Votty Tunnel - maybe ca. 2000? (photo)

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dwarrowdelf
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

13 years ago

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Photograph:

🔗Foty-Slate-Mine-Archive-Album-Image-035[linkphoto]Foty-Slate-Mine-Archive-Album-Image-035[/linkphoto][/link]

Anyone know if this rather nice example of stone arching still exists? If so I would like to pay it a visit.

'I wonder how many breakfasts, and other meals we have missed inside that nasty clockless, timeless hole?'

'The Hobbit'
J R R Tolkien.

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dwarrowdelf
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

13 years ago

flink]Foty-Slate-Mine-Archive-Album-Image-041[linkphoto]Foty-Slate-Mine-Archive-Album-Image-041[/linkphoto][/link]

Also the area of the Votty quarry shown above looks an interesting area to investigate and take photographs. Was wondering if like so much else in the area it has been lost to untopping, as I have seen no recent photos.

'I wonder how many breakfasts, and other meals we have missed inside that nasty clockless, timeless hole?'

'The Hobbit'
J R R Tolkien.

Vanoord
54.4% (Neutral)
Newbie

13 years ago

Not so much untopping as the consequences thereof.

The hillside above the Foty pit fell down in spectacular manner just over two years ago and covered the entrance to the chambers: as such, access is now impossible.

The chambers themselves do not appear to have collapsed, so presumably the arching is intact- but unreadable until someone removes about 50,000 tonnes of broken rock.

A great shame, as the Robey incline head was very well-preserved and featured some very well-constructed underground structures.

Hello again darkness, my old friend...

grahami
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

13 years ago

I can add a little to Vanoord's comment:

As far as I can tell from photographs and such plans as I have had access to, the arching was at the "back" i.e. the south end, of the chamber which held the New Robey Incline gear. The arching was a deliberate infill to support the roof of that and the neighbouring chamber (which held the foot of the Tuxford Incline) which were badly affected by weathering. Massive slab retaining walls were built virtually to the roof and then infilled with waste, arched levels being left through them for traffic, drainage etc. SImilar work was done in the Oakeley - see my photos of the "Arches" which were similar. The roof of the New Robey chamber collapsed many years ago filling the chamber almost to the crimp of the incline, whether naturally(!) or due to the untopping activities I'm not sure.

Cheers

Grahami

The map is the territory - especially in chain scale.