C A T The Newsletter of the Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society No. 84 August 2006 Cover picture: Richard Hewer in the Waiotahi Valley in New Zealand. Thames Mine The author by the transverse ore carriage. The ore hopper is to the left, And behind Richard’s left shoulder in the side of the level are many Minor veins of mineralisation. See Richard’s article in this issue. Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society Newsletter No 84, August 2006 Contents: Cover picture Inside front cover News New Members Page 2 Library & Archive Page 2 Coniston Local History Initiative Page 2 Laser scanning Alastair Cameron Page 2 Hospital Level Conservation Project Page 2 Kernal Level Project Page 3 CATMHS Publications Page 3 Geo- archaeological survey at Coniston Copper Mines Page 3 Newland Furnace Page 5 Book Review Page 5 New Books Page 5 Whitriggs evening meet, 9th August Pete Sandbach Page 5 Petzl Jammers – risk of slippage Page 6 Meet Reports Inspection of No 1 Level, Force Crag Mine John Aird Page 8 Bloomeries and Bloomsmithies, May 21st Ian Matheson Page 9 Ellesmere Port, Sunday 25th June Ian Matheson Page 11 The Upper Long Crag area of Wetherlam Alastair Cameron Page 13 Long Crag Workings, 1977 & 1983 Dave Bridge. Page 14 Articles A journey to the gold workings of New Zealand. Richard Hewer Page 16 Minutes CAT minutes, Monday 20th March 2006 Sheila Barker Page 28 CAT minutes, Monday 15th May 2006 Sheila Barker Page 31 Society Officers and Committee Members Back cover News Straw House and the Nail Road, which apparently was named after someone, New Members is in progress. If anyone would like to We welcome the following new help there is a task to do, and that is to members: carry out a GPS and photographic Mike Dawson, from Darlington. survey of the old Spion Kop aerial Derek Cutmore, from Lindal. Derek is flight from the Spion Kop bank down an extractive metallurgical engineer to the Flight Road. The only remains and has worked as a metallurgist at of the flight are a few slate pillars on various mines in Southern Africa all the fell side. (CAT has decided to his life. He is currently looking for a make this the object of a meet in suitable property to start a mining October) Each is to be photographed museum near Lindal-in-Furness. and its location logged. The only problem is that the course of the flight CAT Library and Archive is up extremely steep ground. All The CATMS Library and Archive, volunteers welcomed with open arms. which is currently housed at the Armitt Collection in Ambleside, is to be Laser Scanning. moved to the Ruskin Museum. We are A friend of mine who lectures at very grateful to the Armitt, but now Aberdeen University was talking to me feel that it would be more appropriate in January about a research project he for our collection to be at Coniston, was carrying out on a piece of close to the copper mines. The Ruskin equipment which is capable of Museum already has a mining display, surveying with great accuracy the to which CAT has contributed, and it inside of buildings. At that time there houses the Brownlee Collection of were only two working units in slate memorabilia. In order to create operation in the UK. I remember space in the Archive Room for our thinking at the time that it sounded material CAT has agreed to provide ideal for underground surveying. As additional shelving for stationery that part of the Local History Initiative is currently stored there. Mark Project I have asked if we could get a Simpson was asked to do this and after unit for a trial in Moss Head on the Old he had measured up and designed the Man. shelving John Aird purchased the wood and had it all cut to size. Mark I am conscious that, if I do manage to and Ian Matheson installed it. get it to Coniston, it may be of interest to CAT. But I think that one location is Coniston Local History Initiative all that we will trial on this occasion. I Part of the Coniston Local History will check with Mike Dickinson at Initiative approval for funding was that Burlington to see if he wants to be data must be deposited in an archive involved and perhaps transport it up to that is approved to BS5454. The Brossen Stone for us. Then we may Archive Room at the Ruskin Museum have to use rescue team gear to get it conforms to this British Standard, and over to Moss Head. that material will also be at the Ruskin. Alastair Cameron The project has now taken off and many local people want to help. A start Hospital Level Conservation Project has been made