Vanoord
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14 years ago
It's a long shot, but...

🔗Personal-Album-8953-Image-63751[linkphoto]Personal-Album-8953-Image-63751[/linkphoto][/link]

It is, apparently, a flourite mine near Hassop, possibly Beacons.

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/Beacon-Limestone-Quarry-2/ 

Is anyone able to identify it a bit better? It looks like there's a tub in the background?


It's well worth looking at Trogladike's other photos (link below) which give a great glimpse of how it used to be!

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/photos-mines-quarries/?uid=8953 
Hello again darkness, my old friend...
pwhole
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14 years ago
It's the mine now known mainly as Evans Gin/Harrybecca mine, but was known as Bacon's Mine in the 40's-'60's after the Bacon family who managed it. It was reworked by them for fluorspar, but the older workings, accessed via the opencuts, are a great example of pre-gunpowder extraction, mainly by firesetting. There's a large and very detailed survey and textual description by John Barnatt and Terry Worthington in the Summer 2009 PDMHS bulletin.
Vanoord
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14 years ago
Excellent, thank you!

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/Harrybecca-Lead-Mine/  ?
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waggy
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14 years ago
Thats the one 🙂
[i]I am always upto my neck in it!
AR
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14 years ago
The PDMHS article also has a similar photo, I presume taken at the same time, which is in Jim Rieuwerts' possession.
Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!
Vanoord
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14 years ago
These were sent by Peter Tottle, who believes he got them from either Jim Riwers or Vic Allott.

I've got a few more photos that Peter has emailed to me which I'll upload shortly.
Hello again darkness, my old friend...
sougher
14 years ago
An old caving friend, Frank Sheen from Nottingham (sadly now deceased) on being demobbed from REME in about 1946/47 and fancying a change of career, went to work for the Bacon brothers from Youlgreave, "sparring" at Harrybecca mine, he worked for them for about two years. At around the same time the Bacon brothers were also "sparring" at Conksbury in Lathkill Dale, as he worked there too.

The excellent article about this mine is found in PDMHS's Mining Journal Vol.17, No.3, Summer 2009, pp6-23
"2. Harrybecca/Evans Gin Mines, Hassop" by John Barratt and Tony Worthington with contributions by John Hunter and Andy Tickle".

The photograph shewn in this forum is reproduced on page 22 of the Mining Journal entitled "Plate 7 Harrybecca/Evans Gin Mines - A now long gone tub in the upper level in Bacon's Mine, with David (Vic) Allott of Sheffield Caving Club, photographed in 1952-3. (Photo: Jim Rieuwerts C Copyright, all Rights Reserved)". I trust that this now solves the problem of the source of this photograph.

Incidently had I not have found this information, because of the caving helmet worn, I was going to suggest that the late 1940's early 1950's could be the date of the photo, as that was the type of helmet we wore when I first started caving in 1951 and was the same as worn by Frank when "sparring" for the Bacon brothers.
pwhole
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14 years ago
Harrybecca/Evans Gin is one of my favourite sites, and is extremely interesting structurally - there's a steadily-enlarging gallery of photos on my website here:

http://www.pwhole.com/photo_galleries/Harrybecca/index.html 

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