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NEWSLETTER No 70 APRIL 1994
ruTURE SOCIETY MEETS
1. DAISY KNOWL GRITSTONE MINE, LONGNOR and MOULDRIDGE MINE, PIKEHALL
Sunday lst May 1994
Leader:- Paul Chandler
Meet at 10.30arn at the Main Square Car Park at Longnor, Grid ref: SK088649.
Both of these mines are easy grade. After the visit to Daisy Knowl we shall travel by car to Pikehall, Grid ref: SK 193591.
2. WEST MINE, ALDERLEY EDGE, CHESHIRE
Sunday 15th May 1994
Organiser:- Paul Chandler
This is a joint meet with the Masson Caving Group and there are 10 places available for PDMHS members. Leaders will be Derbyshire CC members and there will be a small charge for the visit.
West Mine is a moderate grade trip which contains some difficult climbs, some of which are rope or chain assisted.
Please contact Paul Chandler, (Chesterfield (0246) 220773, evenings only) to book your place.
3. HORSE BUTTOCKS/DRAKE MINE COMPLEX
Saturday llth June 1994
Organiser:- Dave Penney
This meet is restricted to a maximum of 10 PDMHS members. The members must be experienced in long underground trips involving very wet conditions and long low crawls. All of the internal shafts have fixed ladders and are both ascended and descended during the through trip.
Permission for the meet has kindly been given by the landowners, Mr Hopkinson and Mr Harrison. There will be a small winch fee.
Pleas e c ontact Dave Penney, Ches terfi eld (0246) 45 1491 after 5.00pm, f o r further info rmation. UNDERGROUND WITH PAUL DEAKIN
There was an excellent turn out of members at the Peak District Mining Museum for the slide presentation that was given by Paul Deakin.
Paul introduced the presentation by showing slides which illustrated the effect of using various lighting techniques used to get the best, and worst, photographs of underground situations. These slides emphasised the fact that if good results are to be achieved it is necessary to carefully plan the shot and the lighting.
The rest of the evening was then spent on a tour of metal and coal mines, both underground and opencast, together with some potholes. The slides illustrated both old and new • methods of working in particular mining areas. There were also examples of "before and after" situations in some mines as well as the recording in-situ of artifacts as found. j The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who attended. It can be summed up by one member who had not seen examples of Paul's work before when she said, "I did not know what to expect but when the first slide was shown I knew I was in for a treat".
Paul in action in the Pump Room of the Peak District Mining Museum, where his medium format 6cm x 6cm transparencies filled the large screen. Photo by H M Parker
MAGPIE ENGINE HOUSE
Now that the Society has the promise of a number of grants from statutory bodies the process of getting the Engine House repaired has been started.
Quotations have bee n obtained from suitably approved architects for the management of the project, as required by English Heritage. Alternative methods of carrying out the work on the structure are being evaluated before formally going out to tender for the structural work.
It is not yety c l ear whether the work can be completed in 1994 as originally planned.
- 2- NEW MEMBERS
Mr & Mrs L Cole 4 1 Middleton Boulevard, Wollaton Park, Nottingham, NG8 lFY Mr p s Foster Hockley Hall, Threaphurst Lane, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire, SK7 6NN Mr F c Parker "Tanglewood", Great Longstone, Bakewell, Derbys, DE45 lTU Mr A Sinar "Stony Brook", Quarry Bank, Smedley Street West, Matlock, Derbys, DE4 3LF Mr J F Craig 13 Downsview Rd, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 2JT Mr & Mrs L Holford 5 Longacre, Woodthorpe, Nottingham, NGS 4JS Mr & Mrs W H Purvis 35 Chapel Rd, Penketh, Warrington, Cheshire, WAS 2NG Mr J B Skipper & Ms T Oakley 15 ECM Av, Lutterworth, Leics, LE17 4SU
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
Mr M D Harrison 6 Babbacombe Court, Conniston Rd, Newbold Moor, Chesterfield, Derbys, S41 SUE Mr M c Smith 7 Park Rd, Alrewas, Burton on Trent, staffs, DE13 7AG Mr E L Hurt 296 St Albans Rd, Bulwell, Nottingham, NG6 9HH Miss J c Sinar 6 Porteous Close, Two Dales, Matlock, Derbys, DE4 2EM
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
1. PDMHS ORGANISED CONFERENCE - A conference hosted by PDMHS on behalf of East Midlands Archaeology Conference will be held in Derbyshire on 7th May 1994. The venue will be the Peak District Mining Museum for the morning session with visits to Enthoven's Lead smelte r (by kind permission of HJ Enthoven), and Magpie Mine and Sough in the afternoon.
