B E L O W ! Quarterly Journal of the Shropshire Caving & Mining Club Winter Issue No: 2009.4 Changes at the Top Club Dinner At the AGM in October Alan Taylor This year’s Club dinner was well stepped down as Club President, a attended with several members and post he has held for the last 19 years. guests coming hot-foot from the Miner’s Reunion at Blists Hill. Alan became Club President in October 1990, taking over from David The After-dinner talk by Richard Adams, now the roles have reversed Bifield (Tourism Manager for Telford and David has once more taken the & Wrekin) entitled “1709-2009: up the reins. A big thank you to Alan Celebrating the 300th Anniversary of Above: Neal Rushton receiving the for all he has done over the past 19 the birth of the Industrial Revolution ‘Golden Nut’ award from Andy Harris years and a welcome ‘back’ to David, in Colbraookdale” was interesting MR Calendar (our Founder member) as head of the and covered a brief industrial history Thanks to the generosity of Club as we approach our 50th of Telford and Shropshire. GoodYear, member teams of Anniversary. The raffle went well - thanks to Mole Mountain Rescue England & Wales who donated gallons of ‘Mole-juice’ have been given copies of the and bags of vegetables. GoodYear Mountain Rescue Calendar to sell to raise funds. Neal Rushton was awarded the ‘Golden Nut’, and Tony Wilson The Club through it’s connection received the ‘Exploration, E-Mole’ with MCRO & BCRC, has received a but had already left on his travels by box of 50 calendars to sell at £5 each, the time the trophy came to be we need to sell them all before awarded! Christmas .... Ho-Ho-Ho! The ‘Hernia’ award for exploration in the face of adversity was to be presented by Tony, who had left without saying who the recipient was to be ... it is due to awarded on an underground trip soon, more news Above: David Adams, the new Club next time! President. Pictured at the recent Pitchcroft Mine dig. Subs change A increase in Club subscriptions was New Treasurer been made at the AGM, the new rates At the AGM Eileen Bowen stood (assuming BCA Insurance stays the down as Club Treasurer, she felt 3 same) are: years of juggling books was enough! Full member: £20 + £16 insurance Marion Boston, has bravely taken Joint Members (2): £26 + £32 ins. over the role. So welcome to Marion Junior Member: £12 + £16 ins. and a big thank you to Eileen. All Subscriber: £20 Eileen has to worry about now is There is a £2 discount (£4 for Joint) if Bats and not Kittys! you pay before 31st January 2010. Petzl Stop - Safety Alert - see back page. “Below” 2009.4 1 News Round-Up 1 Ivor Brown Snailbeach Chapel Back issues of the Bulletin of Wesley Historical Society (Shropshire Branch) have many references to Right: Mining Shropshire miners. One article is sculpture of Pony about how Snailbeach Methodist and coal truck, by Church came about. Gerry Foxall on the ASDA Island, The Marquis of Bath would not Donnington, Telford. apparently give the miners land to build a chapel - but he did for the Picture: Ivor Anglicans in 1872. So the miners got Brown, taken Henry Dennis, the manager of the September 2009 Snailbeach mine, to intercede for them. Miners’ Memorial Damaged Shropshire Wildlife Trust In 1876 the miners got the land they On the 26th October, 2009 at 6am, a The SWT are appealing for funds to needed. Soon after, the attendance at 14-tonne lorry (owned by George H purchase Catherton Common near main services is given as about 140. Kime & Co. Ltd, from Lincolnshire) Ludlow - the site contains much The Sunday School had 47 scholars, travelling along St. George’s Road, evidence of past generations of but by 1884 this had fallen to 27 as Donnington, ploughed straight on at mining and is at present in the many families were leaving the area the Granville traffic island, smashing ownership of an opencast coal “occasioned by the closure of the into the metal sculpture of a miner mining company. mines”. with a pit pony and cart. The lorry driver (in his 60s) was unhurt, and no Tar Tunnel Information Has anyone got a copy of this other vehicles were involved. New information continues to be Chapel’s Centenary Handbook with found about the Tar Tunnel. details of the miners activities The sculpture, commissioned to mark Recently Paul Luter has discovered published in 1976? The writer would the opening of Granville Country in the Madeley Field Reckoning like to see a copy. Park was created by Gerry Foxall of Accounts (Ref. 