B E L O W ! Quarterly Journal of the Shropshire Caving & Mining Club Winter Issue No: 96.4 Season’s Greetings BCRA Cave Science Photo Theft As the year draws to the end I would like Following the success of the While Ivor Brown was in Madrid to thank all Club Members, plus Symposium held in February this year, recently he was robbed of his case contributors to, and readers of ‘Below’, the event will be repeated on Saturday loosing cameras, etc.., but even worse, a very Happy Christmas and a Merry 15th March, 1997, hosted by the it also contained his complete collection New Year. Limestone Research Group at the of 35mm slides of Snailbeach Mine University of Huddersfield. Bona-fide from 1960 to the present. He would be In addition to the usual issue of ‘Below’ students are encouraged to attend and pleased to hear from anyone who has you should find attached to the back a will be admitted at half the rate slides particularly from the earlier years supplement. This lists or attempts to applicable to BCRA Members. that he could copy to help rebuild a set. list all the publications and main newsletter articles produced by the club The Lecture Secretary for the event is: Caver Insurance since 1960! If there are any glaring Underwriting agency GRIP Ltd. have errors please let me know so that the list Dr. J.D.Wilcock, announced an accident and illness can be corrected. 22 Kingsley Close, Stafford, ST17 9BT insurance policy which will cover Tel: 01785-353446 (work) people undertaking sports activities Due to space considerations a ‘heavily’ including caving and potholing. The edited index for ‘Below’ has been Fly to Dublin Critical Cash policy pays a lump sum included in the listing, a more detailed Anyone interested in flying over to of up to £1 million or a monthly benefit version will be available in the future, Dublin for the AGM of the Mining after 2 weeks incapacity. although probably only on disc. History Society of Ireland on the 8th February, 1997, should contact Nick There is no medical examination or Kelvin Southwick as soon as possible. loading of the premium. Although caving, potholing and diving are risks covered, exclusions include rock Finally - New Members climbing, mountaineering, aerial Welcome to the following new members who have recently joined the activities or other deliberate exposures Club: to exceptional danger. Full information from: GRIP Ltd., 150 John Blair, Tim Booth, Roger Brown, Justin Byrne, Minories, London EC3N 1LS. Tel: Steve Dewhirst, Roger Evans, Ken Jones, 0171-264-2012 Tony King, Catherine Mills, Brian Newman, Caves & Caving, Issue 73 Steve Peters, Mrs. C.Taylor, and John Tennent Good News Regular visitors to Derbyshire will be aware of the Car Theft problem near certain caves. You will be pleased to hear that a couple of the thieves were caught shortly after breaking into a cavers car in the lay-by opposite Perryfoot Farm (near P8). They were spotted bytourists who took their car number and rang the Police. Ian Spibey, Descent, No.132 “Below” 96.4 1 News Round-Up 1 by Ivor Brown Clay Mine Rules Mining Lecture archaeological dig was underway at the Lords Hill engine shaft complex - A copy of the statutory ‘Code & Rules’ IJB will be giving a lecture on the it was difficult to make out all the for operating ‘Shropshire Clay Mines’ “Miners of the Severn Gorge”, to foundations of the Cornish engine egg- District 9, Established 1902, has been Shropshire Family History Society on ended boilers 30ft. x 6ft. diameter, the acquired by IJB. A similar copy for Tuesday 20 May, 1997 in the Council single cylinder, 22in vertical winding Shropshire Coal Mines has also been Chamber, Shirehall, Shrewsbury at engine (cast iron beam on pillars with located. The Clay mines code contains 7.30pm. Visitors will be welcome. its two egg-ended boiler, 1 of 30ft, 1 of 51 Rules and is 3 pages of small print 28ft length, the pair of steam winch in thickness. Brierley Hill Tunnel boilers, two spur wheels with drum 4ft An inspection was recently made of long and 3ft dia., plus the 8 arm capstan, Terraced Cave the tunnel at Brierley Hill, all as described on the 1884 inventory. Estate Agents Herdson Humphries of Coalbrookdale. It almost certainly is Bridgnorth are offering a terraced town not a purpose built reservoir, it could The Lords Hill Baptists were holding cottage, 11 St.Marys Steps, Bridgnorth well be a tramway tunnel predating a service in the ‘ore-house’ - their for £47,000. Features include 2 the shaft and tunnel system later chapel having now been vacated due bedrooms, bathroom and a “timber developed on the site. It has all the to dry rot in ceiling and floor. Ways are shed opening