The lecturers will be Dr Trevor Ford, Dr David Kiernan and Dr Lynn Willies.
The cost of the Conference is £10.00 per person, including buffet lunch.
Please send your bookings (cheques made payable to Peak District Mining Museum) to Lynn Willies, Peak District Mining Museum, Matlock Bath, Derbys, DE4 3PS.
FOR SALE
1. CAP LAMP CHARGERS
A new electronic charger for charging up to three "through the head" lead acid lamps . The cost is £40.00 , a large proportion of which will be donated to the Magpie Mine Mine Engi ne House Appeal.
Please contact Wes Taylor, tel:- Barton under Needwood (0283 ) 713315.
2. CAP LAMPS AND CHARGER
2.1 Five cap lamps, regularly serviced and in good condition, with a main beam lighting time of 15 hours plus. Cost £20 . 00 or £30 . 00 per lamp.
2.2 Single through the headset charger, very good condition, mains/12v supply. Cost £30. 00 .
2.3 Oldham 10 lamp charger, single phase, good condition. cost £150.
All of the above equipment is available from Paul Chandler, tel: - Chesterfield (0246 ) 220773, evenings only.
- 3- BULLETINS WANTED
Member David Parsons is looking to purchase a number of back copies of the PDMHS Bulletins. The copies that he wishes to acquire are:- Vol 1 . Nos 1 to 6 Vol 2. Nos 1 to 6 Vol 3 . Nos 1 to 4 Val 4. No 4 Vo l 5. No 2
Anyone who wishes to dispose of any of the above publications should contact David, tel:- (0246) 260011 (daytime) or (0433) 631225 (evening).
WALKS IN THE LAKE DISTRICT )
Members holidaying in the Lake District this year may be interested in a number of organised walks which have a mining theme.
These walks are run by the Caldbeck Mining Museum, which is itself well worth a visit. It i s located at "Priests Mill", Caldbec k. They start at 10.30am and last about 4.5hrs. Boots, waterproofs, packed lunch and spare clothing are specified. The progranune for 1994 is:- 29th May Eagle Crag Mine. Meet Patterdale Church, Patterdale 26th June Honister Slate Mine. Meet Honister YHA Car Park 3lst July Greenside Mine. Meet at Glenridding Tourist Office 28th August Roughten Gill Mine. Meet at Fellside, near Caldbeck 25th September Goldscope Mine and New lands Valley. Meet at bridge near Little Town Church
Please telephone (0228) 41255 (day) or (0228) 561883 (evenings) for further information.
H M Parker
SRT, LADDER AND LIFELINE TRAINING
On a recent Sunday a n enthusiastic group of PDMHS and Masson Caving Group members took part in a second SRT and Ladder Training Course that had been organised by Paul Chandler, in conjunction with the NCA. The course was held at the Whitehall Outdoor Centre at Buxton.
Instruction in the a rt of pruisiking, abseiling and ladder technique s was g ive n by Nigel Ball. The i nstructor also gave a lot of useful background information on the subject.
The age and experience of the members varied considerably but the standard of tuition was exceptionally high so that everyone present learned something on the day. They all felt ) that t he day had been very worthwhile and enjoyable. \ I Thanks to Paul for putting it all together.
John Bowers
RHOSYDD SLATE MINE, BLAENAU FJ.7ESTINIOG
In a proposal to rework the Rhosydd Slate mine by the owners o f Oakley Quarry will lead to the loss of the mine as we now know it.
It is proposed to construct a new road to the east of the tips, remove the main incline
-4- and then install pumps and drainage down to Level 14. This development work will destroy much of the mine which is currently accessible. (Grosvenor Caving Club)
BOOK REVIEW
"Mines of the Gwydyr Forest - Part 5 - Coed Mawr Pool, Cyffty and other mines" by John Bennett and Robert W Vernon. AS, 144pp, ISBN O 9514798 4 9. Price £6.50 Published by Gwydyr Publications, c/o John Bennett, 7 St Johns Way, Cuddington, Cheshire, CW8 2LX.
This, the fifth book in a series of seven, covers the mines on the high ground west of Betws-y-Coed and on the north bank of the Llugwy River. The principal mines of the area I were Cyffty, Coed Mawr Pool and Ffridd Mines and the main body of the book provides a most j interesting description of their histories. As with the majority of Welsh mines, more money was generated by the promoters than was ever won from the ground and it is quite remarkable how little was brought to "the day" in any of these ventures. Cyffty is one of the better known mines of North Wales due, perhaps, to the excellent surface remains which were extant until 1966 when they were needlessly demolished. In the last two years an Interpretation Trail has been completed in the area and the much reduced remains have been consolidated after the completion of some excavation work. This trail is described in the book, as are the present day remains at the other sites.
