<i'ea~ <iJistrict t}Ji~es CJfistorical ~ocietyCLtd. NE\\SLETIER No 102 APRIL2002 SUMMARY OF DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 21 April Surface walk - Skipton Page 1 14 May Talk - Museum Page2 2 June 'r Surface walk - Buxton Page 1 4 June ,/ U/G - Matlock Bath Page 1 11 June Talk- Museum Page2 5-8 July • NAMHO Conference- Aberwstwyth Page2 8-12 August Conference - Liverpool Page6 10 August Surface walk - Peak Forest Page 1 8 October U/G - Pikehall Page 1 17 November U/G -Monsal Page2 September 2003 NAMHO Meet - Ireland Page2 FUTURE MEETS firesetting, that demonstrate the antiquity of this often visited but little understood mine. Not all the system will 1. Surface walk around Cononley Lead Mine. Skipton. Yorks be examined, but some of the more obscure (and sometimes Sunday 21 April 2002 tight) side passages will be visited. Organiser: Paul Chandler. Easy/Moderate Grade - Oversuit or boilersuit and Hosts: Mike Gill and "Friends of Cononley Mine". caplamp required - no ladderwork - some crawling and Bring a packed lunch, waterproofs, walking gear, somewhat-tight squeezes. Joint meet with Masson Caving camera, etc. There is the possibility of a short underground Group. trip in the same area so bring caplamp, helmet, boilersuit, etc Numbers strictly limited to 10, as any more and we will if you are interested. not fit into some of the passages. Please contact John for more For meeting time, place, further details etc, contact Paul details and to book your place (Tel: 01298 77923; e-mail Chandler during April 2002. [email protected] 2. Surface walk visiting coal mining remains and guarry 4. Surface walk - Peak Forest/Castleton Liberty workings, Axe Edge and Goyt Valley areas. Buxton Saturday 10 August 2002 Sunday 2 June 2002 Leader: Chris Heathcote Leader: Paul Chandler. Meet on Church Lane, Peak Forest village at 10.00am Walk grade: Moderate, it will be about 8 miles, including This circular surface walk will visit Gautries Rake, Two some road walking, and will take all day. Bring a packed Rakes Vein, Linicar Rake, White Rake, Daisy Rake and lunch, waterproofs, walking gear, camera, etc. O/S Outdoor Oxlow Rake. The significant history and surface features of Leisure No 24 (White Peak) covers the walk area. the numerous mines situated on the rakes will be given. Ifthe Route: Derbyshire Bridge - A54 (road) - Danebower weather is inclement the walk could be shortened. If time Colliery/Danebower Quarries - Reeve-edge Quarries - Orchard allows High Grove on Dirtlow Rake will also be visited. Farm - Orchard Common - Axe Edge Moor - Burbage - Bring a packed lunch and suitable walking attire, camera Macclesfield Old Road - Goyt's Clough - Derbyshire Bridge. and binoculars to appreciate the excellent views over the Meet 9.45-10.00am at Derbyshire Bridge car park (NGR Derbyshire countryside. 019716). For further details, contact Chris Heathcote, Tel: 01298 814822 3. Devonshire Cavern. Matlock Bath. Derbys Tuesday 4 June 2002 5. Mouldridge Mine. Pikehall. Derbys Leader: John Bamatt Tuesday 8 October 2002 Evening Visit - a trip with an emphasis on detailed Leader: John Bamatt examination of the archaeological features, particularly Evening Visit - a trip with an emphasis on a detailed examination of the archaeological features that demonstrate the various periods of mining at this interesting lead mine with NAMBO MEET 2003 its hading pipework. It has been confirmed that the Ireland Meet, that had to be Easy/Moderate Grade - Oversuit or boilersuit and cancelled due to the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak, will caplamp required - no ladderwork - some easy crawling and now take place in September 2003. It is expected that the simple climbing. Joint meet with Masson Caving Group. programme will be as that published for the September 2001 Numbers strictly limited to 10, as any more and we will event. Further information will be available later in the year. not fit into some of the passages. Please contact John for more details and to book your place Tel: 01298 77923; e-mail BOOK REVIEWS [email protected], or Mobile: 07944-351836. 1. "British Small Mines (South)" by A J Booth, Industrial Railway Society, Bridlington. 96pp. Cost £15.00. 6. Putwell Hill Mine. Monsal Dale & Arrocks Black Marble This is the fourth of Booth's Small Mines series two on Mine, Ashford-in-theWater, Derbys So~th Wales and the north and, now, south volumes. 