to cave storage space, hallmarks of a simple arched - not oval being sought to preserve the chapel, 13ft 9in x 6ft 0in overall”. shaped Reynolds tunnel, the bricks but Connie the caretaker is still in and construction methods are the same, residence for the present. NUM Buy-out while the shuttering holes are of similar spacing to those in the Tar Tunnel! SCC have announced that the next job During August 1996, North Wales is to conserve the ruins near Chapel NUM were holding “talks with” Clay Shaft, especially the chimney. Mining, a small company based in Polish Mines Saved Telford, with regard to being a joint IJB has recently been to Poland, the venture partner in the buy-out of Point number of miners in the Lower Silerian Old Engine House of Ayr Colliery. (The talks did not Coalfield has fallen from over 25,000 A further opinion on the likelihood of produce a partnership). Min. Journal to less than 5,000 since the last visit in a second “vertical steam-engine house 16-8-96 1985. Conversion of three coal mines now a dwelling” in Jackfield has now to tourist mines is proposed. been obtained. The recent view is that Mrs Davies the building to the South of the new In Upper Silesia things are slightly river bridge is a fill size engine house Re item on Mrs Davies and the Bog better (There are however two colliery designed to completely contain a later (last issue of Below). Mrs Davies died tourist mines already, only one steam rotative engine, perhaps driving rods soon after this item was written, she winder remains in use in the whole or even winding spools. was 86 and had lived in the cottage all coalfield). her life. Spanish Mines The Wieliczka Salt Mine is still The cottage is now being ‘modernised’. IJB has been in Spain recently. While producing after 500 years and also has at the School of Mines, Madrid, he It can be seem to have originally been about 750,000 visitors each year. The 2 one room dwellings built of stone, visited the School’s experimental mine, tourist area is down a 40m shaft and actually under the University buildings each with a chimney, and each having tourists walk 1.25 miles in 2½ hours one front door and a window. and yards (as at Birmingham, see last viewing original wooden mining Below). The steel headframe looks machinery etc. All is perfectly quite incongruous dwarfed by 19th A second storey of brick has been preserved, for which the mine has added, probably when the ‘cottages’ Century multi-storey stone buildings. been designated a ‘World Heritage He also spent some time at the mercury were combined and thatch replaced by Site’. slate. There are ruins of two further mines at Almaden, 200 miles south of Madrid. pairs of ‘huts’ nearby. Welsh Mines Trust Mine Share Members of the Welsh Mines New Book Preservation Trust visited Snailbeach “Restoration and Revegetation of IJB has acquired his first South during November. They expressed Colliery Spoil Tips and Lagoons” by Shropshire Mine Share Certificate, surprise at the amount of work that RML Ltd, published by HMSO for the “The Roman Gravels Mining had been done both on surface and D. of E. Price £25, includes many Company Limited”, No. 6758, one underground. There was some references to reclamation work in share (of 12,000 shares) value 7 pounds comment on the way the tops of the Telford, especially Granville Country 10 shillings (£7.50), dated 11.1.1871 walls were being “conserved”. An Park (contributions by I.J.Brown). 2 “Below” 96.4 Club GPS Kit The club has now purchased a Garmin A few moments tuition is all that is references for other countries are GPS38 “Personal Navigator”. GPS required for basic operation but some available in the instrument). systems are units which make use of experience will be required to make signals from American Defence the most of the system. There is even a The Grid Reference is given as the two satellites to accurately identify their simulator mode of operation to help identification letters and a ten figure current position. The Garmin GPS38 understand its operation. The most reference - e.g. SJ 70086 05912 for unit is a similar size to a small mobile important point to note is the a a location on Brookside, Telford. phoneand in addition to identifying reasonable amount of sky must be Clearly a ten figure Grid Reference is the current position, it can be used to visible such that the signals from at not really appropriate but I recommend navigate to specific locations or to least three satellites can be picked up that when noting the position of mine/ follow a route via a number of identified (usually there will be eight satellites cave entrances or surface features, that locations.