“Below” 96.1 1

Quarterly Journal of the Shropshire Caving & Mining Club Spring Issue No: 96.1

E L O W !B

NAMHO Fieldmeet27-29th September 1996This will be hosted by Plymouth CavingGroup who will be using Princetown asa base. Arrangements are being madefor a range of underground and surfacetrips to suit all levels of experience.Accommodation is available, includinglimited bunk space and camping. Forfurther information contact :-

Pia Benson, 7 Marchants Way, Meavy,Yelverton PL20 6PWT. 01822-855263.

InsuranceThe Club pays for all members exceptAssociates to be covered by publicliability insurance while engaged inunderground and surface exploration,preservation, etc of mines (or evencaves!). The cover is up to £2 millionand covers you for anywhere in theworld except USA and Canada(apparently the latter two are notoriousfor litigation). It is only intended forwhen you are engaged in voluntaryactivities, if you are doing somethingfor a fee you are not covered. If youhave any queries contact Adrian Pearce.

Ketley Hill TunnelsA survey of these appeared in AnnualJournal No.3. Roy Fellows believesthat they may have been connectedwith a process for manufacturingsulphuric acid. He is currently carryingout research and will publish hisfindings in a future issue of ‘Below’.

New MembersWelcome to the following newmembers :-

Full Richard Amies

Associate Gordon HillierBrian JonesMadeline LucasPeter Scales

Ifton CollieryAn article in the Shropshire Star saysthat money has been made available todevelop the site of Ifton Colliery. Thereare still some surface buildingsremaining, including the old pit baths.It is not yet known what “development”will entail but I am writing to OswestryBorough Council to find out.

Adrian Pearce

Burgam Mine WarningThere have been reports that the loweradits of Burgam Mine are being usedby local youths for drug taking and thathypodermic needles have been foundabandoned. The potential dangers ofabandoned needles are obvious somembers are warned to be careful ifexploring these adits. There are plansby South Shropshire District Councilto gate the adits in the near future and,if this happens, it will hopefully stopthese abuses. Our Club will be given akey for continued access.

Mining MemoriesFollowing the publication of “Miningin Shropshire”, the Club was contactedby Harry Richardson who was a deputyat Ifton Colliery. Adrian Pearce askedhim if he would be prepared to writedown his memories and he has nowdone this. This will appear in nextyear’s Annual Journal and it is hopedthat several more of Harry’s workmatesmight be prepared to do the same.

There must be several old miners aroundthe county who can still rememberworking underground - now is the timeto record their memories before it is toolate. Is anyone interested in this? Areasthat spring to mind are ex-miners ofGranville, Highley, Rock, Shortwoods,etc.

New yearThe year is only a few months old, yetwe seem to have had a very hectic timealready, with members ‘jetting’ off tothe inaugural AGM of the Irish MiningSociety, numerous trips, plus interestingdevelopments at the Old Wind, aboveCoalbrookdale, and the set-back of notfinding the tunnel entrance lower downthe hill despite knocking holes in thelandowners wall!

This really is a bumper issue of ‘Below’,the largest issue to-date. So, I wouldlike to thank all the contributors to thisissue, and thank all the people whohave made the activities recorded herepossible, keep up the good work.

Prize DrawAll the correct entries to ‘Below’Christmas puzzle were placed in theEditorial hat at the February Meetingand the winning entry, drawn by aprospective new member, was MikeWorsfold.

Kelvin

2 “Below” 96.1

News Round-Up 1by Ivor Brown

Valley, Wenlock Edge and ErcallQuarries. it also suggests that futurework could cover Stiperstones/Shelve,Ironbridge area, Clee Hills andCoalfields of North West Shropshire.

TankervilleWork is nearing completion on the firstphase of stabilisation work atTankerville, the base of the CornishEngine House has been treated andwork is nearly finished on the shaft.

Brewery Well AccessIn 1981 the SCMC was given rights ofaccess to Wellington Brewery Well, itis written in the conveyance/title deedsof a house in New Church Road (justoff the Holyhead Road). IJB has notbeen able to get to the well recently soif an SCMC Member does not go soonit is likely the rights of access will belost (see letter with Secretary and ClubJournal 1978 for details).

T.BertramIt seems likely that the “student” miningengineer, T.Bertram who reopened theold shaft on Titterstone Clee Hill (see‘Below’ Autumn issue 95.4) was arelative, possibly son, of W.Bertramreferred to in the article on Clee HillsCollieries in the Annual Journal 1995.The mine owners, who had interests inSouth Staffs, brought in W.Bertram in1873 as manager. He was not in thisposition for many months. T.Bertramwas based in Rugeley but had beenemployed to reopen the other shaftabout 1880. He does not seem to havestayed long either.

35 Years onThe Club has now completed 35 yearsof publication. IJB’s library contains 6Yearbooks (1961-1967), 9 Journals(1971-80), 3 Annual Journals (1993-5), 25 issues of Accounts, includingrevisions etc. (1960-1995), 262Newsletters (1964-1987) and 32Quarterly Journals ‘Below’ (1988-present).

Approximate purchase cost - equivalentbased on annual subs etc. £400. Anyoffers?

Oswestry Coal PitsDuring a visit to the North ShropshireCoalfields it was noted that there arestill interesting remains in the OswestryCoalfield particularly at Trefonen andTrefarclowdd Collieries (wellpreserved mounds, gin circles andtramways).

Further north around St. Martinssubstantial buildings remain from theIfton Colliery, now used as industrialunits. The St. Martins/Ifton MinersInstitute is still in use, but the small onein Weston Rhyn now seems to beoffices. The site of the Quinta (coal,ironstone and clay mine) was notlocated.

SnailbeachBy the end of last year work onstabilisation and conservation atSnailbeach seemed to have come to ahalt. Nearly all the ‘listed’ buildings atSnailbeach had been treated, includingmost recently the orehouse and powdermagazine. Only the candle factory looksuntouched - it is in private hands. Thecrusher house and offices are clearerthan they have been for years - the viewof the crusher engine site is nowexcellent.

Stiperstones HousesThe housing stock of the Stiperstonesarea is changing rapidly, there is a lot ofnew building and modernisation, onlytwo (?) houses remain thatched, lessthan a dozen ‘tin-roofed’ houses, adiminishing number have Welsh slates(post 1850’s) and more and more arebeing tiled (post 1950’s). The characterof the area is being changed - regularvisitors might not be as aware of this asinfrequent ones.

Mining GuidesA chapter in a book entitled ‘Geologicaland Landscape Conservation’(published by Geological Society,London, 1994) written by P.Toghillcovers “Involving landowners, localsocieties and statutory bodies inShropshire’s geological conservation”.

It uses as examples the preparation ofGuides for Mortimer Forest, the Onny

Name ChangeThe September 1996 AGM will be theClubs 35th, it will also be the 20thAnniversary of its change of nameShropshire Mining Club (SMC) toShropshire Caving and Mining Club(SCMC).

There are still some who call it theSMC in everyday speech - is this to dowith age?

Navigable ‘Cut’The Shrewsbury Chronicle July 18,1778 carries details of a contract toconstruct a “navigable cut”(underground canal) from near theAngel Inn (SO 572 760) throughFarthing Bank to the Gutter WorkColliery (coal and ironstone). It was tobe 6.5ft high and 4ft. wide.

Has any member investigated this BoatLevel recently?

Deep ShaftCementation Mining have recently beenawarded the contract to sink the worldsdeepest single lift shaft at South DeepMine, South Africa. Its final depth willbe 2,765 metres (9,075ft. or nearly1.72 miles). Rather deeper thanTankerville!

I.A. of ShropshireTrinders “Industrial Archaeology ofShropshire” (see earlier issue of‘Below’) is to be published by Philimorein April 1996 at a price of £30 (£17.50to those already subscribed).

WantedHas anyone got or seen a copy of thefollowing book believed to be based onthe Pontesford Coalfield: “The Life ofRichard Weaver - the converted collier”by R.C.Morgan, published by Morgan& Chase of High Holborn, London inMDCCCLXI (1856)?

Not to be confused with “SamuelHughes, Miner of Snailbeach”, whichis a separate but apparently similarbook.

“Below” 96.1 3

The Old Wind Terminus of theShropshire Canal

Canal BackgroundThe Shropshire canal was consideredone of the more ambitious canalschemes of its time, winning admirationfrom many people, including ThomasTelford1. It was the first public canalcompany in the County (early canalshad all been private undertakings) andamongst its 58 subscribers were mostof the principal landowners andironmasters of the CoalbrookdaleCoalfield.

Although the idea of a canal linkingEarl Gower’s Donnington Wood Canalwith the Severn had been under‘consideration’ for some years, the routeit would have to follow was considereddifficult. In particular the very hillyground around Oakengates, where therewas insufficient water for locks and thesteep drop down into the Severn Gorgeseemed insurmountable.

Although Richard Reynolds was oneof the leading promoters of the canal itwas his son William Reynolds who wasresponsible for its design. William hadbeen planning the canal since at least1787 (when he surveyed the route),while he was building the Wombridgeand Ketley canals and an undergroundcanal at Coalport (which became atramway tunnel, the Tar Tunnel, toBlists Hill mines after natural bitumensprings were discovered).

After William’s successful experimentswith the canal incline at Ketley, theconstruction of the Shropshire Canalseemed feasible (see page 13 for ageneral map of the route of theShropshire Canal and its two mainbranches).

The original plans envisaged 5 inclineplanes (Wrockwardine Wood,Windmill Farm, Hay farm, Brierly Hilland Lincoln Hill) and 3 short branchesto serve collieries or ironworks (1 toHorsehay, 2 off the main line betweenOld park and Hinkshay - perhaps theexisting tramway tunnel underHinkshay is a remnant of this!). Inaddition 3 tunnels were necessary(Snedshill, Hollinswood and Stirchley),with the canal splitting at Strichley totravel east to Blists Hill and west to

Coalbrookdale.

Although work started on parts of thecanal in the autumn of 1788, the contractfor the section from Stirchley toCoalbrookdale was not awarded untilNovember 1789. In February 1790,William Reynolds changed the plansby sinking two 120’ (37m) deep shaftsfrom the canal at the top of Brierly Hillto meet tunnels driven into the hillsidelower down to provide a direct link tothe Coalbrookdale Works.

It was shortly after this that the idea ofa canal route down Lincoln Hill to theside of the Severn (at the present dayDale End park) was abandoned and thecanal terminated at Brierly Hill. Theplans for three short colliery brancheswere also dropped in favour of tramwaylinks. Only the Eastern branch of theShropshire Canal to Blists Hill wascompleted as planned down to theSevern at Coalport (the terminal basinand incline are now preserved by theIronbridge Gorge Museum).

Brierly HillShaft-Tunnel SystemThe system that was initially developedhere was similar to that used at HughsBridge, Lilleshall on the DonningtonWood Canal. Ironically, just as theshafts and tunnels at Brierly Hill werebeing built (1790), those at HughsBridge (which can still, be seentoday) were being replaced by anincline!

When the shafts were firstopened (24th Jan. 1793) tubboats holding 4 ironcontainers about 5’ (1.5m)square were broughtalongside one of the shafts.A container was then liftedout by crane and hookedonto the rope from theheadframe over the shaft.

When a signal wasreceived from the bottomof the other shaft the brakeon the winding drum wasreleased and the loadedcontainer dropped down

the shaft onto a horse-drawn tramwaywagon below. At the same time anempty or lighter load in the other shaftwas pulled up (finished castings fromthe Coalbrookdale Works and otheritems were initially sent up the shafts).

After a couple of months of operationthe ‘up-hill’ traffic stopped and by May1793 the winding system was at astandstill, possibly due to a breakdown.At this point the Coalbrookdale Co.called in John Curr of Sheffield toadvise them on improvements.

At the top of the shafts Curr’s onlysuggestion was the re-positioning oftwo of the cranes (see top diagram onpage 4). In the shaft, he suggested theuse of platforms (cages) fitted withrails to allow two trucks to be carriedside-by-side. While at the bottom ofthe shaft it was only necessary to alterthe layout of the sidings.

Containers arriving in boats were thenlifted out onto small wagons and pushedinto the cages (along rails). When thecages reached the bottom of the shaftsthe trucks and containers were pushedinto sidings where they were made intotrains of 6 wagons, which were thenpulled out by horse. Empty or lightly

Canal

3m

Winding Drumwith brake wheel

Shaft

crane& head-frame

Tub boats

Towpath

3mShaft

crane& head-frame

Old Wind Terminus of Shropshire CanalShowing basins and 1792 shaft positions(From a scale plan & other diagrams in Willam Reynolds’ sketchbook) (From a scale plan & other diagrams in Willam Reynolds’ sketchbook)

50

Metres

4 “Below” 96.1

loaded containers on wagons werepushed onto the cage from anothersiding, ready for the journey up theshaft.

The terminus restarted on the 11th July1793. There was considerable demandfor its services, with coal travellingdown the shaft and limestone, rails andeven new tub boats travelling up.

Despite Curr’s improvements, the bulktraffic stopped in October 1793(although there was a ‘mad’ rush ofgoods in the few weeks before this -700 tons of coal going down the shaftsin 2 weeks of September alone). Theshafts were kept open only for light‘sundries’. In December 1793 it wasdecided to replace the shafts with arailway incline and a railway around

Lincoln Hill, down to theSevern (roughly

following the originalproposed canalroute).

