CJ'ea~ CVistrict ~iries CJfistorical CSocietyCLtd. NEWSLETTER No 95 JULY 2000 SlJMMARY OF DA TES .FOR YOlJR DIARY 29July - 9 August Exhibition Page 3 16-1 7 September Heritage Open Days Page 2 25 November AGM and Anual Dinner Pagel • * • • • * * • * • • * * • • * * * • • • * * * * * * * * * * • * * * • * * * * • * SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2000/2001 * • Members are reminded that their membership subscriptions for the year 2000/2001 become * • due on 1st September 2000. A renewal furm is enciosed with this Newsletter. • • The subscription rates are unchanged from last year at:- Ordinary Member £13 .00 * Joint Member £15.00 * Family Member £17.00 * Junior Member £ 5.00 * * Institutional Member £18.00 * * • * * Overseas members should pay their subscription in Sterling. * * * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * AGM AND ANNUAL DINNER Mr S A Ceglinski Congleton The AGM and Annual Dinner will be heid on Dr M Ponting Calverton SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2000. MrRDBrough Chesterfield The AGM will be held in the Pump Room of the Peak District Mining Museum. The dinner will be held at the FUTURE MEETS Jackson Tor House at Matlock. Minimal information is given below for a series of Full details will given in the next edition of the proposed meets that are being organised by Paul Chandler. Newsletter. Anyone interested in attending these meets should contact Paul, tel: - 01246 220773 (evenings only). NEW MEMBERS 1. Arrocks Black Marble Mine, Ashford in the The following have recently joined the Society:- Water, Derbvshire. This is an easy/moderate dry trip. There is one short Mr A Botham Stoke on Trent crawl but the remainder of the mine is walking height. The MrWRPayne Prestwich meet wilJ take place on a mid-week evening in September. Mr & Mrs P A Smyth & Family Hope 2. Woodhead disused Railwav Tunnel, Long MrTHome Buxton DendaJe. Derbyshire. Lucy M Gould Cromford Proposed visit is subject to approval by the owner. Mr D Jones Quarnford Mr G Williams Ogston 3. British Gypsum - Fauld Mine, Hanburv. near Mr & Mrs D Frost Holloway Tutbury, Staffordshire . Margaret Beresford Matlock Bath This is a working mine that produces anhydrite for the Mr M J Allen Tumditch cement industry. 1 4. Whitworth Gritstone Mine, near Rochdale, Saturday 6 May A visit to Blue Circle Cement Lancashire. Works, Hope Valley. Organised by Evelyn Dixon. This is a moderate grade dry trip to a very extensive (This visit had to be rearranged at the request of Blue mine. The visit will be on a Sunday, probably in Circle Ltd). September. "Science Week" was such a success it is intended to take part in the national event again next year. A number SCIENCE WEEK - MARCH 2000 of attractive events and subjects have been lined up and " Science Week" is held annually throughout the they will be of interest to even more participants. country. Alan Mutter When Trevor Ford attended the initial meetings of the British Association at Leicester University to discuss the HERITAGE OPEN DAYS "Advancement of Science Week", little did he realise that The Peak District Mining History Society is to take the events held in conjunction with PDMHS Ltd and the part in the Heritage Open Days 2000 in September. Peak District Mining Museum would be such a resounding The Heritage Open Days are organised by the Civic success. Trust and over 2000 buildings and sites in England are Evelyn Dixon put together a wide series of talks, field open to the public, free of charge, on 16 - 17 September events and visits which were attended by all the usual 2000. Heritage Open Days is an annual event which takes suspects and, thanks to wide publicity through the media, place in 46 countries across Europe. There are similar by many new faces. Jn all it is gratifying to report a total events in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland throughout attendance of almost three hundred people to these events. September. The programme consisted of:- The Society has formally registered its intention to Sunday 19th March Lathkill Dale - A walk which open the Magpie Mine Site to the public and have regular illustrated the history of the old mines and how they were guided tours around the surface. Refreshments will be drained. Leader Alan Mutter. available for the visitors. A selection of Society publications will be on sale. Tuesday 2 lst March Mineralisation of the Peak The objective of opening up Magpie Mine on these District. A talk by Trevor Ford. days is to show it off to the public in a constructive manner, to publicise the Society and, hopefully, recruit Wednesday 22 March Technology in the Peak more members. District mines. A talk by Lynn Willies. For the event to be successful a number of members will be required to direct the