British Mining No.84

The Scottish Gold Rush of 1869 R.M. Callender and P.F. Reeson with contributions from Alan Bladen, Phil Cox, Hilary Davies, Sue Higginbotham, Annie Tindley and Ron Wilkinson.

In 1869, a quiet strath in the Highlands of Scotland had its own gold rush and even more remarkable is that a local photographer, Alexander Johnston of Wick, was on hand to record the event. This was the stimulus for the ‘Baile an Or’ project which has investigated the activities of those who came from all parts of Britain to search for prosperity. The result is a fascinating part of Scotland’s heritage - from how the rush started to how it ended some twelve months later. Historical research has included a trawl of local and national newspapers, records in the National Library of Scotland and interviews with descendents of the miners.

The project progressed to topographical and archaeological surveys of the site together with excavation and examination of the finds. In particular, the application of different photographic techniques makes this account unique. The team have reconstructed and equipped a miner’s hut based on photographs from the shanty town of Baile an Or - the Town of Gold. They have built and evaluated a ‘rocker’ or ‘cradle’ similar to those used by the prospectors to recover gold and have worked a small sample into jewellery. With illustrations from the period, together with photographs and drawings of the project activities, the monograph is a comprehensive record of this little known event.

A5, 164pp., 55 figs., ISBN-13: 978-0-901450-63-0-0. £12.00 + £1.00 p&p

British Mining No.83. Memoirs 2007

Post-medieval firesetting in British metal mines: the archaeological evidence; Colliery inrushes and the disaster at the Moorcroft Colliery, Bradley, August 1813; Gold in the Mawddach; A tenth century lead smelting site in West Allendale; Mining in Mid-Argyll; Towards a chronology for Britain’s coal industry from 1854 onwards; Expanding markets served by the principal West Riding Coalfield before c1850; An investigation into the legend of a mining disaster in Arkengarthdale; Exhibition design: a plain man’s guide.

A5 95 pp., 23 photo's, 22 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.&p.

In his research, Les has used scattered documentary references to the Danbys, as well as their family archive, to present an insight into the underlying relationships between the landowners, their mining agents and the colliers, with transcripts of many of the letters between the various parties concerned. These remind us of the important part these small coal mines played in the local economy, both in providing fuel for domestic hearths and for lime burning for land improvement. They also show how the Danby family ran its mines for the long term.

A5, 160pp, 42 illustrations, 7 appendixes. ISBN-13: 978-0-901450-62-3 £12.00 + £1.00 p&p.

British Mining No.81

The Van Mines N.A. Chapman

The Van Mine, near Llanidloes, was a relative latecomer to the UK lead mining scene when it was developed by Mr E. Morris of Oswestry and Mr J. Howell of Hawarden. After eleven years of poor results, they cut the Van Lode in 1862 and created one of Britain’s most productive mines. Van peaked in 1877, producing 6,470 tons of lead and 2,404 tons of zinc concentrates and continued in operation until 1921. During the latter half of the nineteenth century the mine produced 95,739 tons of lead concentrates, 28,424 tons of zinc blende and 756,142 ozs of silver. The lode was so extensive that ‘deads’ from surrounding areas were brought in to stabilise the workings by packing them.

The monograph also describes the history of other mines which worked the Van Lode including: East Van,Central Van, Bryntail or Van Consols, Great West Van, and Van United Mines together with nine others, so great was the attraction of the Van name.

The monograph describes the way in which mines were promoted, money raised and dividends paid in the late nineteenth century. In addition to the corporate bluster there were a few strikes and some accidents. The author also includes descriptions of the sites as they are today.

A5, 144pp., 54 illustrations, 5 appendices. ISBN-13: 978-0-901450-61-6 £12.00 + £1.00 p&p.

British Mining No.80. Memoirs 2006

Further aspects of Old Flockton Collieries, near Wakefield; A Yorkshire colliery at work: the North Gawber and Woolley Collieries, 1896 to 1915; Tapping drowned workings: Thornley and Wheatley Hill Collieries; The Cwmystwyth Mines, Ceredigion, Wales, UK: a revision of lode geometry from new surface geological mapping; Lode geometry in the Plynlimon and Van Domes, Central Wales, UK: the relative importance of strike swing and relay linkage; The Louisa Mine Revisited; Radiocarbon dating of early lead smelting sites; Foredale Quarry, Helwith Bridge, a historical and archæological survey.