There are reports ofover 100 newwagons being builtfor the incline andrailway in May1794. They weredesigned to carrythe iron containersfrom the shafts. Thelast consignementof goods passeddown the shafts inSeptember 1794.

When presumably the incline took over.

Despite these changes, the branch canalto Brierly Hill did not survive muchlonger, a railway which opened in early1802 was built along the towpath, andthis in turn was replaced by theHorsehay to Coalbrookdale platewaydown the Lightmoor valley in the1820’s.

QuestionsThe changes mentioned above pose afew questions, which are not reallyanswered by most written accounts:1. If the iron containers were 5’ square,

how could Curr put them ontotrucks, then wind 2 trucks at a timeside by side in a 10’ diameter shaft?

2. People seem to assume that thewinding drum for the incline was in

the same position as the windingdrum for the shafts (ie: roughtlywhere the present day gulley is).However it seems likely that theincline was built to the side of thecanal basin - otherwise how couldthe trucks be run off into sidings,and how could the change overfrom the shafts to incline be madeso quickly?

3. Did the IGMT excavations in the1980’s actually locate both shafts,or just the one? If only the one wasfound could it be that the other isover near the caravan on the flatfield?

References - Specific1. Plymley’s Agriculture of

Shropshire, 18032. The Collieries and The Coal Trade,

Author unidentified, pub.Whittaker, 1841

3. Ref. 2, p208-209.

References - GeneralShropshire Magazine, East Shropshire

Canals, W.H.Williams, 1954William Reynolds Sketchbook“Industrial Revolution in Shropshire”,

B.Trinder“Dynasty of Founders”, A.Raistrick“Canals of the West Midlands”,

C.Hadfield“John Curr, originator of Iron

Tramroads”, F.Bland, Trans.Newcomen Soc. Vol. XI, 1930,pp121-30

Kelvin Lake

Sketch of the Winding Gear at Brierly Hill Shaft and Tunnel SystemShropshire Canal, Coalbrookdale, circa 1793. Showing one of John Curr’s Trucks(based on a drawing in William Reynolds Sketch Book. Not to scale)

The Old Wind Terminus of theShropshire Canal continued

Canal

Old Wind Terminus of Shropshire CanalShowing crane positions after John Curr’s changes(From a scale plan & other diagrams in Willam Reynolds’ sketchbook)

a

b

Original craneposition, moved to b

c

d

Original craneposition, moved to c

LoadedTub Boat

“Below” 96.1 5

The Old Wind and theClub’s Excavations

137

129

129

122

122

114

114

107

107

99

99

99

99

91

91

84

84

Cherry Tree Hill

Railway

The Old Wind

ShropshireCanal

A4169 Queensway

Crackshall Lane

Sch.

New Pool

Conjecturalline of incline

BM 141

"well" & tunnel

Tramroad

~102

Conjectural line oftunnel, length ~200m

canal ~139

heights in metres

Luckily by adding a couple of metreswe were able to move the ‘dig’ out ofthe garden under the apple tree.

At this point one of Mr. Boyce’sneighbours excavated a large craterabout 2m deep with the aid of amechanical digger. At the guesstimateddepth and position, the top of the tunnelbrick arching was hit. By digging downthe side of the collapsed arch a routeinto the tunnel was opened up. Thediscrepancy in the compass readings(see plan below) was then revealed as aslight curve in the tunnel near theexcavated end. It would seem that thiswas a tramway tunnel, but whether itconnected with the shaft system or theincline plane is hard to say.

On the 4th February, an attempt wasmade to open the tramway tunnel at thefoot of the hill, but after Tom West hadremoved a few bricks it was apparentthat the wall was merely a ‘front’ andthe entrance was probably somedistance back behind a clay fill. So thewall was rebuilt and the attempt calledoff.

AcknowledgmentsThanks to everyone involved in thevarious ‘digs’, in particular to Mr. &Mrs. Boyce for letting us dig holes intheir garden (and providing gallons oftea) and Tony & his wife (at the foot ofthe hill) for letting us demolish theirgarden wall (and providing more tea).

Also thanks to Ivor Brown for supplyingphotocopies of pages from the WilliamReynolds sketch book for the drawingson pages 3 and 4.

Kelvin Lake

Towards the end of 1995 several visitswere made to the Old Wind,Coalbrookdale (see ‘Below’ 95.5,Shropshire Project Log, p5 for details).Following the discovery of a void inthe well a further visit was made withthe MineCam on 12th November. Thiswas lowered through the narrow hole atthe bottom of the well to reveal a bricklined tunnel at least 2m wide and 2mhigh. Ben ‘Dyno-rod’ Shaw, managedto wriggle down the hole to perform aninitial survey. During this visitpermission was also obtained toexcavate the potential entrance to thetramway tunnel at the foot of the hill.

On 7th January 1996, Club Membersreassembled at the Old Wind, armedwith the electronic undergroundlocation device. This time EileenBowen managed to get into the tunnelto place the loop and perform a moreaccurate survey. The loop allowed usto locate the ends of the tunnel on thesurface - in the middle of the fuchia’s!

Drawing:Peter Eggleston

Cross section along line of Tunnel

1.8m

0.9m

2.5m

Field

34o 240o

3.8m(approx)

Restrictionin Well, stone

and rubblebelow

ElectronicLoopFallFall Fall FallFall

Sump(0.4m)

4m

6.42m11.96m

Incline

dug 12/11/95by Ben Shaw

Brick linedWell

dug, 7/1/96(from surface)

Location Plan of Old WindShaft-Tunnel & InclineSystem, Coalbrookdale

Area of falland brokenbrickwork

1.2m

2.5m

2m

6.42

m(+

0.9m

thro

’ fal

l)11

.96m

34o

240o

WellConnection

1.8m

4m

Wel

l

~ 3.

8m

Old Wind Tunnel,Brierly Hill, CoalbrookdaleSurvey: Eileen Bowen (Not to Scale)

Fall

ElectronicLoop

Note: Sightings to endsNote: Sightings to endsmade from side of tunnelmade from side of tunnelunder entrance from Wunder entrance from Well.Tunnel also has slight curveaway from Waway from Well near towhere the loop was placed.where the loop was placed.

Cross section at Well

Plan View ofTunnel and Well

6 “Below” 96.1

the metal tube up the shaft on RestingHill, but part way up, the water pipewas taken out via another level andcarried out on the surface round the hillto the mine processing plant.

The shaft on Resting Hill now has agrill covering it but the pipes are still inthe shaft and the level to surface.

Club members breached an inner damin the late 1980’s but one of the party,Bob Lester, died of a heart attack duringthis work and there was a reluctance topursue the investigation. Subsequently,both dams were completely breachedby contractors on behalf of the CountyCouncil but full investigation of thelevel was limited by low oxygen levels.

The entrance of the level has beenbriefly visited to check for bats but thelevel has not been properly entered byclub member since Bob’s death. Thisperiod of restraint ended on 14thJanuary when six club membersventured in as far as the oxygen levelpermitted.

Both dams have been breached andthere is only shallow water until after

the site of the seconddam. Here accumulatedmud is still retained andthigh/waist deep water

is encounteredfor somedistance.

It has now beenestablished that the levelis much longer thanoriginally imagined andthere is clear evidenceof workings on the veinsome distance in. Thelevel is very straight,without any side

passages forapproximatly500 yards.

The Scott Level is a small gated portalwhich runs under the main Snailbeachroad, heading in the direction of RestingHill and eventually towards CrowsnestDingle. For many years this wasconsidered to be a relativelyinsignificant level as there are no knownrecords and the level was dammed somedistance in.

There have been two dams; the closestto the entrance was a concrete dam tochest depth, approximately 100 feetfrom the entrance. This was used as awater supply by a number of propertiesaround the entrance. However, therewas a more substantial damapproximately 200 yards from theentrance; this dam consisted of largewooden sleepers arranged as a ‘V’pointing into the level, backed byaround 12” of clay, held in place by awall of bricks. A 6” metal pipe leadsfrom this dam to a shaft up to RestingHill. It was suggested in the 1980’s thatScott Level had been dammed toprovide a water supply to the mainSnailbeach surface workings.

The water travelled from the dam via

Around 20 feet before the end of thisstraight drive, there is a branch to theleft; this has only been explored forabout 100 feet before the low oxygenlevel prevented further exploration.

At the end of the main drive, the levelturns left where it follows a vein whichhas been worked to some extent. Thisbranch has been followed forapproximately a further 300 yardsbefore the low oxygen level againcurtailed further progress. A shortdistance along this branch, there is asmall cross-cut, to the right, to a floodedsquare shaft and there are furtherbranches a bit further on again; whichhave yet to be explored.

Now that it has been established thatScott Level is of considerable size withevidence of working and a shaft to alower level, it is speculated that othershafts near the portal may be part of thesame workings, rather than being simplyair shafts for the Snailbeach drainagelevel.

This was one of the first occasions thatthe new Oxygen meter had been used.The alarm on the meter was set to go offat 18% and exploration was terminatedat 17.8 %. In an attempt to stop thealarm (and save the battery) I tried tore-set the alarm to a lower value buteffectively re-calibrated the instrumentand gave ourselves a fright by believingthat there was a sudden drop in theoxygen.

The level should be re-visited during atime of rising air pressure when it shouldbe able to explore further - there are atleast three branches which have yet tobe pushed to a conclusion. However, itis essential that proper precautions aretaken to ensure that acceptable oxygenlevels are kept to; although visitedduring a period of relatively low airpressure, the pressure was increasingand it is possible that the air qualitydoes not improve upon that alreadyexperienced.

Members present: Eileen Bowen,Mike Worsford (there were no bats !),Alan & Vicky Robinson, Andy Yappand myself.

Steve Holding

First Dam(Concrete)

Gate (under cottage)

Main Dam

Shaft from Resting HillShaft from Resting Hill(blocked)

BrickClaySleepers

18%

Level carries on?17.8%

~6m

Square Winze in Level(flooded)

5-10cm vein

?

?

?Levels carry

on

Levels carry on

Rock Fall

17.8%

280m (approx)

460m

(app

rox)

17.8%

Key

Spot Oxygen Levels

Roof Fall or Blockage

Flooded Area

? Unexplored Levelsthat continue

Scott Level, SnailbeachPlan based on explorations by SCMC14/1/96 and Andy Yapp sketch(Not to scale)

Scott Level14th January 1996

“Below” 96.1 7

Nationalisation in 1947. However, forother reasons, particularly where thepits formed an integral group as withthose of Princess End and Lawley, somewere taken over. Because of thisgrouping, and the often short life of thesmaller pits, it is difficult to quantifythe number of mines at work at any onetime but of the 27 mines at work in1947 the valuers of the mines forNationalisation showed an interest in22. The remaining mines escapedbecause they were “mainly clay mines”.

The five largest mines Alverley(Highley) 826 employees, Kemberton(Madeley Wood) 548 and the twoLilleshall Co. mines (Granville, 327employees, and Grange 139 employees)could not escape nationalisation.Neither could the Princess End andLawley mines (Wrekin Coal Company)with 81 employees and the Bayton(Hunthouse Farm) Mine near CleoburyMortimer and just one mile outside theCounty boundary. This mine, with 76employees was so remote from anyother mining field that it was alwaysregarded as being part of the ShropshireMining area.

Other mines such as Old Park Mineseem to have been nationalised forreasons other than the number of menemployed but all of these were closeddown within a few months. This fatealso awaited the Princess End andLawley Mines which were consideredtoo small to be worked efficiently bythe new National Coal Board and bothwere closed in February 1950 but thisarea was reopened again privately,under licence, shortly afterwards.

The 1950’sBy 1950, only 15 of the 27 minesworking in 1947 remained. It was notonly the nationalised mines that wereclosing but also many of the smallerprivate mines. There were severalreasons for this, many had effectivelybeen worked to exhaustion during theWar and needed large amounts ofcapital spending on them, several hadbeen opened up on a short term basis tosupply the increasing demands of post-war winters. Machinery capable ofmoving large amounts of earth was

also becoming available andopencasting was taking place near tothe mines and in some cases workingover the sites of previous undergroundmines.

In 1950 the 15 operational minesincluded the four large nationalisedmines, Highley, Kemberton, Granvilleand Grange and several small minesaround Dawley; Farm, Brandlee,Doseley, Randle, Horsehay Common,Smalley Hill, Good Hope, Horsehayand Shortwoods. South of the Severn afew small, mainly clay mines, alsoremained including Gitchfield, TurnersYard and Viger Drift, one clay mine,The Rock, remained north of the Severn

Notable closures between 1947 and1950 had been the Princess End/Lawleygroups of mines; Shrubbery Mine (afairly old small mine near MosseyGreen), Harris’ Old Park Pits, PlantsFarm and the Huntington Collieries,the Swan Mine near Madeley and theWoodside Mine near Coalbrookdale.This mine worked from 1945 toSeptember 1947 and was the first minevisited by the writer.

A short-lived trial at Castle Place,Longden Common, near Pontesbury inthe Shrewsbury Coalfield, had beenopened in 1946, producing 60 tons ofcoal and employed 2 persons, but wasclosed the following year. The remoteBayton or Hunthouse Farm Collierynationalised in 1947 was closed inFebruary 1950.