car parking, receive the Thursday 23 March Mine Drainage in the Peak visitors, guide them round the site, serve refreshments and District. A talk by Jim Rieuwerts. staff the bookstall etc. If you care to help with this event, please contact Wes Taylor, tel: 01283 713315 as soon as Saturday 25 March Mines ancient and modem in possible. Winster. A walk led by Lynn Willies. Wes Taylor Sunday 26 March Two Centuries of Technology, a ALDERLEY EDGE MINES - APRIL 2000 visit to Magpie Mine. Leader Evelyn Dixon Six members met at the National Trust car park at Alderley Edge for a momentous visit that was to span some six hours. The first site of interest was in the National Trust Information Centre where, during floor renovation, a shaft on the Cobalt Mine was exposed. The shaft and adjacent levels were cleaned out, lighting installed and a transparent cover fitted over the shaft. All visitors to the area now have the opportunity to see part of the underground features for which the area is so famous. It was now off to the Hough Level and the mines proper. The Hough Level entrance is at the bottom of the escarpment and goes through the hill as far as the Wood Mine. The level is flooded in parts and there is not a dry through trip The " Science Week" visit to Magpie Mine. Leader Evelyn Dixon front centre. currently available. Photo by Harry Parker We walked up the Hough Level 2 until it intersected the Engine Vein. At this point we to see what can be saved. The Agency agreed to continue climbed up a ladderway which contained areas where the work at the site from mid-February under the supervision vivid blue "flowstone" had been deposited. When we of an archaeologist. They admitted mistakes were made reached the level in Engine Vein we saw the start of the "but we have made recommendations about procedures for Cobalt Mine (working manganese and cobalt minerals) teams in the Environment Agency which we hope will be workings and examples of very old workings. One point of taken up to ensure we always check before moving in". special interest was the shaft where a hoard of Roman While the Agency would be acting with the best of coins was recently found. We exited Engine Vein Mine at motives in an emergency, one can't help-but wonder-why the entrance adjacent to the capped stope. This very they shouldn't have checked their lists in any case. Let us dangerous large open stope was capped with concrete hope that if there is more to report on this sorry affair it is several years ago and this action, besides making the area of a more positive nature. safe for the many thousands of visitors who visit the site We must remind readers that the site is a scheduled each year, has maintained access to the underground ancient monument on private land and obviously we should workings. avoid further disturbance. We followed the line of run in shafts along the line of Friends ofKil/hope Newsletter the Cobalt Mine to the Visitor Centre. After lunch we were off towards our other mine, West Mine. GREENSIDE LEAD MINE EXHIBITION 2000 We noted the shaft hollows of the Brynlow Mine as This event will be held at Glenridding Village Hall in we walked down Artists Lane. We were particularly Patterdale, Cumbria, from Saturday 29 July until Saturday interested in a point along the road where the surface water 9 August. disappeared through the tarmac. At this point there is a This mine was worked almost continuously for over a securely capped shaft under the road and the water is century before finally closing in 1961. finding its way through cracks in the tarmac and into the The exhibition will cover the history of the mine using shaft. This water is a feeder to the flooded section of the old documents, newspaper reports, plans, paintings, Hough Level. mineral specimens and approximately 400 photographs. It was then through the woods and across the fields to Running concurrently with this will be a photographic West Mine. En route we stopped at two winding history of life in the village of Glenridding, and headgears that had been erected by Derbyshire Caving surrounding Patterdale, where many of the miners lived. It Club on shafts which they hope to dig out in the future. will include· many new photographs and documents, West Mine is very extensive with very large amongst which is an archive of colour prints from the excavated cavities. Access is via fixed ladders to the top 1950's showing scenes both above and below ground, of the incline. This meant that whilst it was easy going which have never been displayed before. into the mine, it is a long drag out again. We were guided There will also be a small model display of old mining round the honey comb of passages which contained many machinery and a separate display showing the reopening of outstanding features.