A5 134 pp., 28 photo's, 33 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.&p.

British Mining No 79.

Cape Cornwall Mine Peter Joseph

Cape Cornwall tin mine occupied a romantic position, near to St Just, surrounded on nearly all sides by sea. The mine opened three times between 1836 and 1886 and was remarkable, not so much for its wealth of mineral resources but for the 'puffing' by the mine's promoters. The mine captain, John Carthew was eventually dismissed because even the directors had no faith in his optimistic reports which bore little relationship with reality. The monograph tells a story of mining as it applied to many operations in Cornwall, i.e., the difficulties of marginal economics, corporate bluster and their impact on the lives of the miners. The monograph has been compiled from a host of sources but interestingly these have been correlated with a succession of paintings and picture postcard illustrations of this photogenic location, enabling the author to show the progressive development of the mine site.

A5, 111pp ISBN-13: 978-0-901450-60-9. Price £12.00 + £1.00 p&p

British Mining No.78. Memoirs 2005
The Earl Fitzwilliam's Elsecar Colliery in the 1850s; Thornley and Wheatley Hill Collieries; Wheal Noweth (The New Mine); A camera for a dangerous adit; William Smith: his mining report on and the subsequent mining history of the Tarbock Coalfield, near Liverpool; Iron ore mining in Caernarfonshire; Snailbeach Mine: pumping and winding machinery c.1782-1856; William Paull and Joseph Michell Paull, Moor Masters of Alston Moor, Cumbria, 1845-1875; Forgotten 'Clouds' and the mining landscapes of the 1st millennium A.D.

A5, 184 pp., 37 plates, 31 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.&p.

British Mining No.77

The Mines of Upper Teesdale R.A. Fairbairn
This volume, the first systematic compilation of information on Teesdale's mining sites, completes a series on mining in the Alston Block. It summarises the minerals worked, the geology, the activities of the London Lead Company and the conditions in which the miners lived and worked. Later chapters describe mining sites and remains in three geographical areas separated by the pre-1974 boundaries of Yorkshire, Westmorland and Durham. The final chapter briefly describes the main smelting sites. The author has checked the location of every site in the field and, wherever possible, has worked from primary documentary sources. The lead industry demised in the late 1800s, but barytes and fluorspar were extracted in Teesdale for much of the 20th century. A reduced demand for them and cheaper foreign imports eventually forced the closure of the last operations in the 1970s.

A5, 164 pp, 37 figs, 11 plates.
ISBN -13: 978-0-901450-59-3 Not currently available

British Mining No.76

Ingleton Coalfield J. Bentley, B.R. Bond & M.C. Gill

Although Ingleton springs to mind as being in a farming area, on the edge of some of Yorkshire’s most spectacular landscape, it is a former coal mining community, and until the late 1930s a colliery stood alongside the main road (A65) which passes the southern edge of the village.

Following the opening of a memorial to Ingleton’s former coal industry, on June 5th 2004, the authors agreed to collaborate in publishing their work on the topic. The resulting book, which covers mining in the last 400 years, is the first comprehensive history of the coalfield and corrects a wide variety of errors and omissions contained in previous articles on the subject. For the first time, a reliable chronology has been established for the 19th and 20th century mines.

As well as an index of personal names, there are four appendixes listing miners at Ingleton and giving details of accidents there. The final appendix covers attempts to work lead ore in the area.

A5, 146 pp, 19 figs, 51 plates. ISBN 13: 978-0-901450-58-6 £12.00 + £1.00 p&p.

British Mining No.75. Memoirs 2004

Wheal Hearle, St Just: History and Archaeology; Dabbling in Eskdale Iron Mining; The Meal Mill at Ballygrant; The Brades Coal and Steel Works, Oldbury, Staffordshire; Does Familiarity Breed Contempt? – Age and Accident Frequency in Cornish Non-Ferrous Metal Mining, 1881-1901; Explosives in the Mines of the Alston Block during the 18th and 19th Centuries; The Inghams and the Thornhill Collieries Near Dewsbury; A Dispute Over Mining Royalties in the Bolton Area, 1836-1842.