on the ground survey of The repair and conservation of the Old Man. The process of surveying Hospital Level has been completed. and photographing the remains of the The level had originally been protected 2 by substantial timbering where it CATMHS Publications passes through a rift filled with boulder The above projects would not be clay and rocks. These timbers have possible were it not for the income decayed, and a substantial fall of from CAT publications. (Lakeland’s boulder clay had occurred. This has Mining Heritage and Journal 5, which been cleared and the area protected by were joint efforts by several authors, seven timber sets carrying a roof made Alastair Cameron’s Slate from from reclaimed motorway crash Coniston and Slate from Honister, barriers. Congratulations and thanks to Trail Leaflets by Peter Fleming and the digging team; John Brown, Pete others, and Dave Bridge’s CD ROM of Blezard, Pete Singleton, Colin and the Coniston Copper Mines). The Andrew Woollard. authors have all donated their intellectual content to CATMHS. Dave Sewart saved us a lot of money by putting them onto CD ready for publication. We are also indebted to those who sell them for us. Geo-archaeological study at Levers Water. (Search for lost Elizabethan Level) In Newsletter 82, February 2006 there was a report concerning a proposed geo-archaeological field study in the The finished job. 17.7.06. Copper Mines Valley in conjunction with the Earth Sciences Department at Kernal Level Project UCL. The main aim, as far as CAT Mark Simpson has now obtained the was concerned, was to locate an final permissions required for this Elizabethan adit some 80 yards long project. The LDNPA, English Nature, driven below Simons Nick to de-water English Heritage and the landowner Levers Water Mine. have all agreed, and it is hoped that work can start in September. English Several prospective arrangements fell Nature has specified a door which will through, but a meeting was arranged at enable access for bats: Coniston on Thursday 25th May between Professor Phillip Meredith and Dr Ruth Siddel of UCL and Peter Fleming, Mark Simpson, Dave Bridge, John Brown and Ian Matheson of CATMHS to walk around the site to evaluate its feasibility, and its suitability for a student project Subsequently Phil Meredith emailed: It was good to have the opportunity to meet up with you all and have a walk around the project site the week before last. Ruth and I both got a lot out of the evening - so many thanks for your time and effort. 3 over about a week during August. Obviously, everything also depends on the student who wants to do the project passing his exams this summer. We will know the outcome of that this Friday (9 June). Finally, it was very generous of John (Brown) to offer to make the sledge required to drag the GPR equipment over the ground (and especially over Mark Simpson, Phil Meredith and Ruth the steep scree). Siddell evaluating the probable site of the lost Elizabethan level below (The terrain beneath Simons Nick Simons Nick. where it is thought the old adit came out to day is very steep, rough and and We have subsequently discussed the loose, so it was decided that the best feasibility of the work as a student way to proceed would be to mount the project and we think it can be done. equipment on a sledge and support it We hope you will appreciate that we by ropes from rock bolts inserted in the have to bear in mind that it is rock face above. In that way it could be necessary for an undergraduate student moved across the survey area in a to get a do-able project out of this. So series of shallow arcs.) we propose the following strategy: th On the 9 June Phil emailed again: 1. Calibrate the ground penetrating I am pleased to tell you that the student radar (GPR) over the known coffin who wants to do the Levers Water level in Red Dell. mine project (Jack Walpole) passed all 2a. Use the GPR to locate the of his exams, so it looks like our "missing" level coming out from under project will actually go ahead after Levers water (relatively several years of talking about it. straightforward work since it is on essentially level ground) 2b. Attempt I have checked the availability of the to locate the position of Hospital Level Ground Penetrating Radar and the where it turns and goes under the track Magnetometer, and they are available above Miners Bridge. for the time we wanted. So I have 3. Attempt to locate the Elizabethan booked the equipment for the period 4 coffin level under the steep scree - 13 August.