The Appendix is an extract from the Royal Commission Report of 1864, known as the Kinnaird Commission. This commission was appointed to inquire into the conditions of all mines in Great Britain and this extract deals with the Coed Mawr Mine and the evidence that was presented by Lord Willoughby's agent and by Matthew Wasley, the Mine Captain.
The book is written in the usual easy reading style from the authors and the chapters are arranged in such a way that the individual histories of the mines are easily unscrambled from their often interrelated activities.
There are 33 maps and diagrams, including four very good fold-out plans, and 10 photographs. There are not many old photographs of the sites, due to the extreme scarcity of such photographs, not to a reluctance to publish. This volume stands well on its own if you are only interested in this area of mining activity but, for those readers who already have copies of the other volumes in the series, it must be just a formality to purchase this book.
I J Brown
BOOKS WANTED
) Mark Harrison is looking for second hand copies of:- 1. Limestones and Caves of the Peak District (T Ford) J 2. Caves of the Peak District (Guide) If anyone can help will they please contact Mark, tel:- (0246) 455729.
MINING VIDEOS
British Coal has made available a number of videos relating to coal mining in the UK. They are:- 1. Nine Centuries of coal (£8.00) 2. Island o f Coal (£9 .00 ) 3. Origin of Coal (£7.00) 4. Winning the Coal (£7.00)
- 5 - All of the videos (especially No 1) are of historical interest. They are available in VHS or Betamax formats and they can be obtained from British Coal, Public Relations Dept, Hobart House, Grosvenor Place, London, SWlX 7AE.
I J Brown t t NAMHO NOTES I • 1. Field Meet 1994 t t The NAMHO Field Meet in 1994 will be held in the Forest of Dean and will be jointly hosted by Royal Forest of Dean Caving Club, Gloucester Speleological Society, Hades Caving Club I and Clearwell Caves. The Field Meet will take place on 5th-8th August 1994. D' The underground trips will range from easy to hard. There will be visits to Clearwell .. ( Caves, Wigpool Iron Mine, Morses Level Coal Mine, Bixhead Quarries Stone Mine, Noxon Park I Area, Westbury Brook Iron Mine, Beech Pit/Traw Ditch Level, Devils Chapter Iron Mine, Brincombe Limestone Level and Preservation Iron Mine. •
There will be surface walks to Bixdale Valley, Howlers Slade and Wimberry Slade, the Clearwell area and the Oakwood Valley.
On the Saturday evening there will be a Pig Roast and social at the Rising Sun at Moseley Green, together with a slide and video show at the same location. 'I l For further information and a booking form, please send a SAE to J Hine, "The Cottage", 2 ~ Cullis Lane , Mile End, Coleford, Glos, GL16 7QF. l c 2. NAMHO Conference 1995 1 The next NAMHO conference will be held in 1995 and will be hosted by the Shropshire Caving c and Mining Club. The date, to be finalised, is May/June 1995. c a Further details of these events will be provided later.
3. Grants available for training etc
NAMHO is a member of the NCA and as such NAMHO members have the benefit of services E provided by NCA. A major benefit available is the provision of funding for organising t training sessions for mine/caving techniques and, possibly, for expeditions associated c with overseas mine exploration. c Anyone who wishes to avail themselves of this facility should make a written request to E the NAMHO representative, Wes Taylor, who will forward the request to the NAMHO ~ representative to the NCA. 'J t 95 YEAR OLD MACHINE DISCOVERED IN CLIFTON COUNTRY PARK I I Members of the Wet Earth Colliery Exploration Group have recently been working on the final stage of an excavation at a colliery which provided 178 years of continuous employment in Clifton, Greater Manchester, after being drained in 1750 by James Brindley. 'f.
Having spent two years tracing the elusive route by which Brindley had drained water from the mine workings, the group commenced a search for more recent industrial remains in order to illustrate answers to questions posed by the many visitors who had already been fortunate enough to view the excavations in detail.
A muc h asked question was "How did the miners get fresh air?"
- 6- To those concerned with the project the answer was simple but the means of explanation in layman's terms was a little more difficult until October 1992 when a ventilation house was finally located.
Initially, the find consisted of nothing more than a brickwork outline but the whole of the fan chamber has now been excavated to a depth of 8ft to reveal stone engine beds, air tight chambers, a semi-circular air inlet and the remains of a Walker Bros Indestructable Fan. Little had been known about the engineering practice at the colliery but finally armed with the identity of the company which constructed the fan, group members were able to search archives and locate details of the very equipment which had been purchased by the mine owners in 1898.