The period 1950 to 1955 saw the closureof four more mines; Turners Yard,Farm, Horsehay Common and VigerDrift but the loss in employment wasvery small (down to 2,187) mainlybecause one of the nationalised miningareas was reopened privately. This wasthe new Hunthouse Mine opened in1954/5 by the aptly named ‘MoleMining Company’ and this was soonemploying 34 men. During this periodtoo the larger mines were recruiting asthey became modernised and as part ofthis reconstruction Granville andGrange were merged in 1952.During the 1950’s opencasting occurredon the sites of many of the smaller

The Demise of Coal Mining in Shropshireby Ivor Brown

Throughout the 19th Century the minesof coal, ironstone and clay of the fourprincipal coalfields of Shropshire wereimportant employers of labour, thenumber of workers at the minesexceeded 5,500 in 1854 and 8,000 in1874 but had fallen to just over 4,000 in1884. About 1,500 of this fall isaccounted for by loss of jobs with thelarge scale closures of the ironstonemining industry.

Of the coalfields the CoalbrookdaleCoalfield was by far the most important.In fact of the total number employed inthe mines of Shropshire in 1908, (some3,489 persons) only 673 were employedin the Forest of Wyre Coalfield(including Clee Hills) and 254 in theShrewsbury Coalfield.

The fourth coalfield in the County, thataround Oswestry, was really part of theDenbighshire Coalfield but has been afairly important employer locally sincethe 19th century. During the 1860’s atleast 7 mines were at work north andsouth of Oswestry although by 1891only 2 remained. This Century a largemine was developed around a shaft atIfton which was connected with anothershaft and workings in Wales. it becamethe largest mine ever to work in theCounty employing over 1,000 men.Although actually in the County themine has always been regarded as beingpart of the North Wales Coalfield andis not considered further in this article.It was, however, nationalised in 1947and eventually closed in November1968.

The total number of coal mines in theCounty had been falling since the 1870’swhen many mines also worked otherminerals particularly ironstone, pyritesand clay, but the production of ironstoneand pyrites had fallen dramatically by1890. Of the 95 mines working theseminerals in 1891 only 69 survived to1908 and from then the numbers fellmore slowly. By 1926 the number hadfallen to 57, by 1936 47 mines, and bythe end of the Second World War only24 mines survived.

The great majority of these minesemployed less than 30 persons and sodid not fall into the size demanded for

8 “Below” 96.1

mines and they closed as theunderground workings were openedup. By 1960 only Kemberton (MadeleyWood), Granville and the private minesat Shortwoods and the Rock remainedin the Coalbrookdale Coalfield, nomines remained in the ShrewsburyCoalfield but two, Highley andHunthouse remained in the Forest ofWyre.

The 1960’sThe writer systematically visited allmine sites during 1960 and the notesmade at the time make dismal reading.For example, at Turners yard, theheadgear, cage and empty engine houseremained but already in a ruinouscondition. Gitchfield was now a pigfarm and only the nearby powder housewas immediately identifiable.

On Horsehay Common all wasabandoned but there were 15 open shaftsand two hand winches with 9” diameter

wood rollers about 7ft. long and rubbercovered handles. Remains of woodenand steel trucks littered the site.

At Brandlee the now-derelict steamwinding engine and boiler remainedalongside the wooden headframe.Several steel trucks lay near the shafttogether with the mine report bookopened and signed on 20.4.1953. Themine was completely abandoned butnearby the same company’sShortwoods Mine was still very active,with 25 miners producing over 200tons of coal per week from a fairly newdrift mine (Shortwoods 9 & 10).

Of the surviving six mines in 1960, theRock Mine was the next to close inDecember 1964. It was a victim of thefalling value of fireclay and of theincreasing efficiency of opencastingwhich had soon removed all evidenceof the mine. The next mine to close wasMadeley Wood or Kemberton Mine, a

century-old mine with only thin seamsremaining and these were difficult tomechanise. This mine closed in July1967.

The Forest of Wyre collieries at Highley(January 1969) and Hunthouse (1970)were the next to close with theShortwoods Mine closing in February1970. At this time the value of coal wasfalling and cheaper energy suppliescould be obtained elsewhere althoughthis situation was soon to change withthe ‘Fuel Crisis of the early 1970’s. By1970 the numbers of miners had shrunkto just over 500. The Hunthouse Minedid not go quietly however, for it wastaken over by the miners themselvesand worked for a time as a co-operativebut by the end of 1972 had closedcompletely.

The 1970’sFor the rest of the 1970’s only one mineremained, the Granville. This mine,however, could not survive a furtherfall in the need for coal in the late1970’s and closed in August 1979.

The end of underground mining inShropshire had come - or had it?

The 1980’s and 1990’sIn 1981 and 1982 planning applicationsfor a new private coal mine at the Nabb,Oakengates, were submitted toShropshire County Council and camenear to success. However, there werepractical difficulties and the projecthas not yet commenced.

By this time both the coal and clayindustries were at a low ebb, indeed fora few years in the early 1980’s no coalwas produced by either undergroundor deep mining methods. Someopencasting of clay did continue. Thefortunes of opencasting revived duringthe late 1980’s with several opencastcoal mines opening up in the NewDale, Lawley and Clee Hill areas andsome coal is being produced even asthis is being written in the 1990’s.

Eardiston

Newport

Wem

Whitchurch

Oswestry

DenbighshireCoalfield(part)

ShrewsburyWellington

Llanymynech

Church Stretton

CoalbrookdaleIronbridge

Minsterley

Bishops Castle

Snailbeach

The Bog

Ludlow

Bridgnorth

exposed coalfield

concealed coalfield

county boundary

N

Shifnal

Clee HillsCoalfield

MetalliferousMining Area

The Shropshire

Mining Fields

0

0

5

8

10 miles

16 km

CoalbrookdaleCoalfield

(Telford)

Highley

Forestof WyreCoalfieldCoalfield

ShrewsburyCoalfield

Pontesbury

(Pontesford)

The Demise of Coal Mining in Shropshire(continued from page 7)

“Below” 96.1 9

The legacy of mining in its history, itsmemories and the impact on thelandscape remains but the days whenit had a major impact on the lives of theresidents of the villages of theShropshire Coalfield have long gone.They are most unlikely to return.

During its time mining has not onlysupported many families but its producehas supported the families of mayothers. These were employed in localironworks, potteries and the brick andtile making industries. Without theminers there would have been none ofthese and without them Shropshirewould not have played such animportant part in the IndustrialRevolution.

References1. Coalfields of the Midland Region -

Regional Survey Report. 1945.

2. Report on the Value of CoalIndustry Assets; Shropshire byG.Price 1946.

3. Annual Reports HM Inspector ofMines & Quarries. H.M.S.O.(includes for some years List ofMines in operation).

4. Guide to the Coalfield publishedannually by Colliery Guardian1947 to present.

5. The Mines of Shropshire byI.J.Brown pub. Moorland 1976.

6. Mineral Resources of theCoalbrookdale Coalfield byR.Hamblin, I.J.Brown andJ.Ellwood, pub. by MercianGeologist 1989 (Vol.12 no 1 pp9-27).

7. Industries of the Morda Valley byR.D.Thomas, 1939 (SCC Reprint).

8. The North Wales Coalfield byI.Kelly 1990 (for informaiton onifton Colliery).

9. Bayton Colliery and Ropeway byK.Beddoes, SCMC Journal 1978.

10. Mineral Working in the Clee Hillsby G.Price, Birmingham EnterpriseClub 1967.

Demise of Coal(continued)

Club Activities Round-Upby Adrian Pearce

Winch DrivingIn view of problems at Snailbeach, itwas decided that all Club memberswould have to undergo training beforethey could operate the winch in future.

As a result, after Christmas StuartTomlins offered the use of his yard forpeople to try operating it on the surface.

It was so cold first thing that Stuarthad to put his welding gear on thepadlock before being able to open thegate! It stayed cold all day and wemade use of his space heater in thegarage at regular intervals. Stuartextended one of his cranes and a pulleyattached to the jib allowed us to run thewinch cage up and down.

We didn’t want to risk another personduring training so we put a load ofbatteries in. During the day mostpeople had at least two goes at raisingand lowering the winch and gettingused to where all the controls were.

Pontesford Coal MinesThe day after the winch practice, ColinArmfield led a surface tour around theremains at Pontesford. We started atthe Nags Head pub and walked pastseveral spoil mounds to see the remainsof an engine house north of the road.This is still in reasonably goodcondition but needs some urgentrestoration to stay that way. We decidedto do some work on it later in the year.The shaft is filled but the brick top canstill be seen.

Across the road were the remains ofthe Snailbeach and Stiperstones leadsmelters, both converted to secondaryuse. Further along the road were thefoundations of the chimney for thelatter. Heading north again, wefollowed a track past some houses towhere there is another engine houseincorporated into two cottages. Furthernorth still were some remains of whatcould be a horizontal winding engineand a capped shaft.

Science Museum StoreOn 13/1/96, about 35 members andfriends boarded a coach at Shrewsburyand headed south to the ScienceMuseum large artefact store nearSwindon. We spent a long timeinspecting the contents of three largehangers containing all types of vehicle,engines, planes, etc. Of especialinterest was the complete remains of a40” pumping engine which we willhopefully bring back to Shropshireone day to fit into Tankerville enginehouse. Thanks go to Stuart Tomlinswho organised the transport and accessto the museum.

(above) Bob Taylor driving the Clubwinch during its first run at Chapel Shaft

Watson’s Shaft, Tankerville nearingcompletion in January 1996 (above)The winch headframe and cage atChapel shaft, Nov. 1995 (below)

10 “Below” 96.1

Some members may have heard abouta copper mine in the village of Yortonnear Clive. There is a reference to it inthe Memoirs of the Geological Surveyand this is quite intriguing “... anotheroccurrence of copper ores along anorth and south fault was formerlyworked at Yorton Bank, about a milewest of the Grinshill Mines [CliveMine]. The shaft is said to be 50 yardsdeep”.

A 150ft shaft indicates that there mighthave been substantial undergroundworkings. There was another rumourthat surface water from the adjacentroad had been diverted down the shaftand that the shaft top was covered by amanhole cover next to the road. It hadbeen roughly placed as being along theroad leading west out of Yorton towardsMyddle.

At the beginning of 1995, severalmembers tried to find the shaft butthere were no obvious signs at surface.The field south of the road was ploughedover and there was no sign of tips or adepression. It was presumed that anytips had been either pushed down theshaft or landscaped and ploughed over.The shaft top might, however, havebeen capped with gritstone slabs before

A Treasure Map at Yorton3rd December 1995

being covered with soil. There were anumber of manholes along the roadand it was not possible to determinewhich, if any, was the right one.

Further north, however, a smallbuilding was found (SJ499241) whichcontained a pump. Next to this was acovered well which was surroundedby a very ornate iron fence. Could thishave been a shaft on the mine?

In September 1995, our member GeoffWarrington (who works for the BritishGeological Survey) sent a map withmore precise details of where themanhole in the road was. So it was thaton 3/12/95 a number of members setout along the road from Yorton armedwith a measuring tape and compass.Our instructions were quite precise“200ft west of benchmark 331.2 and280ft east of field boundary on southside of road”. We couldn’t find thefirst benchmark but measured thedistance east from the field boundary.This corresponded nicely with a splitiron manhole (SJ499238) that wasabout 3ft out from the side of the road.It hadn’t been lifted for some timesince the tarmac still covered the edges.The problem was that the road was

A Day on Bulthy HillOn 23/12/95 Stuart Tomlins and AdrianPearce had a walk over Bulthy Hill toidentify mining features. This was as aresult of a long talk Stuart had with anex-miner who used to work there in1918-20.

The Main Adit has collapsed just insidethe entrance but four short trial levelsto the north-west are open. Full wagonsof barytes from Main Adit followed aspur line which curved round the hillsideto the top of a gravity incline. Thislowered two trucks at a time down thehillside to where it was carted away tothe railway station. Deep Adit belowthe road was driven to prove the reservesat depth and there were two shafts onthe line, both now filled.

To the west in Middletown proper wasanother mine which extracted calcite(the old miners called it limespar). The

shaft to this has been filled and recentlandscaping has made it difficult tointerpret. There was an access tunneladjacent to this which led into a smallquarry and the far end of this is stillopen. This has not yet been exploredbut Mike please note - it looks eminentlybatty. There are other levels on the hillabove, which are being quarried away.These extracted a white clay which wassold to the pottery industry. Stuart taperecorded his conversation with the oldminer and will be summarising it in thenext Journal.

Is this the only example of a gravityincline at a mine in Shropshire (strictlyspeaking it is just over the border inPowys but it has always been regardedas part of our orefield)?

Adrian Pearce

fairly busy and we had no tools forlifting the cover. We decided to seekpermission from the County Council tocone off part of the road and lift thecover.

After contacting the Council, we weretold that we could lift the manhole afterasking prior permission but they sentus an aerial photograph. This showedan obvious disturbance feature in thefield close to the road and it looks as ifthe shaft has been capped and coveredwith soil. It now seems likely that themanhole would only lead to a culvertwhich directed surface water into theshaft via a pipe. The next step is to seekpermission from the landowner toexcavate in the field to uncover theshaft.

Edwin Thorpe has subsequentlyclaimed that the feature in the field is afishpond and the shaft was in the road,although it wasn’t found when a waterpipe was being laid down the road. Healso believes that there were furtherentrances in a small quarry nearBroughton Farm and in a copse to thenorth called The Drumble. These haveyet to be checked.

Adrian Pearce

Access Arrangementsfor Devon minesPlymouth Caving Group have asked usto point out the following accessarrangments which are currently inforce. Please comply with these or youmay cause the landowner to withdrawaccess.

