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13 years ago
While out in the Via Gellia showing ToniLuff Groaning Tor level and Jacob's Dream mine last night, we came across a run-in level roughly mid-way between the two, with a shaft (choked or run) further up the slope. There's nothing shown on the barmaster's map for this area, so I'm now intrigued - anyone know what this one is, or has anyone ever tried to re-open this?

p.s. Ric - copies of the surveys for Silver Eye, Henstocks, and Old Gells left behind the bar at the Barleymow for you, in case you haven't already picked them up.
Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!
historytrog
13 years ago
I will check this out in my records but will not be able to reply until Wednesday because of the Bank Holiday closing at the library.

At the instigation of Brian Webb of the Eastwood Caving and Mining Group, I have done quite a bit more research into the Slinter Wood - Bowlpit area with the long term view of a publication to supercede my articles with Andy Hayes in the 1970s. This would have to be after getting my Matlock book out, - if we can ever manage that.

Much of the Via Gellia is a very difficult area to identify mines because of the lack of geographical features or the inability to identify those few features that are named in the Barmaster's entries.
owd git
13 years ago
Thanks Adam, unfortunately I was carving and placing a headstone for Bob. (RIP) 😞
He's had his last ****.!
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13 years ago
Really sorry to hear about Bob, he'll be sorely missed!
Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!
historytrog
13 years ago
Sorry for the delay – and after all that I cannot be of much help. This would seem to have been one of the mines that I missed (there were a few others missed in the Slinter Wood area too). I can remember going down the footpath marked on the 25 inch map from Groaning Tor NW down towards the old colour works about forty years ago. Where would your mine be in relation to that?
It sounds an interesting discovery.
What sort of size was its wasteheap? Any other noticeable features?

The barmasters books record several mines simply as being in Middleton Wood (which extends all the way west into the Nimblejack area). Examples are Crabtree Mine, Doxey’s Venture, Frog Nest, Holly Bush Mine, Little David Vein, Taylor Vein, etc. It is unlikely that any of these can ever be identified. There were other mines that the barmaster recorded without any geographical detail at all, so all that one knows of their location is that they were in Middleton Liberty. Examples are Augur Hole, Backside Mine, Carden’s Great Vein, Fidler Mine, Minersholme Level, etc.

The reason that I never wrote articles about the mines between Groaning Tor and Old Gells or in Ible Wood (to complete the series on the Via Gellia that I did with Andy Hayes during the 1970s) was that in both cases most of the levels were collapsed and were impossible to assign a name. Until one knows the proper name of a mine, one cannot research its history.

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13 years ago
OK, the mine is above the footpath, at a very rough guess it's about 30m below the cragline at the top of the slope and about halfway from the point where the footpath meets the fields at the top of Groaning Tor and Jacob's dream mine.

The physical remains consist of a cutting about 10m long, with the rough line of a vein above it, but form what I recall not much of a tip below. Following this upslope, just below the crag there is a larger hillock with a collapsed or choked shaft in it, though going by the cone on the hillock I'd incline to the former. I'll try and get up there again shortly, if nothing else it's something for the October edition of Observations and Discoveries!

I know what you mean about records being too sketchy, I've seen numerous titles recorded in barmaster's as extending fron a shaft in Mr so-and-so's field....
Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!
mikehiggins
13 years ago
Brian Webb and I were looking at a cutting and a shaft earlier this year as part of our ongoing Middleton Wood project, somewhere near the position you describe. Did the cutting have a very large slab of rock part way along it?
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13 years ago
Off the top of my head, I can't remember -I crossed the line of the vein above the level cutting, then followed the vein up to the shaft hillock above, and didn't go back down to the cutting.
Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!
mikehiggins
13 years ago
I was down in Middleton Wood yesterday doing some surveying and having a bit of time to spare at the end I had a look for the features described. Couple of photos herewith that I think fit the bill.

[img]
mikehiggins
13 years ago
Don't know what happened there! Bit of difficulty with the photos.

The shaft does look to have run in. At the bottom of the cone is a very large slab of limestone covering any possible opening. Despite the ephemeral bit of stonework at the bottom end of the cutting I'm not sure that this is actually a collapsed adit. May just be a shallow excavation on the line of the vein. There are similar ones further west hidden in the depths of Middleton Wood and very dificult to find.

There are several similar NE/SW trending veins in the eastern end of Middleton Wood. None of them are named on the Barmaster's map and only the three adjacent to Bowlpit Mine are shown on the map. The easternmost of these is undoubtedly Williams Sough Vein but I don't think that the others are ever likely to be identified as Roger points out.
mikehiggins
13 years ago
OK, here are the photos at last!

🔗Personal-Album-1758-Image-76785[linkphoto]Personal-Album-1758-Image-76785[/linkphoto]

🔗Personal-Album-1758-Image-76784[linkphoto]Personal-Album-1758-Image-76784[/linkphoto][/link]
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13 years ago
I see what you mean, viewed from that angle it doesn't look as much like a run-in level than it does from above. Might have to go back for a better look when I've got some free time, though the way things are at the moment that could be around 2015....
Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!

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