Located adjacent to one of the main shafts, the ventilation house excavation provides visitors with a self explanatory answer to the question posed above. Over the coming months of this Heritage Year it is hoped that the "hands on" approach of the wet Earth Colliery Exploration Group will continue to enable both adults and children to fully appreciate the vital role that Industrial Archaeology has to play as a recreational and educational discipline.
Mark Wright (Wet Earth Colliery Exploration Group)
LAST OF THE PIT PONIES
The last pit ponies to work in a British Coal mine were "retired" at the end of February 1994. The last mine where pit ponies were used was at Ellington Colliery in Northumberland and, whilst there were about 80 ponies used in the heyday of the mine, the last four were brought to the surf ace some two weeks after the mine ceased to produce coal.
The hours a pony could work were laid down by law - 48 hours being the maximum but very often it was a good deal less. They worked a single shift a day and a five day week. Offers from people prepared to give retirement homes to the ponies (who will not be allowed to work again) are being evaluated. (Mining Journal)
A BBC TV SERIES FOR THE FUTURE
BBC TV is to produce a new investigative series of programmes that may include reference to mining in the UK. The series will enable people with a fascinating story from their own, their family or their community's past to investigate the story on BBC TV.
One of the stories being considered is a Nottinghamshire miner, now redundant, going in search of former NUM adversaries to trace the origins of the rift between the NUM and the Nottinghamshire miners.
The BBC is inviting anyone who has an interesting mining story that they wish to research to contact them with a view to their story being used in the series. They are looking for stories which people know little about or which would challenge what we think we know about the past.
Anyone who thinks that they can help with this proposed series should contact Beverley Hopwood, BBC Features, Broadcasting House, Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2LR.
MATLOCK MINERAL COMPANY IN RECEIVERSHIP
Swan Industrial Minerals Ltd, which in January 1993 announced plans for extensive working at Dunsley Mill, Cromford to process Fluorspar, has, together with associated companies, Horace Taylor (Properties) Ltd, Horace Taylor (Minerals) Ltd and Horace Taylor
- 7- (Whatstandwell) Ltd, been taken over by joint administrative receivers Richard Rees and Stephen Hancock. Swan Industrial Minerals Ltd had also made a planning application to extend and mine fluorspar from Ball Eye Quarry. They also had plans to mine fluorspar from other parts of Derbyshire. The receivers are hoping to sell the business.
Two of the company's former directors, Alan Paterson and Andrew Smith, trading under the name of Pennine Minerals, have leased part of the site from the receivers to carry on with part of the process operation.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE PEAK DISTRICT MINING MUSEUM BOOKLIST
The following is a selection of the recent additions to the Peak District Mining Museum bookshop. Most non-stock items can be supplied at short notice. All books are available by post at cost plus postage and packing. The post and packing charge is 15% of cost (minimum 50p) for orders to UK addresses. For overseas orders payment MUST be in £ sterling plus 20% post and packing.
Aspects of Geology P Kennett & C A Ross Rutley's Elements of Geology c D Gribble Iona Marble Quarry David Viner Dictionary of Geology Penguin Dictionary of Geography Penguin China caves '85 A c Waltham Xingwen - China Caves Report A C Waltham & R c Willis Fossils in the Field R Golding Fossils - The Key to the Past Richard Fortey Bath Stone - a quarry history Perkins, Brooks & Pearce Story of Camborne Town Janet Thomas City Pit Fred Moss
COPY FOR THE JULY EDITION OF THE NEWSLETTER
The deadline for material for the next edition of the Newsletter is 5th June 1994 .
Copy, articles, photographs, letters etc should be sent to:-
Wes Taylor, 18 Station Lane, Walton on Trent, Swadlincote, Derbys, DE12 8NA. Tel:- Barton under Needwood (0283) 713315.
PEAK DISTRICT MINES HISTORICAL SOCIETY LTD
Company No 1227931 (Registered in England) Liability Limited by Guarantee Regis tered Charity No 504662
Registered Office, Peak Dis trict Mining Museum, The Pavilio n , South Parade, Matlo ck Bath, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 JNR. Tel:- Matlo ck (0629) 583834.
STOP PRESS!!!
OPEN DAY AT SNAILBEACH MINE, SHROPSHIRE
The Shropshie caving and Mining Club are t o rig The Snailbeach Mine down t o the water at the 112 Yard Level with SRT and ladders on 23rd and 24th April 1994. There are 7 pitches with a total d epth o f about 650ft. If you do not wish to go to the b ottom of the mine the r e is the opportunity t o explore the a rtifacts and passages at t he 40 Yard Le ve l.
Anyone who want s to atte nd t his event s h ould conta c t St eve Ho l d ing , t e l:- ( 0952 ) 660087 .
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