1. Devon Great Consols - visitorsmust be accompanied by a PlymouthCaving Group member and noticemust be given in advance to thelandowner. This also covers sitessuch as Ding Dong, Wheal Russell,William & Mary.

2. Bedford United - visitors must beaccompanied by a PCG member.

All queries about access to the aboveand requests for leaders should be madeto:

Pia Benson (T. 01822-855263)

“Below” 96.1 11

to the Club and will draw off SCMCmembers. We can assure you that thisis not the case and never will be. At arecent officers meeting, the relationshipbetween the Trust and the Club wasdiscussed and the following was agreed:-

1. Club members are welcome toattend meetings of the Trusteesalthough they won’t be able to vote.

2. Trustees who are also Clubmembers will not vote on any Clubproposal where there is a financialinterest to the Trust, e.g. grantsfrom the Club to the Trust. Theycan, however, speak on the matter.Club members who are onlyordinary members of the Trust willbe able to vote.

3. The Trust will not be set up as aseparate caving/mining club. It willbe concerned only with acquisitionand preservation of mining remainsand in the near future it is unlikelyto be doing anything other than atTankerville Mine.

Thus those with dual membershipwill be working at Tankerville in asimilar way to the Snailbeach orShropshire Projects. All their otheractivities will be carried out withinthe Club.

4. Club members who wish to helpwith preservation work atTankerville will be welcome to doso even if they don’t want to join theTrust.

5. All future Club publications will beproduced and sold solely on behalfof the Club. If the Club wishes tomake a donation to the Trust, it willdo so out of its funds (whatever thesource of income).

6. Ordinary members of the Trust mayjoin for various reasons, e.g.maintenance of the steam engine,and may not have an interest inmining. If they are interested in theClub they will be welcome to joinus but will not receive any of ourpublications as a result of being a

Trust member.

7. If the Trust wishes to buy Clubpublications for sale to its ownmembers or others, it will be entitledto buy them at normal trade prices.

8. If a Trust member who is not a Clubmember wishes to buy a Clubpublication directly from us, theywill be charged the normal non-member rate.

9. The Club will encourage andsupport the aims of the Trust butwill not be directly linked to it inany way. Club members who arealso Trustees will perform thatfunction as private individuals andnot as official Club representatives.

This is the name of the new Trust thatis being set up to acquire and preservethe site of Tankerville Mine and,hopefully, others in the future. It willwork in partnership with the ShropshireCounty Council and South ShropshireDistrict Council, both of whom willhave nominees as trustees. Theproposed initial trustees are ColinArmfield, John Davies, David Jellicoe(SSDC), Steve Holding (SCC), PaulHumphreys (SSDC), Mike Moore,Adrian Pearce, Neal Rushton, NickSouthwick, Rob Southwick, EdwinThorpe, Stuart Tomlins, MikeWorsfold, Andy Yapp.

The first thing to do is to get the Trustofficially constituted and a councilsolicitor is working on this. Oneproblem seems to be that a trust has tohave unlimited liability so there mayhave to be a separate limited companyto actually own the sites. It is hoped tohave all this sorted out by mid-February.Once this has been done, the site has tobe officially transferred from the ownerMr Davies.

The current plan is to acquire theWatsons Engine Shaft (with enginehouse and chimney), Old Engine Shaft(with Ovenpipe engine house andchimney) and an area of land stretchingto the road, where it is hoped to have alayby for parking and public access.

The Trust and the councils will beapplying for grant aid for preservingthe buildings but will need to raise apercentage of the cost locally. TheTrust will thus be looking at variousways of fundraising.

One exciting prospect is that a 40”pumping engine (the same size as wasoriginally fitted) is held by the ScienceMuseum and they may be willing torelease this if there are satisfactoryplans and finance to fit it into a re-roofed Watsons engine house. Thiscould be an expensive option and theTrust needs to check feasibility andcostings. We have just learned thatEnglish Heritage are willing to fund60% of the cost of installing the engine.

Some members have been concernedthat the Trust will set up in opposition

Tankerville MineMembers are asked to keep away fromthe site until further notice.Stabilisation work is being carried outand it is still private property until thesite has been transferred to the newtrust. Problems are being experiencedwith one particular neighbour and itmay prejudice negotiations if visitorsturn up in the interim. Please be patientand wait.

The contractors, South West Mining,are continuing the work at TankervilleMine and it is hoped that work on thefirst phase will be finished by mid-February. This will involve largeconcrete rings being inserted inWatsons Engine Shaft from rockheadup to surface level and backfilledbehind. A concrete cap will then beplaced over the top with a lockableaccess lid. Another horizontal accesswill be fitted from the bobpit. Thefoundations of the engine house havebeen stabilised and the building pinnedto prevent further deterioration.

It is hoped that the Tankerville Estate,who own the mineral rights, will capOld Engine Shaft by the end of theyear. It will be necessary to test drillfirst to ascertain the boundaries of theshaft since it has been filled up withfarm slurry.

Shropshire Mines Trustby Adrian Pearce

12 “Below” 96.1

Ketley ExperimentsMuch of William’s experimentation,which included the use of kilns in tarand coke production, was carried out inthe Ketley area where a number ofunusual features attributed to him canstill be seen today. The actual use orpurpose if these features has not yetbeen determined, but they are of veryunusual shapes. To add to thedifficulties the features are found onthe estate of two large houses both ofwhich have been lived in by father andson. William was born in 1758 andlived at Ketley Bank House with hisfather for some years before the familymoved to Ketley Hall, which in 1789,William took over from his father.Features on the estate of either housecould be the work of father or son.

Anstice ConnectionIn 1789 William married Hannah Ball,the sister of Susannah Ball, the wife ofRobert Anstice of Bridgwater, (Torrenshas shown, that WR and RA’s wiveswere also cousins), these relationshipswere to lead to the Anstice involvementand eventual take-over of the completemadeley Wood concern. This wouldinclude Beldam and Blists HillFurnaces, Tar Tunnel and the mines ofironstone, coal, clay and limestone inMadeley and Ironbridge. This ishowever another story.

After taking over operational controlin 1780, WR began moving parts ofKetley Works to Madeley Wood(including engines - some of the writer’sancestors helped look after them).William Reynolds then began todevelop the new town of Coalport.There was a low level canal alongsidethe river which it was intended toconnect to the high level ShropshireCanal by a tunnel and shaft system(similar to those at Hugh’s Bridge andBrierley Hill), however the discoveryof tar in the tunnel stopped this and anincline was used when the canal opened.

Tunnel VisionLike his father WR was heavilyinvolved in mining and transportsystems using tramroads, canals and

connections between them involvingtunnel-shaft systems, inclines, gravitypower, steam power and water power.They were keen tunnel builders but thefunction and economic advantage ofsome of these structures is inexplicabletoday, for this they have beendisparagingly called ‘tunnel-mad’. It issometimes difficult to decide whichtunnel was the work of father or son butundoubtedly most are the son’s work.

Unlike mine tunnels (which are notincluded in the following list) Reynolds’tunnels were often in softer measuresand so they adopted the ‘circular tunnel’but, for geotechnical reasons, theseoften appear horse-shoe shaped whenfound today.

A list of some of the tunnels attributedto the Reynolds’ follows (see map,opposite for some of the locations).

1. The buried kiln at Ketley BankHouse (survey by SCMC, 1970’s).

2. The 1800 tunnel at Ironbridge(survey by SCMC, 1960’s).

3. The Blists Hill tunnel-shaft system(survey by SCMC in 1960’s).

4. The lead-trials at Shipton (surveyby SCMC in 1970’s).

5. Brierley Hill tunnel-shaft system(now under investigation).

6. At least one tunnel on Ketley canalsystem (18.29m long)

7. Three tunnels on Shropshire Canalsystem (255m, 257m & about 60m).

8. Wombridge Canal tunnel (55mlong).

9. Wrockwardine Wood GlasshouseTunnel (under the canal).

10. The Derbyshire Sough (Old Park toKetley, 2.4km long).

11. A short road tunnel on Willey Estate.

Mining Characters No. 5

Richard & William Reynolds(father & son) and their Tunnels

W i l l i a mR e y n o l d s(1758-1803)has beencalled “one of

the most inventivegeniuses of the

industrial revolution”and his genius was

applied in many fieldsincluding geology,

mining and tunnelling.

Unfortunately William is nearly alwaysovershadowed by his father, RichardReynolds (1735-18160 who outlivedhim by 13 years.

The reason WR never achieved famecould, in part, be due to the way hefreely shared his findings and skills andhe never published anything under hisown name, but helped others eg;Townson (1799) and Plymley (1803).

The father Richard married Hannah,daughter of Abraham Darby II, in 1757and immediately took one-third shareof Ketley Furnaces and mines. From1763-1768 he managed theCoalbrookdale Company untilAbraham Darby III was old enough totake over himself.

During this time he produced the firstiron rails. RR continued to develop hisown and the Dale Company’s interestsin iron and mining until 1780 when hehanded over his shares to his sonsWilliam and Joseph. JR was, however,more interested in financial rather thantechnical aspects of the business.

The Reynolds’ interests at Ketley andMadeley Wood were finally separatedfrom those of the Dale Company in1796.

William is known to have started acollection of rocks, minerals and fossilsby the age of eighteen (in 1776) andfrom this time he was paying localminers to collect interesting specimensfor him. In the 1790’s his collectionwas seen by many important visitors,Joshua Gilpin, for example recordedseeing his ‘laboratory’ and collectionat Ketley Bank House.

railsgutter

Fill

brick arching

Fill

horseshoeafter sidepressure

The Tar Tunnel as built(based on Gilpin 1796)and after side pressure(based on Brown 1974)

“Below” 96.1 13

12. The Madeley Green tramwaytunnels (now under investigation).

13. The Deep Level tunnel into LincolnHill (recently rediscovered).

14. Probably the Donnington Wood (orWrockwardine Wood) NavigableTunnels.

There is also a folly, a tunnel-vaultedcorridor on the first-floor level at KetleyHall!

The actual mining activities of each ofthe Reynolds’ can be summarised asfollows: Richard; around Ketley,Wrockwardine Wood and Lincoln Hill,Joseph; around Ketley, and William;around Donnington Wood, WenlockEdge and Madeley/Ironbridge area. Ofcourse, their non-mining interests meantthat their working areas overlapped.

In 1800 William Reynolds took upresidence at The Tuckies near Coalportand died there in 1803. At his death the

larger Ketley Works passed wholly toJoseph who later put them in the handsof managers, eventually they were sold.

The Madeley Wood works passed toWilliam, son of Robert Anstice, whohad served time as William Reynolds’assistant, and for the next century or sothey then remained in Anstice familycontrol.

William’s mineral and fossil collectionstill survives in part after a chequeredhistory. It passed to his former assistant,William Anstice, in 1803 then in the1850’s parts were sold by the Anstices

Richard & William Reynolds(continued)

but some went to the London GeologicalMuseum and some to theCoalbrookdale Institute (a technicalschool).

Soon after 1925 the CoalbrookdaleCollection was transferred to theWalker Technical College andremained there, in the MiningDepartment until 1952 when it wastransferred to Shrewsbury Museum.

The writer remembers the clearing outof the drawers in the geological cabinetto make space for technical drawingexercises done by both IJB and otherstudents). Some of the Shrewsbury

Collection has since been sent to theBritish Museum and some to the

University of Keele (see ‘TheReynolds-Anstice GeologicalCollection 1776-1981’ by N.S.Torrensin the Archives of Natural History Vol.10 pt.3, 1982).

Reynolds also ordered his shaft-sinkersto make geological sections of any newmines and copies of these can be foundin published works. He was the earliestknown user of systematic opencast forcoal and ironstone in the CoalbrookdaleCoalfield (and possibly the UK).

ReferencesThe Reynolds’ do not yet have abiographer but much biographical detailis given in Torren’s paper mentionedabove, also in Randall’s ‘History ofMadeley’ 1880 and Trinder’s ‘TheIndustrial Revolution in Shropshire’1973.

Details of the tunnels etc. referred toare in the Club Collection (No.1-4) andthe writer’s collection (No.1-13).

Background information on Reynolds’enterprises and the Madeley WoodCompany can be found in the writer’spaper ‘The Lloyds - Aspects of aNineteenth Century MiningCommunity’,Industrial Arch. ReviewVol. 14 No.1, 1991.

A short general biography of RichardReynolds is given in ‘ShropshireHistory Makers’ by D.P.H. Wrenpublished in 1975.

Ivor Brown

Coalport

Hay Farm

Southall Tunnel(257m)

WindmillFarm

Tweedale

Blists HillStyches Weir

LincolnHill

Coalbrookdale

Brierly Hill

Horsehay

Hinkshay Randlay

Hollinswood Tunnel(~60m)Ketley Canal

(18.29m)

WombridgeCanal Oakengates

Snedshill Tunnel(255m)

(55m)

Trench

Wrockwardine Wood

Approx. area ofDonnington WoodNavigable levels

DonningtonWood Canal

ShropshireCanal

Ketley

Hughs Bridge

22.46

Old Park

63.6

9

36.92

38.77

22.62

36.92

Pave Lane

Lilleshall

Incline

Tunnel-ShaftSystem

Tunnel

Key to Symbols

36.92 Vertical Dropin metres

Pitchcroft

locks

13.23

River Severn

N

Canal Tunnels and Tunnel-Shaft Systemsin the Coalbrookdale Coalfield(based on Trinder and Williams)

14 “Below” 96.1

Local Cave/Mine Leadership Assessment (LCMLA)

Training Schemesby Adrian Pearce

This is a National Caving Associationqualification that can be obtained byleaders taking parties into caves ordisused mines. The Mines & Quarrieslegislation and the new proposals forcontrol of outdoor activity centres hasadded additional stimulus to acquiringthis qualification since such centreswill not be able to take partiesunderground without it. It is not meantfor Club activities, where novices aretrained in-house, but more forcommercial type activities. Someschools and youth organisations arealso finding that their leaders are beingrequired to hold it.