A5 125 pp., 18 photo's, 40 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.&p.

British Mining No.74

Keighley Coal. M.C. Gill

Although the Keighley area is famed for its textile and engineering industries, few people know of the many small coal pits which were an important part of the local economy before the coming of the canal and the railway. These were worked for at least five centuries with the last one closing in 1932. One person who was aware of them was Paul Davison whose keen interest in local geology led him to study the industry and its history in the Aire Valley and its tributaries between Bingley and Skipton. He made copious notes, but his untimely death prevented him preparing them for publication. Fortunately, however, these notes were deposited at Cliffe Castle Museum, where Mike Gill was able to combine them with his own work to produce the current volume British Mining 74: Keighley Coal. A useful index of personal names has been included.

A5, 105 pp, 21 figs, 10 plates. ISBN 0 901450 57 X

£10.00 + £1.00 p&p.

British Mining No.72.

The Mines of Yorkshire (Metalliferous and associated minerals) M.C. Gill & R. Burt

This major research tool by the leading expert on Yorkshire mines and Britain’s only professor of mining history is the result of over 20 years work on a wide range of sources and nothing similar is available for any other part of Britain. The original Yorkshire Mineral Statistics, covering the period 1845-1913, was published in 1982 and was based on national information published annually by the government. This new volume has greatly enhanced that material by including more recent government statistics, together with earlier data from mining and smelting accounts which has vastly extended the period covered. With the mines arranged alphabetically, this volume will be indispensable for anyone wishing to know more about Yorkshire’s metalliferous mines, while the personal index will be of great value both to mining historians and genealogists. At least two more volumes covering Yorkshire’s coal industry will follow and work on the first of these is well advanced.

A5 416 pp., 2 figs, 4 maps, 15 tables ISBN 0 901450 56 1 £15.00 + £2.00 p.& p.

St. Elvis Mine, Solva, Pembrokeshire: Another Elizabethan Tetrahedrite Occurrence?; On The Mortality of Lead Miners; Snailbeach Mine in the 1760’s; The Mechanism of Hushing as Used in the Northern Pennines; Slagged Refractory Brickwork From Derwent Smelting Mill; A Survey of the Area Around Jamie Mine, Sun Side Allotment Appletreewick, North Yorkshire; Two Centuries of a Mining Landscape: Archaeological Survey and Watching Brief at Goyt’s Moss Colliery and Axe Edge Moor, High Peak, Derbyshire.

A5 100 pp., 26 photo's, 25 figs. £10.00 + £0.75 p.&p.

Lead Mining in the Derwent Valley W.K. Pirt & J.M. Dodds

This monograph traces the fascinating history of lead mining in the Blanchland, Edmondbyers and Healeyfield areas of the Derwent valley from mediæval workings through to the end of the industry in the 20th century. Regarded as silver producers in the 15th century, these mines were subsequently worked for lead ore in intermittent periods throughout the next 500 years. Successive mine operators failed to provide adequate capital investment and heavy financial losses caused by the high cost of mining and maintenance eventually led to the final collapse of the Derwent lead industry in 1883. By 1893, however, some mines were able to reopen to extract fluorspar, an abundant gangue mineral in the area, for use as a flux in steelmaking. This revival, apart from a few short periods of inactivity, continued until permanent closure in 1986.

From their research, the authors have been able to discover a significant amount of historical information and they describe the complex interaction between the mineral owners, the lessees and mining companies in considerable detail. Many of the prominent names in British mining history were involved in the Derwent mining district, including John Taylor, Westgarth Forster and the London Lead Company. The story is made more complete by the inclusion of chapters describing local mining processes, smelting, transport and general social aspects. The volume is well illustrated with 44 figures and 57 black and white photographs.