271/1) that William Madeley as a memorial to local Homersley was the overseer of the Disaster Anniversary miners. It originally stood in the Park, Tar Tunnel in the 1790s (later he Next year, 2010, will be the 100th but was moved to the roundabout became underground agent for Lord Anniversary of the last Shropshire near Asda in 1997 when it became a Stafford). Among other points it mining disaster (involving 3 or more target for vandals! records “4 June 1797, for making a rail lives). It was caused by the rope road in the tar level 142 yd £10-13s- breaking during winding at Telford & Wrekin environmental 0d.” and “25 Oct. 1792, repair of 83 tar Kemberton Pit, Madeley. It is not yet maintenance team are assessing the barrels by William Williams £8-6s- known what, if any, events will be damage to the sculpture to see if it 0d”. held to mark it. can be repaired. Last Private Coal Mine Below: The ramp form the adit to Flame Safety Lamps 2010 is also the 40th Anniversary of the top of the screening plant at For some years now lighted flame Shortwoods. When they reached the the closure of the last private coal safety lamps have been placed on top the tubs were tipped by hand mine in Shropshire - that of the tables at the Club’s Annual Dinner. onto their side, 1967 This must now be a unique occasion, Shortwoods Colliery, near Lawley. Pictures: Ivor Brown many of these lamps are very old and Below: Shortwoods coal bins and valuable. It is the only time the writer loading bays, 1967 has seen a lighted full gauze Davey- type lamp, no glass, with a small flame inside. It is hardly surprising that these lamps were often used just for gas testing, the miner using a candle for illumination - often with disastrous results. Many thanks ‘Mole’ for supplying and tending the lamps on the above occasions. 2 “Below” 2009.4 The Bolts from Pitchcroft Engine House David Poyner As part of the investigation into the For a further 5 bolts, the head is set The nuts were sectioned to remove Pitchcroft engine house, we have asymmetrically on the shaft, being them and it was found that the 1 th recovered a large number of iron off-centre by /8 to ¼ of an inch. underlying threads were in good objects. These include many bolts. In Seven of the bolts are associated condition. The angle of the thread in 1983, a study was published of 18th with nuts; these are all square. both bolts was very close to 70o; far and 19th Century bolts recovered from removed from the Whitworth a lead smelter and a mine at The Whitworth thread is defined by standard of 55o. Wanlockhead in Scotland. That has both its shape and its pitch. In most provided the inspiration for a closer cases, the bolts were too corroded to Careful examination of the ¾” bolt look at the Pitchcroft bolts. allow any sensible analysis of the suggested that it had been made by shape of the thread, but the pitch can hand by a blacksmith. The starting A modern bolt is made from a rod of easily be measured by estimating the material was probably a ¾” section iron. The head is cold-forged in a die number of threads per inch (in square rod of wrought iron. The and the thread is cut by machine on practice, where possible the length of smith is likely to have cut this to the other end. In the early 18th either 5 or 10 turns of the thread was length with a set or a chisel. The one Century, bolts were made hand by a measured). end would have been thickened by blacksmith. The thread on both the selective heating and hammering, bolt and the nut was typically cut by Only nine of the 24 bolts had then shaped to the square section hand, sometimes using a file. anything like the pitch required for using a die held in the anvil. The Mechanical cutting of threads is an Whitworth. Given the date of the smith would roughly hammer the invention usually attributed to Henry mine, it is perhaps not surprising that other end of the bolt into a cylinder, Maudsley with his screw-cutting the threads do not follow again finishing it with a die held in lathe developed after 1797, although Whitworth’s standard; on the other the anvil. I suspect an experienced earlier machines were known. hand, he based this on commonly smith would be able to complete this Threads were standardised by Sir used threads that he had examined. work in a few minutes. Both bolts Joseph Whitworth, following a The Lilleshall bolt makers were show flats on one side of the thread; proposal he made in 1841. Thus the clearly content to do their own thing.