It is divided into modules and anyonewishing to acquire the qualification foruse in disused mines in the Shropshireor North/Mid Wales area wouldnormally proceed as follows:

1. Mine Core Skills - Everyone doesthis. The candidate is assessed intheir general knowledge ofequipment, mine hazards, accessprocedures, law, conservation,ability to move around, etc.

This is assessed in a mine that hasno vertical descents (although theremay be scrambles) and this type ofmine is called Level 1.

2. Vertical Skills - This is only doneif the candidate wishes to use mineswith vertical descents (Level 2).

They are assessed on their ability torig and lifeline ladders and traverses,as well as dealing with emergencies.If required, they can extend this toinclude abseiling.

3. Led Day - In this, they are assessedon their ability to control an actualgroup underground. The sitedepends on whether they wish touse Level 1 or 2 mines.

Mine Core Skills and Level 1 LedDay modules are assessed by a NCA-approved Mine Assessor. For this areathese are Adrian Pearce and NealRushton.

Vertical Skills and Level 2 Led Daymodules are assessed by a NCA-approved Cave Instructor Certificateholder.

If you are interested in learning moreabout the scheme, ask Adrian or Neal.For those who wish to take moreadvanced training, the Cave InstuctorsCertificate (CIC) is available.

Caving Club Training & Assessment SchemeA new scheme has also been introducedby the Derbyshire Caving AssociationTraining Officer, Nigel Atkins.

Novices in clubs are usually trained in-house and the standard of training isvery variable. Most club members donot want to go through formal LCMLAor CIC training and thus this is analternative.

There are 6 modules, each with varyinglevels from novice caver to cave leader.The modules are Basic Caving, Vertical(non-SRT), Vertical (SRT), PitchRigging, Cave Rescue and ClubCoaching.

A Club first has to register with thescheme but there is no charge for this.

The Club training officer(s) then attendtraining sessions for which there is asubsidised charge. They then traintheir own novices who can be assessedby approved instructors for a charge.

Clubs who join this scheme will be ableto ensure that their novices (and perhapssome of the old hands as well!) will beproperly trained to a common standard.The question of SCMC novice training

was discussed at a recent OfficersMeeting. The current system relies onthe new member contacting ourTraining Officer, Alan Robinson, toarrange whatever training they feel theyneed. It is possible, and this actuallyhappens, for an inexperienced newmember to turn up on a trip and expectto be coached through use of ladders orSRT in situ. This not only holds up thetrip for other members but it is a badenvironment to learn in since there ispressure to hurry up.

One suggestion was that new membersmight have to attend a series of trainingsessions before they are allowed ontrips, eg Level 1 basic equipment andtechniques, Level 2 ladders, Level 3SRT, Level 4 pirch rigging.

All trips could be graded and newmembers would only be allowed ontrips for which they had received theright training.

What do members think?

Give your comments to Alan Robinson.

Cwmystwyth MineThe local council is making plans tocap shafts and gate adits north of theroad. A number of people have writtento object and it is not known whataccess arrangements would be if thework went ahead.

If you want more information or wantto object, write to :-

J Bowen EsqDirector of PlanningCyngor Dosbarth CeredigionAberaeronDyfed SA46 0PA.

Clive MineIn case you are not aware, safety workis being carried out at Clive Mine at themoment and you should keep awayuntil further notice.

The two shafts closest to the sand slopehave been dug out and the area betweenwill have shuttering installed andbackfilled.

The Well Shaft is no longer to be usedfor access due to worries over pollutionof the water supply.

“Below” 96.1 15

Information on Mining Head Protection

Letters Page

Stiperstones MinersPoemsHaving read the poem submitted to thelast issue of ‘Below’ - I checked theMethodist Plan (Programme ofMeetings) for 1895. Sixteen years laterall the churches were still operationalexcept one - Tankerville, but there is anew one at Wotherton.

Where was the Tankerville Church,none is shown on the 1882 OS mappublished 3 years after Brians list?

The 1895 Plan has a poem in memoryof the three local preachers killed in themine disaster at Snailbeach. It is byJ.Cope, Minister, and the first of threeverses reads:

“Both Andrew, George and Josephare to pilgrim’s city gone

With faces bright and robes most white,they are shinning like the sun,

Their arduous toil is over and they leanupon the breast

Of Him, who died to lead them toCanaan, and to rest.”

The remainder of the poem is in thesame style - this makes three poems ofthis type in my collection - how manymore poems or ballads are there?

Ivor Brown

P.S. In 1994, Nine of the sixteenchurches listed were still operational.

Info. on Irish MinesMembers of the new Mining HistorySociety of Ireland have been carryingon research for a number of years andit is obvious that a lot of the work wascarried out by companies based inBritain, especially Cornwall. It seemslikely that information and recordsrelating to Irish mines are sitting inlocal record offices, etc unknown to theresearchers in Ireland.They would be very grateful ifresearchers in Britain could let themknow if they come across any referencesto Irish mines in collections based inthe UK. The contact is :-

Des Cowman, Knockane, Annestown,County Waterford, IrelandT. 00-353-51-396157

We have had a request from ProfessorDonald Simpson, a neurosurgeon ofAdelaide University, for informationon miners’ helmets into which he isresearching. He thinks that Cornwallwas ahead of other parts of the world inintroducing protective miners’ helmets,even if only rather primitive.Derbyshire also used helmets (theBradder Hat) and he would like toknow when these were introduced.

He believes that the coal industry werelate in bringing in helmets but wouldlike to know if this is so. The earliestreference he has to the use of helmets is1877 but he thinks they were in usebefore this.

He is also interested in the constructionof the helmets. He has references tofelt hardened with resin or shellac butone Australian design appears to bepapier mache [ compressed fibre?].

Finally, does anyone have anyinformation on head injuries in bothhelmeted and unhelmeted miners, pastand present. He is willing to pay anyreasonable sum for search orphotocopying. Contact :-

Professor Donald Simpson, NHMRCRoad Accident Research Unit,University of Adelaide, Australia 5005.Tel +61 (8) 303 5997Fax +61 (8) 232 4995E-Mail unit@raru.adelaide.edu.au.

Shrewsbury C.C.?I was wondering if you had anyknowledge of the Shrewsbury CavingClub, is it still in existence?

I knew many of the SCMC members inthe early days and have fond memoriesof the Club meets.

Has anything more been done withOgof Dydd Bynaf (Cave of the LongestDay), upon the moors at Minera, not farfrom the Shrewsbury Caving Clubsoriginal headquarters at the old WhiteLion pub?

Dave Adams is sure to remember it hestayed there often enough. The cave isaccessed down a 90ft. lead mine shaftand then a 40ft. stope about 18" wide,through an old boulder choke and intothe cave proper.

The last time I was there we werestabilising the shaft entrance. I no longergo caving or mining as the closest is onVancouver Island 400 miles away.

I would appreciate any information onthe above.

Did your Club ever manage to retrieveall the equipment from Glyn Ceriog?

It was great to find your net site as wellas the SWCC one. Keep up the goodwork. I’ll be sure to log on to your site

to keep up with SCMC activities.RegardsDes Edwards(ex-member of the Shrewsbury CavingClub and Chairman of the Cave RescueGroup)

Dave Adams Replies:ODB (Cave of the Longest Day) wasnamed because it was discovered onthe longest day of the year. The entrancewas in a quarry, and the quarry operatorsgot a bit concerned that the cave wouldprevent them from expanding so theyput a lid on the shaft in the 70’s andstopped people from visiting, as a resultinterest waned.

The equipment from Glyn Ceriogreferred to was a large ships winch,which had been used as a haulage engineunderground. It weighed about 5 tons.We managed to split it into 3 sections(2 drums and the main steam part). Onedrum and the steam section wereeventually recovered up the very steepentrance incline, but the last drumdefeated us. When we eventually wentback to finish the job someone hadpushed it off the incline down intosome marshy ground. A road was laterdriven through the area and we thinkthe road builders removed the first drumand steam part for scrap.

16 “Below” 96.1

rope (approx. 12’ each),2 x large karabiners*,1 x nylon sling*,1 x small adjustable spanner*

and 1 x tube type rope protector*.

* not yet available in all packs.

The five Gold Flash rope bags arenumbered 1 to 5 and the ropes assignedto each bag are as follows:

11mm SRT RopesBag 1: 2 x approx. 140’Bag 2: 1 x 168’Bag 3: 1 x 197’ + 1 x 110’;Bag 4: 1 x 216’Bag 5: 1 x 150m.

The “Rescue Rope”, a 200 m x 11 mmstatic rope will normally be kept at myhome.

10mm SRT RopesThere are some 10mm ropes to beexclusively used for caving but thereare some other miscellaneous 10mmSRT ropes yet to be sorted out. Theseropes will be in the White Tackle bags.

GeneralThe contents of the individual bagsshould be summarised on an index card,kept in (the inside pocket of) each bag.However, it is the responsibility of anindividual member to check on thecontents of each bag before use.

I want to try and log the use of ropes (toget a better indication of when to retirethem) and it would help if the ropes arenot switched between bags and ifmembers made a note of use (and date)on the reverse of the record card.

It is envisaged that the rope in Bag 5will only be used on exceptionaloccasions. Please try and let me knowif this is removed from the store. Therigging equipment from this bag can beused if required to supplement the otherbags in use (please return A.S.A.P.).

Ladders, Dynamic Ropes &BelaysLaddersThe ladders will normally be keptindividually coiled in the store at theLast Inn. Those in the store should all

SCMC Club EquipmentNew Organisation

Few club members will have muchappreciation of the equipment ownedby the club. This ranges from regularlyused ropes, ladders and riggingequipment to specially set aside rescuetackle and wide assortment ofoccasionally used items, such as a gaspowered pump, multiple lamp chargerand digging equipment.

Most of the club equipment is normallyheld in two locations:

1. The store room at the Last Inn,Church Aston.

2. A store at Stuart Tomlins house,Halfway House.

The store at the Last Inn is mainly usedfor regular caving tackle and rescueequipment, while Stuart’s store ismainly for the larger items of lessfrequently used tackle. Keys for thestores are held by a number of clubmembers but anyone wantingequipment is requested to try andorganise this via myself, Neal Rushtonor Alan Robinson (currently Alan isworking just down the road from theLast Inn).

I have decided to re-organise largeparts of the club equipment and willuse ‘Below’ to update members on thecurrent situation and changes. The firstpart of the re-organisation is to be theregularly used ropes, ladders andgeneral rigging equipment.

In re-organising the regularly usedequipment, I am acknowledging thatthe most frequent approach is now touse single rope technique (SRT) and alot of the equipment is being arrangedin ‘easy to grab’, ‘easy to carry’complete packages which can besupplemented as required.

SRT Ropes & RiggingThe 11mm SRT ropes are stored in fivered and yellow “Gold Flash” tacklebags. In addition to ropes, each tacklebag will contain a small green riggingbag. The individual rigging bags willeach contain the following items:

Rigging Equipment5 x 10 mm maillon rapides,2 x lengths of 11 mm dynamic

be in good condition but remember thatthere is a mixture of lengths (25’ and30’) and of rung spacing (10” and 12”).Also some of our ladders require theuse of small maillon rapides to linkthem.

Dynamic RopesThe clubs 50 m x 11 mm dynamic ropesand are stored in various bags (otherthan the red/yellow Gold Flash or WhiteSRT bags).

In addition there is a single 50m x 9mmdynamic rope, useful for initialexploratory trips and when takingnovices on simple trips, not normallyrequiring tackle. This rope is stored ina medium sized “Going Underground”tackle bag, together with a couple ofkrabs and rope slings.

Belays and Other TackleThe various wire tethers and ‘spare’metal rigging is kept in one of the large‘Ammunition’ boxes.

GeneralI would appreciate receiving commentson the above aspects of organising theequipment but ask that you note mymain intention has been that memberscan quickly grab tackle appropriate forthem to carry to the mine/cave withoutre-packing (rather than just filling thecar boot with too much equipment tocarry).

While the changes are been organised,I would appreciate being kept wellinformed about equipment beingborrowed and particularly of anydeficiencies. If possible, I would likeequipment to be returned to me ratherthan the store (but return it to the storeif I cannot be easily contacted).

I have an answerphone on 01952417483, which is checked at least everysecond day but I can often be contactedmore directly on 01952 660087. Mymobile 0850 492036 can also be used(it acts as an answerphone which Inormally check around 6.00pm) butthis is expensive before 7.00 pm.

Steve HoldingRescue & Tackle Officer

“Below” 96.1 17

Highlights of the Club Year30 years ago (1966)

From Club Newsletters No.16 - No.27

Major expedition areas were BrasgyllGorge, Corwen Slate Mine, OgofFfynon Dhu, South Shropshireincluding Clee Hills, usually about 8reports per month. Several finds weremade, explosives in Ogof Dydd Bynafand grenades and mortar-bombs in anun-named shaft.

Tunnels were explored at Eardington,Berwick Wharf (Shrewsbury Canal),Tar Tunnel (Coalport), Dudley CanalTunnel and Halkyn Drainage Tunnel(with permission).

