A bit late in the day but I only found the following out yesterday browsing the CRO. Offers an ideal opportunity to be side tracked once again!

Mining Record Office (Health and Safety Executive)

The most important Parliamentary legislation affecting the records of Cornish mines was the 1872 Metalliferous Mines Regulations Act...
...which required the owners of mines, on the abandonment of workings, to deposit plans, drawings and sections with the Secretary of State.
In accordance with the 1954 and 1969 Mines and Quarries Acts, and Mines Regulations 1956, all plans, drawings and sections relating to any abandoned mines or seams sent to a district mining inspector, or created by a surveyor, are required to be preserved by the Secretary of State, or by some other person under special arrangement. In November 1973 an agreement was drawn up by the Secretary of State, for Trade and Industry with the Cornwall County Council for the Transfer of those abandoned mines which related to Cornwall.
In 1989 the Health and Safety Executive, the current custodians of the plans, proposed their "decentralisation" to local authorities, and after consultation with the Public Record Office the Lord Chancellors' approval was obtained for their deposit in local record offices.

Available at the CRO (catalogue MRO)
Some 3500 plans for over 500 individual mines. These plans include some surface plans, but they are mainly underground plans, longitudinal sections and transverse sections. Negatives of most of them are available, which can usually be developed full-size if copies are needed.

Could keep one busy for months.
😎

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Given what I've read on the "Hole appears at former mine site" thread, I can think of alot of people who might be prepared to put that time in! If I was insuring property in the area I'd certainly want it all analysed!

If you are buying, selling or applying for a re-mortgage you have to supply a mining report for the property.

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That may only apply in known coal-mining areas, and the report can be obtained, for a fee, from the Coal Authority.
http://www.coal.gov.uk/media/E6A8A/mrsds_brochure_2007.pdf 

It also seems to cover brine extraction, e.g in Cheshire.

http://www.coal.gov.uk/services/miningreports/gazetteer/index.cfm  listing places where a report is required. I am not sure if there is any legal requirement to do anything at all elsewhere. Evidently the two collapses two the east of Edinburgh some years ago had not been checked for limestone workings.

When my mother bought her flat about 7 years ago, the lawyer handling the purchase said that she needed a report because the village was on the list, even though he knew very well that there was no mining under that site. But the report omitted to mention that the reason why there was no coal mining was that the site straddled the Ochil Fault! The nearest coal mining was the failed Glenochil Colliery.

Well I had to get a report recently and as far as I'm aware all properties in the Camborne, Illogan, Redruth Area require one. There are a couple of companies in the area that supply them.

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It certainly makes sense to get one, if you live in a known mining area! I wonder if the law changed with the silly Home Information Pack or whatever it is called? That of course would not apply in Scotland (yet?).

Here is what happens if you get it wrong:

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/servlet/QsProtected?IDC=CEC/Corporate_Services/Corporate_Communications/Press_Releases/NewsRelease.idc&ID=1944 

(Gilmerton, Edinburgh)

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Attachments/Internet/Housing/Housing_policies_and_strategies/Park_Grove_and_Drum_Court_Repor.pdf 

(the Barratt Estate)

Anybody looking for a mortgage ot other loan in St Agnes is likely to come up against the requirement for a mining survey, but the reports when issued always have a caveat that they only cover "known" workings, generally these are not the problem.

There are some sites identified by the local council for possible developmen to meet local housing need, which everyone knows goes over workings (the word "wheal" in the location is a bit of a givaway) the council are adamant that with new technology things will be fine, but will the insurance company agree? The availability of surveys etc.hasn't stopped a couple of holes appearing in gardens on the estates built in the 1960s/70s.

Nevertheless the CRO is a good resource

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I can see why an insurance company would need to know! Sadly, the state of knowledge of a lot of old mine workings can be somewhat lacking, like this:

http://www.alloaadvertiser.com/article.php?s=1&id=20018 

It is only a few years ago that there was grouting done in the area, because of a new road. They will have to do a lot more now, I think.

Alan

When I bought my house (in Herefordshire - not noted for it's mining activity) I was told that I had to pay for a search of mining records because Herefordshire used to be part of Hereford and Worcester. There are some long disused coal mines in the Redditch area of Worcestershire - about 50 miles away !

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The most important Parliamentary legislation affecting the records of Cornish mines was the 1872 Metalliferous Mines Regulations Act...
...which required the owners of mines, on the abandonment of workings, to deposit plans, drawings and sections with the Secretary of State.

This statute was first in place in 1842 under the mines and quarries act, covering all mines in England and Wales, so not exclusive to any particular mine or area.
If i have read the rest of Carnkie's post correctly, the 1872 act has been ammended to govern the submission and storage of said documents.

That would appear to be the case but having said that..........
Part of an e-mail I received today from one of the archivists at the CRO.

http://www.coal.gov.uk/services/miningrecords/index.cfm  for their contact details if you would prefer to commission a copy from them).

I had a very quick look at the site and at first glance covers many of the points made in this thread. You may have noticed I originally posted this to the wrong thread.

:confused:

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