A5 165 pp., 57 photo's, 44 figs. ISBN 0 901450 55 3 Not currently available

British Mining No.69. Memoirs 2001

Editorial; The Iron Mines on and about Alston Moor; Europe v. America. Sources of change in international mining technology in the 19th century; Central Snailbeach Lead Mine, Shropshire; The Blackett Level of Allendale and a dial; Waterloo Colliery, near Leeds: Sales and Markets in 1821; Colliery winding engines, etc. made by Bradley & Craven of Wakefield, 1849?1880; A Yorkshire colliery company at work: North Gawber and Woolley collieries, 1896?1915; Mining Historical Sources: a suggestion; Lead Smelting on the Mendips; Bennett's apparatus for condensing lead fumes; A glimpse of Spanish Mining's "Golden Age" from an Economic History Viewpoint.

A5 116 pp., 3 photo's, 10 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.&p.

British Mining No.68.

Oldham Coal. G. Fanning
Written by Gerry Fanning, whose own roots go deep into Oldham Coal, this monograph looks at the history of coal mining in the Oldham area from early recorded times through to the end of the industry in the 20th century. At its height in the mid 19th century, when it was dominated by the Lees and Jones families, Oldham coal was mainly won from many small collieries whose lives varied from a few years to many decades, though two of the four largest collieries survived to Nationalisation.

The story of the smaller collieries is divided chronologically and then geographically, while the four larger ones have a chapter of their own, and the author uses sources such as rate books, mines inspectors reports, census returns, estate records and local press reports to build up a picture of this once important industry, which in 1851 employed over 2,000 men in Oldham alone.

As well as the collieries themselves, the author also looks at the markets for their products and their transport systems, mainly to local mills, factories and households. He also tells something of conditions underground and looks at what happened to the sites after the collieries closed.

A5 161 pp., 8 photo's, 20 figs.
ISBN 0 901450 54 5. £12.00 + £1.00 p.&p.

British Mining No.67. Memoirs 2000

Smelt mills of the Yorkshire Dales - Surrender Smelt Mill Flue and the Wilson & French Condenser; Leighs Wood Colliery, Aldridge, 1874-1882; In Minute Detail: The development of the coal mines of the Cannock & Rugeley Colliery Company; Recreating Mining Landscapes; Gold Mining in Scotland in the late 16th Century and early 17th Century; A Water Collection System in Buckden Gavel Lead Mine; Steam and Water Pressure Engines on Yorkshire Dales Mines; The Archæology of Thieveley Lead Mine; Yorkshire Smelting Mills, Part 3: Corrigenda

A5, 119 pp., 13 photo's, 23 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

Adventures in Coal. J. Goodchild

In this monograph, coal mining history expert John Goodchild has used part of his own vast archive to document the family of Henry Briggs and their coal mining concerns and associated businesses between Pontefract and Leeds. Although unremitting Yorkshire capitalists, the Briggses were Unitarians by religion, and this undoubtedly led to their adopting a paternalistic attitude towards their workforce. Following disputes in the early 1860s they also encouraged worker participation in the company through shareholding schemes. This worked well when trade was good, but fell apart in a depression.

These events, together with the story of their diversification in trade and innovations in technology, make up an interesting account of a time when the Yorkshire coalfield was rapidly expanding to meet the needs of growing industry and increasing population.

A5, 96 pp., 14 figs., 8 plates

ISBN 0 901450 53 7. £8.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

British Mining No.65.

Allendale, Tynedale and Derwent Lead Mines. R.A. Fairbairn

In this, his third monograph on the North Pennine lead fields, the author has covered the development of lead and fluorspar mining in Tynedale and its tributaries. It is split into three geographical sections, each of which has a brief history of its ownership and the companies who worked the mines, followed by a gazetteer of mines. Illustrated with 28 plates and 19 figures, the monograph also covers smelting and has a useful index of personal names, as well as three appendices giving an alphabetical list of levels and shafts and their locations.

A5, 135 pp., 19 figs., 28 plates

ISBN 0 901450 52 9. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

British Mining No.64.

Coal Mines around Accrington and Blackburn. J. Nadin

In his second book for the NMRS on the Lancashire Coalfield Jack Nadin looks at the history and remains of coal mining in Church, Accrington, Oswaltwistle, Baxenden, Blackburn and Darwen. With few exceptions, the mines here closed earlier than they did in the adjoining Burnley Coalfield, but once again they were dominated by George Hargreaves & Company. As before, the author uses a mix of historical research and newspaper articles, together with maps, plans and photographs and includes a useful index of personal names.