D.Stevenson lost part of his beard in afire in OFD. The Club was called to arescue at a slate mine near Friog.

Annual expedition in September wasto Cornwall.

About 5 letters per month were reported

(deferred) and charging everyone anannual subscription of £1.25 (defeated).The Club house fee was raised from12½p to 15p per night. The AnnualDinner was expensive at £1 per head,an extension was to be applied for bythe Victoria Hotel, Newport. TheDinner and Entertainment was to befollowed by a trip down ODB [seeletters page] the following day.

The Club published 2 accounts: NorthWales Caves and Limestone Mines,and a Yearbook, and sponsored 2 otherpublications. Others were ready forprinting.

Each newsletter also contained a list ofadditions to the library [which is nowstored and maintained by AdrianPearce at his home address] and abook review by (guess who!).

Ivor Brown

at meetings usually persons requiringassistance or information, displays atmeetings etc..

The Headmaster of Hope Valley Schoolinformed the Club that he was writinga social history of the miners in the areaand offered to help the South ShropshireSurvey with information (did he everput pen to paper?).

Many exchanges of publications andhelp to Cave Rescue Groups. DaveAdams reported that he had sorted outthe Club files and had purchased a newfolder. A presentation was made toBlogg and his wife following the birthof a daughter.

At the AGM it was announced that theClub turnover had been £194, sales ofpublications was £28. There was muchdiscussion on changing the Club namefrom ‘Shropshire Mining Club’ to‘Shropshire Mining and Caving Club’

You will remember that members wereasked to write in to South ShropshireDistrict Council early last year aboutTankerville Mine. The successful resultof this was that the Council found fundsto initiate the work of stabilising theengine house and capping the shaft.

The council are facing financialrestrictions like all other authoritiesand it is not certain that they will helpwith financing the next phase of work.It is urgent that they do this and it mayhelp if they realise the public interest inthis.

As a result, I would like to ask allmembers to please take a little time outto write a letter to the Council andperhaps help the preservation work tocontinue. I know it is tempting to thinkthat there will be plenty of others whowill be writing but what if everyonethought that way?

It takes very little of your time and youwill be part of a worthwhile effort.

Phrase the letter in your own words butcover the following points :-

1. Be sure to thank the council for itsexcellent work so far in stabilisingWatsons engine house and cappingthe shaft.

2. Remind them how important thesite is both to Shropshire andnationally.

3. Thank them for initiating thetransfer of the site to the newShropshire Mines Trust.

4. Ask them to continue to financiallysupport the work at Tankerville andother mine sites in South Shropshire.

Address the letters to :-

G C Biggs Esq,Chief Executive,South Shropshire District Council,Stone House,Corve St,Ludlow,ShropshireSY8 1DG.

Dr William EddowesI have received a letter from DavidEddowes of the Isle of Wight whobought “Mines of Shropshire”. He saysthat his great grandfather, Dr WilliamEddowes, had lots of miners who werehis patients during 1835-77.

He still has a testimonial dated 1877when the doctor retired, with some 240subscribers. The following mines arementioned where donations were madeby miners and agents :-

Snailbeach £8. 5.0dPerkinsbeach £0. 5.0dBog £0. 1.0dWotherton £0. 5.0dPennerley £1. 4.3dTankerville £3.18.0dRoman Gravels £2. 7.0d.

I seem to remember seeing the nameEddowes somewhere in connection witha mine. Was there another Eddoweswho was an owner or agent?

Adrian Pearce

Letters ContinuedRequest for a Write-In

[I have seen references to EddowesSalopian Journal, dating to the 1790’sI don’t know if there is any familyconnection. Kelvin]

18 “Below” 96.1

Survey of Steam Engines in theCoalbrookdale Coalfield, 1967

In preparation for a visit of theNewcomen Society the writer, withassistance from Mr. J.H.Denton, carriedout a survey of steam engines on theirworking sites in 1967. This wasappropriate because the last of theengines were about to be shut-down(that of Donnington Brickworks in June1967), but new ones were about to start(if turbines are counted as such) atIronbridge ‘B’ Power Station.

The engines (for details see Shrops.Arch. Soc. Newsletter No.35 (1968),No.36 (1969)) were:

Priorslee Furnaces, Lilleshall Co. Ltd.1 & 2. Beam Engines (2) “David &

Sampson” built 1851 by Murdock& Aitkin of Glasgow. Last used 13July 1952. Moved to Blists Hill,now turned by electric motor.

3 & 4. Steeple Engines (2) built 1880 towork with the above.

5 &6. Inverted Vertical BlowingEngines (2) built 1900 by theLilleshall Co. One of them wasmoved to Blists Hill and is‘preserved’ in the blowing engine

house by the blast furnace remains.7 & 8. Turbo-blowers (2) built 1921 by

Frazers & Chalmers.

9. Barring Engine - generallyconsidered as part of the blowingengines.

10. Tuyere Engine - to operate a pumpto circulate cooling water.

Snedshill Brickworks, Lilleshall Co.11 & 12. Horizontal engines (2). One

built by Marshalls, the other byLilleshall Co. Date of manufactureunknown.

Donnington Brickworks, MessersBlockleys13. Horizontal engine, built late 19th

Century, used in paddle steamer,then laundry before being moved tobrickworks. Ceased operation June1967.

Milburgh Tileries, Messers Liptons14 & 15. Horizontal single cylinder

engines (2), late 19th Centuryconstruction, maker unknown -possibly local. One used to drivetile making plant, the other as a

winding engine. They ceasedoperating in 1940 and both engineshave subsequently been moved toBlists Hill, where the winder is stillin daily operation.

There were also several fine steamturbines (built 1932) operating atIronbridge ‘A’ Power Station (sadlydemolished in the early 1980’s), buteven without these a score of 15 enginesstill on site was quite remarkable. It isunderstood that none of the 15 remainin place today.

NoteThe last mine steam engine to work inShropshire was at Brandlee, Dawley. Itwas last used in 1956 and scrapped1962. There was also one at Farm Mine,Lawley which was stopped at about thesame time (its headframe is now atBlists Hill Museum).

The last large mine steam engine inShropshire ceased work at GrangeColliery, Donnington in 1951. Thiswas also the last flat rope winder to beused in the UK.

Ivor Brown

European Mining Museum OrganisationAn organisation is trying to set itself upto tap into EEC funding. It has had twomeetings in France and Wales andhopes to attract mining museums andsimilar organisations who interpretmining history to the public.

Organisations from France, Spain andPortugal have expressed interest, aswell as UK ones such as Geevor TinMine and Llechwedd Slate Cavern.

An administration cost will be chargedto participating organisations and it isnot known how grants will bedistributed.

The European Regional DevelopmentFund has three programmes underArticle 10 and one of these is for inter-regional cooperation and regionaleconomic innovation.

It is hoped that, if a network of miningsites can be set up, it would qualify forgrant aid under this heading.

The organisation’s aims are :-

• sharing ideas on what exists;opening up the underground worldof mining to tourism

• making use of the imagination forcultural and artistic approaches tothe underground world

• taking an initiative in collaborationwith the visually impaired.

Anyone interested in learning morecan perhaps contact:

Ivor Jones of Llechwedd Slate CavernsorIan Martin of Geevor Tin Mine, both ofwhom attended the first meeting.

Just in case there is a chance of obtaininggrant aid for funding mining historyinterpretation from this source, theNAMHO Secretary has written to theEEC for details.

Cave Works HomePage

The CaveWorks Interpretive CentreHome page is now up and running. Itcan be found at:

http://www.peg.apc.org/~cwork/

CaveWorks is a centre aimed atproviding information and educationto visitors to the reserves of AugustaMargaret River area of WesternAustralia.

High levels of visitation have putextreme pressure on the cave resourcesin the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge andCaveWorks will provide a valuableasset to the preservation of caves andkarst.

The project budget, at 1.2 milliondollars, will commence at the end ofFebruary 1996 and will open inSeptember 1996.

“Below” 96.1 19

Well DeathsA plumber and two men, who wentdown a 20 foot well to rescue him, diedafter being overcome by fumes.

Emergency services were called to anisolated farm at Ballymoney, Co.Antrim, Northern Ireland after aplumber became ill while clearing ablocked water supply. He tried to climbto safety but fell off the ladder.

A part-time fireman was lowered intothe well to help, but collapsed afterattaching a lifeline to the plumber. Nexta paramedic member of the ambulancecrew went down the well to help bothmen, but he was also overcome byfumes.

Efforts by rescuers to get the men to thesurface took an hour. Despite beinggiven cardiac massage in the ambulanceenroute to hospital, all three men died.

The well is the main water supply to thefarm and the plumber was called in tocarry-out work after the water levelsfell low.

North Salop CoalGordon Hillier (SCMC Associate) hasrecently given talks on the NorthShropshire Coalfield. He has a largeamount of material which he has madeavailable to the Club in response to therequests in the Journal.

T.E.VaughanA former researcher into mining historyof Shropshire and former associate ofthe Club has died. Tom did some workin the Shropshire area in the 1950’s and60’s. He was also an expert onD.C.Davies, the mining writer, managerand entrepreneur from Oswestry in thelast century.

Wenlock CopperA rich vein of copper ores etc.(Chalcopyrite, Malachite, Azurite,Polytelite and galena) has been foundin Wenlock Limestone at Dolyhir nearKington (Herefords?). Maybe thecopper mines of Wenlock Edge wererich after all. (Report in Welsh MinesSociety Newsletter No.33)

Pigeon SummerDid anyone record ‘Pigeon Summer’, afilm broadcast on 30th December 1995,based on a book by Ann Turnbull aboutlife “in the Thirties Depression in aShropshire Mining Town”.

Apparently “times were hard, Marywas looking after her fathers pigeon’swhile he was away seeking work andthe mother was ??”.

IJB missed it but would like to knowmore.

Ivor Brown

Welsh Slate MiningThe Welsh slate industry almost diedout when faced with competition fromclay tiles earlier this century. It totteredon in a much reduced state until the lastfew years when there has been arecovery due to the use of slate byarchitects for roofs and walls of newbuildings. It now appears, however,that they are facing competition froman unlikely source - Canada.

Canadian slates are being importedcheaper than the home grown ones canbe produced (does this sound familiar?)and builders facing lean times areobviously buying the Canadian ones.

It is not yet known how badly this willaffect the industry but there may beclosures of slate quarries and especiallymines where costs are higher. It is nowrumoured that the proposal to opencastRhosydd Mine has been changed torestrict excavation to mining only.Could this be a reflection of the newcompetition so that the whole operationthere has been scaled down?

Let us hope that it means the artefactsat Rhosydd will be saved after all.

Adrian Pearce

Kingsdale SurveyDue to the high demand for copies ofthe long out of print survey of the WestKingsdale System a limited reprint ofthe originals has been produced.

They are available in Dales cavingshops now, but are selling fast.

Pit CanariesThe use of canaries in coal mines to testfor gas has now ceased - according toOfficial sources. The last birds werefinally ‘pensioned off’ on January 1st.Amongst the mass of new laws andregulations that came into effect at thestart of 1996, was an act repealing theuse of “two small, caged birds”(introduced in the 1911 Coal MinesAct).

Miners will now have to rely on moresophisticated multi-gas analysisequipment. Many younger miners treatthe canaries as a bit of a joke and a thingof the past, with no place in modernmining. But for older miners they playa more symbolic role, and more reliable.Batteries in meters can fail, but a canarydoes not.

Canaries were not just used in pits, theyhave also played their part in war. Whentunnels and mines were being dug underenemy lines during the First WorldWar, the birds were taken undergroundto test for enemy gas attacks. In theGulf War, Lt-Col. Norman Walker, aBritish Army doctor from the 205 FieldHospital in Saudi Arabia bought acanary as a gas detector. Code-namedElvis (Early Liquid Vapour IndicatorSystem), the bird returned from theGulf a war hero.

In 1995 following the Tokyo gasattacks, Japanese troops in chemicalwarfare gear could be seen on newsreports holding cages of canaries asthey stormed the home of the AumShinri Kyo cult’s ‘Sixth Santium’,where they thought the gas was beingmade.

Originally miners took any bird, oreven a mouse, down the mine to test forcarbon monoxide. The canary provedmore reliable than a mouse, whichtended to curl up in a corner and go tosleep. If the bird started to swaydrunkenly on its perch, the miner wouldmake a rapid retreat with the cage.Once in clean air the birds revived or,if seriously affected could be placed inHaldane’s Humane cage, an air-tightcompartment with a small cylinder ofoxygen, for resuscitation.

News Round-Up 2

20 “Below” 96.1

Colin Armfield’s contribution to issue95.5 of ‘Below!’ presents somefascinating documents concerning theSnailbeach Mine Company for study.Some information I have does seem togel with these papers, and in part of thefollowing discussion I attempt to pullthem all together and make some senseof what was happening at Pontesford inthe 1860’s. Thinking about this andsome of Colin’s opening comments ledme on to the related subject of the moveof smelting to Snailbeach, and Icontinue with this topic and pose somequestions which some members mightcare to answer.

I open with a brief account of theworking relationship of Longueville &Co. with the Snailbeach Company, andI hope it makes clear why so muchhistorical material on the Company hascome from the Longueville office.

As a tailpiece I have noted down someother troubles the Snailbeach Co. hadwith their Pontesford interests. It shouldbe noted that the spelling of the lessor’sname without the ‘e’, as it is given inColin’s papers, is incorrect, although Isuppose there is no other way topronounce it than ‘Highway’.Presumably these are spelling errors inthe originals which Colin hasreproduced exactly.

