Mineral & Fossil Barbara Sutcliffe Recorders Report result of sustained hard work and cooperation by February saw the retirement of Robert White, the mining historians over five years (see also under Archaeological Conservator for the Yorkshire Dales New Publications). It gives the first comprehen- National Park Authority. Rob has done the job since sive assessment of the current state of knowledge on 1985 and has worked closely with historians and England’s extractive industries. The book is intend- archaeologists working in the Dales. For around 20 ed to give information to archaeologists that will years now he has held regular meetings of represent- assist in forming conservation and outreach strate- atives from University’s, Public bodies and special gies, and help to raise general awareness of the interest groups which have given an opportunity to significance of the extractive industries as part of learn what other specialists are doing, and about England’s cultural resource. current Park or English Heritage initiatives. Before 1985 the National Park’s interest in its mining herit- Copies are being sent to all Historic Environment age was much less, or even negative, but since then Records in England and Wales, as well as key ar- Rob has had a good number of mining sites and chaeological bodies in England, Wales and Scot- areas surveyed and consolidated. Rob’s assistant, land. Copies have also been distributed to the Miles Johnson, is still in post and will continue the minerals industry and each member of NAMHO. A good work. We wish Robert well in his retirement. limited number of copies remain available at £18 incl. postage, but a free PDF version of the publica- April saw the launch of a thick new book called The tion is also available for download at Archaeology of Mining and Quarrying in England: http://namho.org/research.php A Research Framework. It is published by NAM- HO in association with Historic England, and is the Mike Gill Page 2 NMRS - Newsletter May 2016 Library News engine available at the end of a working shift, the I have been given many NMRS Newsletters by miners would pile into a wagon and free-wheel Peter Wilkinson, Peter Jackson and CAT. Mike home at up to 6o miles an hour –at least the ballot Moore has donated a bound copy of monthly returns paper delivery was controlled by an engine! of men employed in Gwydyr mines and quarries in the C19 and early C20; these were collated by J S The weather was ‘gentle’ for our walk - the rain Bennett and M J T Lewis. Rob Needham has stopped at about four o’clock, and started again donated J A Buckley’s “The Cornish Mining Indus- about quarter past four; but the gradients were all try” and “The Ball Clays of Devon and Dorset” by gentle and the railway routes made for easy walking. The Ball Clay Heritage Society – this seems to be This is the best time of year to see the area – before the Library’s only book on ball clay. NAMHO has the vegetation grows too much. I was shown more given us our free copy of the research framework pits and inclines than I could count. “The Archaeology of Mining and Quarrying in Eng- land: this 360 page report can be downloaded free The day exemplified NMRS meets at their best. from the NAMHO website. I bought a copy of Ian There was lots of information from those who have Forbes’ “Images of Industry” for the library. Ian explored the paper records, the mines and the min- comments on a collection of early nineteenth centu- ing landscapes for years, were willing to share their ry lead mining drawings and paintings. Thank you knowledge and able to tell the history in interesting to all who generously donate to the library. If I have ways: but there were also plenty of opportunities for omitted to mention your donation, I apologise: discussion about what landscape and building fea- please let me know and I will put things right. tures were, and how they were used. Sallie Bassham (Honorary Librarian Especial thanks to Clive Seal and to Ian Tyler for a fascinating day.
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