A5, 160pp., 30 figs., 23 plates

ISBN 0 901450 51 0. £12.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

Miners and Farmers. T.B. Bagenal

Historians have long speculated about the importance of dual occupations, especially the mix of mining and farming, which allowed lead mining to continue in hard times and enabled upland areas to support larger populations than they would otherwise have done. This book - a break from our usual monographs, which cover the history and geology of an area's mines - looks at the inhabitants of Heights, near Gunnerside, and their land holdings at a time when lead mining's fortunes were fluctuating. Using field evidence and a range of archival sources, the author has found that, over most of the period, all the houses considered were held by families with some mining connection. The limiting factor in their agricultural activities was not the housing for their cattle, as had been suspected, but the amount of land they had for making hay and the number of cattle gaits they had on the common pasture.

A useful piece of work, BM62 adds to the Society's larger scale study of populations in Yorkshire's lead mining areas.

ISBN 0 901450 50 2. £6.00 + £0.75 p.& p.

The Smelting of Silver Ore from Hilderston Mine; A Lead Smelting Site at Haltwhistle Hill, Allendale; Swan Bank Colliery, Halifax; A Smelting Miscellany No.2.; Mortality in Cornwall; Smelt Mills of the Yorkshire Dales - Keld Heads and Preston Mills; Roofs of Nenthead Smelt Mill; Kirk Michael Mine in the Isle of Man; The Jenkin Furnace at the New CB Mill, Arkengarthdale, Yorkshire; Stotfield Burn and Brandon Walls Mines, 1872-1882; The Development of the Mickley Colliery; Thomas Dodds - 18th century mining visionary or profiteer?; Weights and Measures used in the lead industry; Frenchmen Student Engineers in Industrial Britain: A Preliminary List of Tours from the MS Register of Deposited Journals at the École des Mines, Paris.

A5, 147 pp., 9 photo's, 26 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

The Greenhow Mines. M.C. Gill

A greatly revised and much expanded history of the Greenhow Mining Field, one of Yorkshire’s oldest and most productive lead and fluorspar mining areas. Some of its more recent remains can be seen alongside the Grassington to Pateley Bridge road, but evidence suggests that lead was mined here in Roman times and there was a large-scale monastic industry. After the dissolution of the monasteries the mines passed into private hands and lead mining continued until the 1930s, with sporadic attempts at fluorspar working until the 1980s. Owing to its elevation, Greenhow differed from the usual Dales’ practice of using waterwheels and instead used steam engines for winding and pumping. The most spectacular example of this was at Cockhill Mine, where a 250 foot deep shaft was used as a chimney for boilers fixed in an underground engine house.

A5, 161pp., 32 photo's, 30 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 49 9. £12.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

Recent Exploration of the Milwr Tunnel and Associated Workings, Flintshire; Women workers at British Collieries and the Mines Inspectors; Thomas Dyke and the Brimham Iron Works - A Technological Link between the Weald of Sussex and Kent and Nidderdale; Quernmoor Coal Mines; The Alderson Lead Merchants and Pewterers of London; Mortality rate estimates of Gunnerside lead miners from the censuses; Plankey Mill: A 17th Century Lead Smelting Mill; Fairoak Colliery, Hednesford, Staffordshire; Reverend Rogers’ Quest for Mining Riches; Sequel to Reverend Rogers’ Quest for Mining Riches; Smeltmills of the Yorkshire Dales - The Grovebeck Mills; Lead Mining in Mediæval Scotland; Grimebridge, Oldest Pit in Lancashire; A survey of three structures on Grassington Moor, North Yorkshire; Power in Hebden Gill in the mid 19th century; Brereton Collieries.