The SnailbeachCompany’s LegalRepresentativesThe Longueville Jones & Williamspartnership represented the SnailbeachMine Company, the Snailbeach MineCompany Ltd. and the Snailbeach LeadMining Company Ltd. continuouslyfrom (at the latest) the early decades ofthe 19th Century until 10th December1912 when it was resolved that thelatter Company should be wound up1 .The partnership still exists today underthe Longueville name2 .

Various of the Longueville partnersheld shares in the three companies. TheCompany’s legal address or RegisteredOffice was always at Longueville’s inUpper Brook Street, Oswestry for aslong as they were the Company’s

The Snailbeach Company,the Pontesford Colliery and other matters

opening, although the old leaseremained in force for some years8.

I have a suspicion that both the Collieryand the Smelt Works at Pontesfordwere on the same lease9, and that theonerous conditions cited by WalterEddy may have been to blame for theCompany continuing their possessionof both properties. I would be interestedto hear of any more papers directlytying up with these which wouldsubstantiate or otherwise, what I havesuggested. In particular, is there a copyof the Colliery lease?

Any further discussion, comment orconstructive criticism from othermembers would also be useful.

Finally on this particular subject, Idetect a cautionary tone in Eddy’scomment “In the absence of proof tothe contrary I have no doubt MissHighway’s [sic] value will changeALL”. He is implying that the landlordwill lean to an overestimate if it suitsher, and provided she cannot be provedto be an out-and-out liar. Some thingsnever change. How can you prove theworth of a coalfield without digging itup?

The Cost of Coal & theViability of SmeltingThe Shrewsbury & Welshpool RailwayCompany was incorporated under itsAct of Parliament on 29th July 1856,and the Minsterley branch was firstopened for traffic on 14th February186111. Eddy’s report post-dates therailway opening but, to repeat, CaptainHarrison was already building theSnailbeach Smelter in 1860. However,the plans for the railway being inexistence and made public from at least1856 may very well have influencedthe Snailbeach Company early on intheir plans to close the Pontesfordoperation.

There are known examples12 of theSnailbeach Co. buying parcels of orefrom other mining companies in thesouth-west Shropshire orefield. Theusual course of events was that theseller would send samples to a number

Solicitors. The Company Secretary wasalways a Longueville partner or anemployee of theirs. This was sensiblebecause Company Secretaries arealways in charge of legal matters. Allformal business, internal and external,was handled at some stage or other bythe Longueville office. The CompanySecretary was not a Director, butnevertheless had a vital role to play3.

Discussion of WalterEddy’s report ‘PontesfordColliery Dec. 1861’Eddy appears to be reviewing the costimplications of maintaining the leaseof the Colliery, and as Colin suggests,it does seem to have been an onerousone. Eddy says in his penultimateparagraph “... here the royalty is doublethe average other districts and thelessees are bound to work or pay for allcoals in the land.” If eddy is correct andthis is a true interpretation of the lease,the landlord would be in a positionfirstly to try and argue that terminationof the lease before the coal wasexhausted was a breach of its conditions,and secondly that he could expectroyalties on all the unworked coalbefore the expiry of the lease. In theprevious paragraphs, Eddy estimates areasonable value for all the coal hebelieves to be left in the seams and theroyalty payable. There is no mention ofopportunities to limit the output androyalties, and in fact his rate of royaltypayment is based on a doubling of therecent winnings simply to clean out thereserves. Everything in Eddy’smemorandum is concerned withshowing the Snailbeach Company thecost they can expect to bear under suchdifficult conditions as he sums up in thequoted sentence. Walter Eddy andCharles Bromley produced anothervaluation in March 18624, and theCompany’s bankers, Croxon & Co.,wrote at least one letter to the boardabout the dispute, in October 18635 (Ihave not examined these in detail).

At the time of Eddy’s first valuation theCompany was already building theSnailbeach Smelt Works6 on theMarquis of Bath’s land7, and they hadno need for any other smelters after its

“Below” 96.1 21

the Nag’s Head Works, which theHeighways claimed had fallen intodisrepair18.

References

SRRC 5982 uncatalogued collectionin 2 sets of temporary boxesnumbered 1-15/15 and 1-10/10

1, 3 Many references12 Various boxes, bundles of accounts

2 Longueville Gittins, 39/41 ChurchStreet, Oswestry. (Informationcourtesy Peter Francis).

4 SRRC 5982 13/15. Valuation ofunworked coals, PontesfordColliery by Walter Eddy andCharles Bromley, 12th March 1862.

5 SRRC 5982 10/10. Letter 10th Oct.1863 R.J.Croxon to EdwardWilliams (Co. Sec.) regardingdispute over royalties etc. on theabandonment of PontesfordCollieries.

6 ‘Below!’ issue 95.5, p2 ‘HarrisonNotebooks, I.J.Brown SCMC.

SRRC 5983 2/15 Snailbeach LeadMining Co. Ltd. Minute Book.

7 7th May 1897. correspondence withTucker Lake & Lyon (Bath’ssolicitors) concerning work beingdone at the Smelting Works,leasehold conditions and royalties.

15 6th Dec. 1886. Two examples oftenders (1) To offer £8-10-0 per tonfor 50 tons of Roman Gravels ore.(2) To offer £8-2-6 per ton for“...about 6 tons of Lead Ore fromPerkins Beach Mine ... lead to bedelivered at Smelting works”.

8(1) Snailbeach Mine Estate Act(1867). Schedule 1 (existing leases)includes a “Leasehold SmeltingHouse and certain Lands theretobelonging held under ElizabethHeighway and others”.

8(2) SRRC 5982 9/15 Snailbeach MineCo. Ltd. Minute Book. 9th Oct.1877, Discussion with Lazarus &Son of their various proposals forsmelting at Pontesford. there was apossibility that “...they would takethe old Works for the remainder ofthe Company’s Lease”.

9(1), 18 SRRC 5982 3/5. Paper received22nd Mar. 1883 re: Dilapidation’sand repairs required at Pontesford(smelt works); part of premisesunder Lease of 24th Mar. 1784between Samuel Heighway andThomas Lovett.

9(2) SRRC 5982 9/10. Paper includingabstract of lease 1784 concerningcase of Jones v Samuel Heighwayc.1828 Pontesford Colliery etc.

10 ‘Railway Magazine’ Nov.-Dec.1944. “The Snailbeach DistrictRailways”, H.F.G.Dalston. Editor’sfootnote.

11 “A Gazetteer of the RailwayContractors and Engineers of Walesand The Borders 1830-1914”L.Popplewell, Melledgen Press1984. Source: Public Record Office,RAIL 404/1 3rd No.1865.

13, 14 “The Mines of Shropshire &Montgomeryshire (etc.)” R.Burt,P.Waite & R.Burnley, Universityof Exeter Press/ Northern MineResearch Society 1990. Source:Official Mineral Statistics.

SRRC 5983 9/10

16 2 memoranda (undated) regardingMr. Heighway’s land and colliery.Examination of Sarah Underwood(undated) regarding SamuelHeighway’s farm and its occupants.

17 Papers, John Jones v WilliamHeighway 1825, concerning thetaking of coals from PontesfordColliery. Prosecution declarationat The King’s Bench.

Andy Cuckson

of potential customers for analysis andinviting tenders for the parcel. TheSnailbeach Company did not alwayswin, even when smelting was moved toSnailbeach and a little nearer to all theother mines. Among those known tohave sold ore to the Snailbeach Co.were Samuel Morris Ridge (one-timeowner of Perkins Beach Mine13) andthe Roman Gravels Mining Co. Ltd. 14.It was preferred that the vendordelivered the parcel at the smelt Works,with the agreed price including the costof cartage15, so that the buyer’s profitwould not be eroded.

The cost of transporting coal clearlymust have influenced the positioningof the Company’s smelt works greatly,but this cannot have been the onlyfactor in persuading them to switch toSnailbeach.

it also seems that the effect of transportcosts on whether or not a lead smeltingcompany was successful in purchasingore was marginal, since the SnailbeachCo. did not always successfullyundercut other buyers even though inlater years it was easily the nearest toall the Shropshire lead mines.

I would welcome some discussion,firstly on what may have influenced themove other than lower transport costsof coal and a better choice, and secondlyon what factors are considered to havebeen important in determining thesuccess or failure of the SnailbeachCompany in competitive tenders forlead ore.

Other disputes with theHeighway FamilyOther headaches suffered by theSnailbeach Company at the hands ofthe Heighways included a dispute (dateunknown) which appeared to centrearound exactly which plots of land wereleased to the Company for the SmeltingWorks16, and another in 1825concerning coal taken by WilliamHeighway from the Colliery17. Afterthe Company opened the newSnailbeach Smelt Works, they werefaced with correspondence and actionfor breach of leasehold conditions on

The Snailbeach Company,the Pontesford Colliery etc. continued

22 “Below” 96.1

BCRA Photo GroupEfforts are being made to create aPhotographic Special Interest Group(SIG) within the BCRA.

Dave Gibson has produced the initialpublication of UndergroundPhotographer to generate interest insuch a group. If you are interested at allin Cave Photography, then why not buya copy!. It is reasonably priced (£4.00)and the quality of reproduction is nottoo bad.

There are some useful reference articleson a wide range of photographicsubjects. As an added incentive to gethold of a copy there is an article byPeter Eggleston on his MineCam,‘Borg’ and ResCam. The onlydisappoint with the article is that a lowresolution screen has been used forPete’s pictures so they appear ‘dotty’compared to the rest of the pictures inthe magazine.

Anyone interested in helping with theSIG or contributing to the next issue ofthe magazine can contact Dave Gibsone-mail:gibson@mcrosolv.demon.co.ukSnail-mail:BCRA-CREG, 12 Well House Drive,LEEDS, LS8 4BX

Make cheques payable to:BCRA-CREG.

A brief newsletter will be sent out inMarch with details on how the group isprogressing.

Vehicle FiresThe latest trend in the Stoney Midldetonarea (Derbyshire) is for thieves to‘torch’ cavers cars. It seems toparticularly effect cars parked near toCarleswark Cavern.

Anyone visiting the area arerecommended to park in public places(ie: in a lay-by on the A623 (near theLovers Leap Cafe) and not in the quarryabove the electricity sub-station inEyam Dale), or leave an adult with thevehicle (with the keys so they can driveoff if necessary). Any suspiciousactivity should be reported to BuxtonPolice 01298-72100, or 999 in anemergency.

King Edward MineThe Trevithick Trust continues todevelop King Edward Mine with thecontents of the Lizard Museum andsurplus items from Helston FolkMuseum being moved there.

A sub-lease for the Mine, from theUniversity of Exeter has also beenagreed. A ‘Single Regeneration bid’has been successful, while severalindividuals have made contributionstowards developments at the site

English Heritage have also acceptedthat King Edward Mine requires acondition survey, and they will providethe appropriate funding.

Trevithick Trust NewsletterNo.8

Hopewell Free MineSituated next to the B4226, about1½miles east of Coleford in the Forestof Dean (NGR: SO 60351140) thiscolliery in the has recently closed andthere are plans to turn it into a miningmuseum.

The main feature will be anunderground ‘cap-lamp’ tour alongNew Road Adit to a worked seam,returning to surface via an 1800’sdrainage adit, driven by Mushet. Thesurface buildings are being convertedinto tearooms and an exhibition area.

If work progresses well, it is hoped toopen for visitors in April 1996.

Sygun Web PagesSygun Copper Mine now has its ownweb page which can be visited at:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SnowdoniaMine

I.A.Recordings TooAlso taking advantage of Compuserve’snew Web page facility I.A.Recordingsare now online with a series of webpages covering their videos andIndustrial Archaeology, you can visitthem at:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/IARecordings

Monica MauriceMonica Maurice recently died at theage of 87. She was known in Sheffieldas “the Lady of the Lamp” because ofher involvement with the familybusiness, the Wolf Safety LampCompany.

She was an expert on explosive gassesand mine safety and was encouraged inher early life by her father to take anactive part in the running anddevelopment of the business. She wasan inventive engineer and soundbusiness woman, working in the firmuntil her 80th birthday.

She revolutionised undergroundlighting in South Yorkshire pits in the1930’s and later developed Wolf’sexpertise in safety lamps for the oil andgas industry.

Monica Maurice progressed from theresearch department of the Companyto become Chairman and ManagingDirector in 1951. She stayed in chargeof the company for about 30 years.

PDMHS Newsletter 77

Mine Tours 1996Atalaya Tours are running their MiningInterest Study Tours once again during1996. Tours to the Iberian Peninsular,India and Britain are planned.

If you are interested, further details areavailable from:

Atalaya Tours Ltd. Ceinionfa, CapelDewi, Aberystwyth, SY23 3HRTel: 01970-828989

Privatisation SuccessRichard Page, junior industry ministerwith responsibility for the coal industry,hailed the first year of privatisation asa success.

On January 8th, he told the CoalIndustry Society in London that deep-mine production was up by around13%, sales were 18% higher whileimports of steam coal have dropped by16%.

News Round-Up 3

“Below” 96.1 23

Letters to the Editor 2

A query for your members, followingdiscussions in the field after the recentMining History Society of Irelandmeeting in Dublin.

A piece of Wales in theIrish hillsIn the Winter 95 issue of ‘Below,’ p. 6,‘Guiness Tour of Ireland,’ Mike Moorereferred to the Cornish crusher rolls,manufactured by the Mills Foundry inLlanidloes, on the dressing floors at theGlendalough Mine(INGR T090962) in co. Wicklow.