'They are Sunday 17 November 2002 an important record of a class of mine which is often Leader: Paul Chandler ephemeral and which does not always attract photographs as Further details in October 2002 Newsletter. might a large mine. The most obvious feature of the series is the high quality of photographic reproduction for which the FUTURE MEET Industrial Railway Society are to be congratulated - the Visit to World War Two POW Escape Tunnel, Hayes quality you see on the cover is what you get inside - which Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbys. few other publishers could claim, useful as their products may Organiser: Paul Chandler otherwise be. Most of the photographs were taken after 1980 To book your place/further details, contact: Paul so this is a record for such mines which may be quite ' Chandler. unrepeatable, for health and safety demands, let alone labour For further details on any of the above meets organised costs and decline in real prices now make the non-productive by Paul Chandler - Tel: 01246 220773 burdens of running a small mine almost unsupportable. With ~ny luck, that small mine, you did not quite get to photograph, DERBYSHIRE TALKS is here. Our local examples include Amber Valley Colliery A series of illustrated talks exploring the rich heritage of (the bits of which have now gone to Pleasley Pit), Doe Lea Derbyshire has been arranged by Robin Hall and the "Monday Colliery, Ladywash and Sallet Hole Mines, and Long Rake. Night" group. Not quite all, but an impressive tally. Three of these well supported talks have already been Lynn Willies given and the remaining talks in the series will be presented at the Peak District Mining Museum at Matlock Bath on the 2. "Furnaces to cucumbers - The Illustrated Travels of a second Tuesday of May and June. Each talk will start at Swede in Britain 1753-55" by RR Angerstein, translated by 7.30pm. Further details can be obtained from the Museum. Torsten & Peter Berg. Published by the Science Museum, Tel: 01629 583834. Web site: www.peakrnines.co.uk London. ISBN 1 900747 24 3 (hardback 378pp) Price £34.95. Details of the remaining talks are: In 1753, the Swedish engineer, Reinhold Rucker l . The Cromford and High Peak Railway Angerstein spent two years journeying through England and 14 May 2002 the Welsh borders to assess the Nation's development in Countryside Ranger Andy Pollock looks at the Cromford matters of technology, engineering and agriculture. and High Peak Railway from its early days through to its Financed partly by the Swedish Government, partly by development as the High Peak Trail and into the future. the present day Swedish Iron Producers Association (Jernkontoret) and partly by private companies, he was one of 2. Know Your Rocks at least 20 Swedish engineers who visited Britain in the 18th 11June2002 and 19th centuries to ascertain the market for Swedish bar iron Can't tell calcite from coal, or a crinoid from a trilobite? and the technological competence of the country's iron industry in competing with Sweden's. The demand for iron by Ranger Robin Jeffcoat will introduce you to the wonderful 1 world of rocks, minerals and fossils. Britain grew rapidly in the l 8 h Century as the Industrial Robin Hall Revolution took hold, and over half of this iron was supplied by Sweden. In 1699, Swedish exports of iron to Britain NAMHO 2002 CONFERENCE amounted to 15.3kt, accounting for half of all Swedish iron The NAMHO 2002 Conference will be held at exports and 800/o of Britain's iron imports. By the time of Aberystwyth on the 5 - 8 July 2002. Angerstein's visit, imports of Swedish iron had increased in The Conference will be hosted by the Welsh Mines volume to 24.5kt, nearly 60% of Sweden's total exports, but Society, assisted by other local mining history societies. this now only supplied 64% of Britain's needs, the remainder There will be a full programme of lectures, surface walks, being produced domestically or imported largely from Russia underground trips and social events. and to a lesser extent from Spain and America. In fact, by If you have returned the preliminary registration form 1767, iron imports from Russia exceeded those from Sweden, enclosed with the last Newsletter, then you will have been which was never again the dominant supplier. advised of the Conference details. Ifyou haven' t This awareness of the highly competitive nature of the pre-registered but want further information, please contact trade in iron is reflected in many of Angerstein's diary The Conference Secretary, John Hine, The Grottage, 2 Cullis entries where, in each region of the country he visited, he Lane, Mile End, COLEFORD, GL16 7QF. Tel: 01594 compares the prices of imported iron and locally produced 83321 7. iron. The latter provides an invaluable insight into British iron 2 making as it not only includes the prices of raw materials but appendices listing source materials, iron identification stamps also the wages paid to the different categories of workers. and details of translation methods and weights, measures and While there are some 83 references relating to iron in the currency conversions. There are also 38 bibliography diaries, some running to several pages, Angerstein records references and an excellent index.