Comprising a set of plain crushing rolls(23” dia) of later design, with springloaded idler roll. They are not in theiroriginal location but have been mountedon a low concrete loading, and theloadings for an adjacent engine are stillvisible, during 20th century reworkingof the dumps.

Originally they were probably installedin the crusher house at Baravore Mine(INGR T063942), in Glenmalure. Thathouse still stands, intact but minus itswoodwork - surely the best example ofa late type (no lever opening) structure- but dating its construction is a problem.

Can those members with mid Walesinterests tell me what records survivefor the Mills Foundry, and at what datethe foundry started manufacturing thespring loaded rolls ?

It was good to see SCMC memberssupporting the formation of the Irishsociety - their surveying skills could beput to good use in co. Wicklow wherethere is excellent survival of miningfeatures at sites like Baravore,Luganure, Van Diemen’s Land andGlendalough.

Peter Claughton,Blaenpant Morfil, Rosebush,Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire,Dyfed SA66 7RE.Tel/Fax 01437 532578;Mobile 0831 427599

Economic History, University of ExeterE-mail: P.F.Claughton@exeter.ac.uk

John CurrA little background to John Curr, the‘expert’ called in to recommendimprovements to the Old Wind atBrierly Hill, Coalbrookdale might beof interest to members:

John Curr worked at the Duke ofNorfolk’s Collieries in Sheffield andclaimed “the making and use of ironrailroads” in 1776 as one of his“inventions”2. However there is definiteevidence that Richard Reynolds had 6tons of iron rails cast at Coalbrookdaleas early as 1767. Curr may have beenaware of the experiments atCoalbrookdale and adapted them tothe mines in Sheffield, using the word“inventions” in a different sense towhich we take it today.

Curr is credited with inventing shaftguides or “conductors” for use with asquare corve or wagon. The conductorswere ‘2 or 3 upright rods of deal 4”x3bragged on opposite sides of the pitforming mortices or channels by whichthe corves are conducted beingsuspended on cross-bars with rollersat their ends which run in the mortices’3.

In some pits the conductors were ironrods, bolted to massive beams at thebottom of the shaft and connected tothe headframe by strong screws, whichkept them tight and in their verticalpositions. Wagons were placed in asort of frame or chair on the outside ofwhich were friction wheels on theconductors or sliding rings on the ironrods.

Kelvin

Florence MineHeritage CentreDue to open for its first season on April1st is this new Heritage Centre on thesite of Florence Mine, Egremont,Cumbria (the last deep working ironore mine in Europe).

The Centre has been created by theWest Cumbria Mines Research Groupand will be open 10am to 4pm everyday, 1st April to 1st October withunderground tours of the still workingUllcoats Mine at 10.30 and 13.30 eachSaturday and Sunday and BankHolidays.

There is plenty of kidney ore andspecularite to be seen on the tour. Oldclothes are a must for the undergroundtrip - be prepared for everything to turnbright red.

Tours are available all year round,including weekdays while the mine isworking by prior arrangement.

The mine is situated on the A595, justsouth of Egremont at the Wilton turning.

Address:Florence Mine Heritage Centre,Egremont,Cumbria,CA22 2NRTel: 01946-820683

View along the newly discoveredbrick tunnel, at the Old Wind,Brierly Hill, Coalbrookdale.Taken on 4th February 1996:

24 “Below” 96.1

Miners Top EarnersHundreds of miners are now in the£35,000-£40,000 a year bracket sinceprivatisation, RJB Mining, the biggestcoal producer, recently disclosed.

Earnings have risen by around 10%since privatisation and productivity-linked performance incentives meancoalface workers can earn 100%bonuses. March figures just releasedshow average earnings for the group’s10,000 strong workforce, coveringunderground as well as surface andadministrative staff, are running at£23,000 a year.

RJB is pushing ahead with plans for itsemployees to take over the work of4,000 contractors to continue the driveto raise productivity and reduce costs.

Production at RJB mines and opencastsites is now running at around 41m

tonnes a year compared with a forecastof 39m tonnes made in last year’sprospectus tied to the £810m purchaseof the former British Coal assets.Analysts feel the company is now poisedto pay back another large slice of thedebt ahead of schedule.

The company has benefited fromincreased coal purchases in theimportant power station market becauseof problems with the turbines in thenew gas-fired generating plant operatedby National Power and PowerGen.

Gas-fired plants have so far reducedcoal demand by 20m tonnes and thetotal is forecast to double by the end ofthe century but RJB is confident it canmaintain its 27m tonne-a-year businesswith the electricity generators aftercurrent contracts expire in 1998.

Coal InvestmentsOn the other side of the privatisationcoin, Coal Investments were forced tocall in an Administrator, on the 6thFebruary by one of their backers theSwiss UBS Bank. This move puts 1,500miners jobs at risk.

The mining group which was set-upthree years ago by former British Coalmarketing boss Malcolm Edwards runspits in South Wales, the Midlands, andSouth Yorkshire. It owes various banksabout £30 million and was seeking arescue package of £20m to developseveral new seams.

However it was refused planningpermission at Stoke-on-Trent for a newdevelopment and this is thought to haveprompted the banks action. Fiftycontractors at Hem Heath have alreadybeen laid-off, and workers moved toother pits.

As an interesting development, theDirector of the firm which suppliedCoal Investments with their windingropes was arrested on the 9th February,when he arrived at Hem Heath with 2low-loaders and a mobile crane andtried to recover over £25,000 worth ofropes for which he had not been paid.

He was released later with-out charge.The Administrator has subsequentlypromised to pay the money or returnthe ropes if the firm’s claim is valid.

Geevor Mine ClosesFollowing reports by the CornwallCounty Surveyor’s department theGeevor Tin Mine has been closed tothe public. The site, which was re-opened two years ago as a touristattraction, after mining ceased, by theTrevithick Trust and local miners, hassuccessfully operated for two seasons,although on a very tight budget.

The surveyor’s felt that many of themine buildings were unsafe. The mainproblem is that during high winds it ispossible for roof sheets to be torn loose.Large amounts of money will eventuallyhave to be spent on repairing roofs andremoving redundant buildings from thesite.

Following an out of court settlementbetween Wimpey Minerals and a localresident should mean that CarmelWoods are safe. Wimpey had hoped toexercise mineral extraction rightsgranted to them in 1948, under anInterim Development Order, to quarryin Carmel Woods. This action wouldhave destroyed an SSSI created in 1986.However they will now confine their

Carmel Woods Savedoperations to the existing workingquarry at Cilyrychen.

As the action was settled out of court itmeans that the validity of InterimDevelopment Orders (these weregranted during and after World War IIto safeguard the Country’s mineralsupplies), has still not been tested in theHigh Court.

Advance Notice

1996 Annual Dinner

to be held at:

Snailbeach Village Hall

5 October 1996

Accomodation has been reserved at the Stiperstones Inn.

If you wish to stay, please advise Mike Moore before May 1st, 1996.

Menus and other details will be sent out at a later date

* *

News Round-Up 4

“Below” 96.1 25

For more details contact: I.A.Recordings,PO Box 476, Telford, TF8 7RHe-mail: info@iarecordings.org

Mining Videos(available from the Club)

Snailbeach, £14.95

The rise and fall of Snailbeach, oncerenowned as the “richest per acre ofground in Europe”, is traced in thisproduction through the use of historicphotographs, animated plans andsections, and unique underground videofootage.

Collections from the ArchivesThe following tapes contain almost allthe footage recorded at the given mine,and are intended as a resource base, nota finished production:

C.15:Dudley Tunnel ’88 to ’89, £14.10C.18:Donisthorpe Colliery, £11.75C.20a:Snailbeach - Final Frontier,

£9.87C.23: Bagworth Colliery, £11.75C.28: Morse’s Level, £9.87C.29: SCMC in Cornwall, £16.45

If you are interested in doing a bit ofarmchair mine exploration thefollowing videos, produced byI.A.Recordings with help from Clubmembers, may be of interest to you.

A Tour of Clive Copper Mine£14.95A comprehensive guided tour of Clive,with Edwin Thorpe acting the‘experienced’ expert and Kelvin Lakethe ‘novice’. The tour covers both theupper and lower levels, plus theNorthern stope (the access to which isnow a bit dodgey).

Clive Rescue Practice, £9.95

An action packed ‘head banging’ recordof a Club rescue practice, featuring the‘infamous’ maypole winze traverse!

Places to Visit

Minera Lead Mine & Country ParkSnibston Discovery ParkBased at the former Snibston Colliery,this is now claimed to beLeicestershire’s largest attraction. Itprovides a unique mix of Science,history and the environment.

The site comprises a science andindustry museum 9with a ‘hands on’theme, guided colliery tours, countrypark, site railway, exhibition area,indoor and outdoor Science DiscoveryCentres, plus conference and cateringfacilities.

Ten minutes from junction 22 of theM1. Open daily 10am-5pm (6pm Aprilto October). Admission: Adults £4.00,Concessions £2.75, Family Ticket£10.00, group rates available onrequest.

Address: Leicestershire CountyCouncil, Snibston Discovery Park,Ashby Road, Coalville, Leicestershire,LE67 3LNTel: 01530-813256 / 01530-510851

Valley Heritage Centre &MuseumThe Museum of Cannock ChaseThe surrounding lands, once owned bythe Marquis of Anglesey, were leasedby him to the Cannock and RugeleyColliery Company. In 1874 a mineshaftwas sunk; with extraction of coalcontinuing until 1962. The siteremained the home of the local MinesRescue Service until 1991.

The Museum, which opened in 1989,collects and exhibits artefacts. It has acollection of objects, photographs andresearch, all of which can be used byprior appointment. A new permanentgallery illustrating the history of thelocal coal mining industry was openedin May last year.

Open Monday to Friday 11am-4pm.From Easter to October, open 7 days aweek, 11am-5pm. Admission free.

Address:The Valley Heritage Centre andMuseum, Valley Road, Hednesford,Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 5QXTel: 01543-877666

In all of Wales no lead mine has beenmore celebrated or profitable then themine of Minera (?). Sensitiverestoration has created a glimpse of thesite during its peak years of the 1870’swithin the setting of a new countrypark.

The Clywedog Trail passes through,making Minera an excellent base for aday exploring this stunning valley.

All year round events and guided walksare held and staff are available forgroups who book visits in advance.

How to get there:Follow the signs on the A525 RuthinRoad, passing through Coedpoeth.Minera is signposted at the Five Crossespublic house. Follow the B5426 for 2miles to the main entrance on the right.

Visitor Centre and Meadow Shaft Site(Tel: 0978-753400) open Easter to endof September, Tuesday to Sunday10am-5pm. Bank Holidays andMondays in August.There is a small admission charge to

the Centre.

The Country Park is open to the publicevery day until sunset. Country Parkand Ranger’s Office Tel: 0978-751320

Sygun Copper MineOpen all year round. The fascination ofhistory and the wonders of modern-day technology combine to create anunforgettable experience at this Princeof Wales award-winning familyattraction, set in the heart of the stunningSnowdonia National Park.

Bookings/inquiries to:Sygun Copper Mine,Beddgelert,Caernarfon,Gwynedd, LL55 4NETelephone: 076686 58524 Hour infoline: 076686 564

You can now visit the mine in ‘virtualreality’ if you have a web browser byvisiting:http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SnowdoniaMine

26 “Below” 96.1

For organised Club trips please refer toAdrian’s Monthly Meets lists.

Club Officers Diary Dates ’95

1996

13 March: I.J.Brown talk on“Snailbeach and its Disaster 1895”,Shirehall, Shrewsbury to the Shrops.Geological Soc. and Shrops.Archaeological Soc. joint meeting.

16 March: National CavingAssociation AGM, 10.30am, StaffsCounty Council Sports & SocialClub, Eastgate St. Stafford.

21 April: British Cave Rescue CouncilAGM, Derbyshire PoliceHeadquarters, Ripley, Derbyshire.

4-5 May: BCRA South Wales RegionalMeeting, Workmen’s Hall,Blaenavon. Cost £2.50. Trips intoOgof Draenon on the 5th.

14-16 June: Royal Forest of DeanCaving Symposium II, EnglishBicknor Sports & Social Club,sponsored by BCRA. Cost £15.00(£17.50 non-BCRA Members).Contact; Paul Taylor, 9 MasseyRoad, Gloucester.

27-29 September: NAMHO FieldMeet, Princetown, Dartmoor.Hosted by Plymouth Caving Group.

Catch us on the World Wide Web. Club activities & the labyrinth: http://www.shropshirecmc.org.uk/

Impressing the Founder Member with modern caving techniques ...

Yup, times havecertainly changed ...

Adapt andimprovise wasour motto ....

In my day

there was

none of this

SRT rubbish!

Err !!

It's all too easy today ...

President: Alan Taylor

Chairman: Neal Rushton

Vice Chair: Malcolm Newton

Secretary: Adrian Pearcescmc.secretary@factree.org.uk

Treasurer: Bob Taylor

Membership Services:Mike Moore

Tackle & Rescue Officer:Steve Holding

Training Officer:Alan Robinson

Conservation Officer:Nick Southwick

Bat Officer: Mike Worsfold

NAMHO Rep:Colin Armfield

CCC/CNCC Rep: Ben Shaw

‘Below’ Editor: Kelvin Lakee-mail: scmc@factree.org.uk