A5, 161pp., 16 photo's, 38 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

Coal Mines of East-Lancashire. J. Nadin

By the author of Hapton Valley Colliery, An Historic Account of an East Lancashire Coal Mine, this well illustrated monograph reflects the growing interest in coal mining. As well as looking at the mines themselves, it looks at a brief history of the Hargreaves family, whose company dominated mining around Burnley for 150 years. It also looks at the network of chain drawn tramways, called Ginneys, which transported the coal. It uses a mix of historical research and newspaper articles to build up a picture of this bygone industry with its triumphs and tragedies. Jack Nadin worked at the last colliery in the Burnley Coalfield, which closed in 1982

A5, 160pp., 15 figs., 50 plates

ISBN 0 901450 48 0. £12.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

The Stone Industry of Nidderdale Part 2; Stone Uses; A Glimpse at Snaefell Mine; Sir Bevis Bulmer: An Elizabethan Adventurer; Gwynfynydd Gold Mine, Dolgellau, North Wales: A Review of History, Geology and Mining Activities; Accidents in the Flintshire and Denbighshire Lead Mines 1873-1914; The Melting, Fyning and Stamping Mylnis at Linlithgow; Blakeley Hall and Bromford Collieries, Oldbury, Staffs.; Post mediaeval iron production in Nidderdale and an association with the Ingilby and Yorke Families; Geology and mining of complex narrow veins in south-west England: an example from South Crofty Tin Mine, Camborne, Cornwall.

A5, 170pp., 18 photo's, 27 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

The Weardale Mines. R.A. Fairbairn

As in his monograph on the Mines of Alston Moor, the author has sought to outline the development of mining for lead ore, iron ore and fluorspar in upper Weardale together with its important tributary, the Rookhope Burn. After a history of the area and some of the principal players, he divides the area into groups of related veins and gives details of their history, mine adventurers and companies, geology and leases. He also looks at smelting, including that which took place at mills remote from Weardale. The mono-graph is copiously illustrated with maps, plans and diagrams and has a useful index.

A5, 151pp., 32 figs., 17 plates

ISBN 0 901450 46 4. £12.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

Lead Mine Waggons R.A. Fairbairn

Little has been written about the means of transporting ore and rock from the mines to the surface. The introduction of wooden rails in the 16th century allowed the use of wheeled vehicles and began a process which eventually led to great increases in efficiency by means of the horse-drawn and then the locomotive-drawn waggon. This monograph traces the development of waggons in mining for lead and related minerals over the centuries.

A5, 45pp., 6 photo’s, 38 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 45 6 £8.00 + £1.00 p&p

The Arkengarthdale Mines. L.O. Tyson

Following the publication of the Mines of Grinton, the author has taken the opportunity to revise and expand his earlier monograph on the mines of Arkengarthdale, which was first published as BM No.29 in 1986.

Lead was mined in this tributary of Swaledale from at least mediæval times and in their hey day in the 19th century the mines were amongst the most productive in Yorkshire, supporting a far larger population than lives in the dale today. Remains of hushes still scar the valley sides and other evidence of mining activity is easily found throughout the dale. Chert and coal were also got in Arkengarthdale and the monograph looks at their production, as well as that of lead.

A5, 112pp., 24 photo's, 14 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 44 8. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

The Grinton Mines. L.O.Tyson and I.M. Spensley with R.F. White

This is the first detailed history of mining and smelting in Grinton, Ellerton and Fremington. The Crown owned the minerals at Grinton until 1877, but was never directly involved in the mining. Instead, this was done by lessees, some of whom also mined in Ellerton and Fremington. Although mining in this area peaked in the 18th century, lead was still being produced there in the 1890s. The monograph has a section on the consolidation and archæological work at the How smelt mill.

A5, 132pp., 17 photo's, 15 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 42 1. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

Heath Colliery Co., West Bromwich, Staffs; Mining and Smelting in the Marske Area, Swaledale; The Restless Years: The Leadhills Company Ltd and the labour disputes at its mines 1903-1929; Carn Dochan; John Robson’s Notebook: The Development of Rainton and Pittington Collieries in the 1820s; Bales of Alston Moor, South Northumberland and Weardale; Life and Essays of William Vivian, Cornish Mining Engineer, 1817-1879; Some Notes on the Hornby Castle Estate Coal Mining Sites; Haytor and Smallacombe in Dartmoor; Carmarthen United: An example of under-capitalisation in a mid-19th century lead venture; East Snaefell Mine; Surrender Smelt Mill Flue

A5, 168pp., 13 photo's, 31 figs. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

British Mining No.49.

The Wharfedale Mines. M.C. Gill

This work complements the writer’s 1993 monograph on the Grassington Mines by giving a detailed account of the history of lead mining and smelting in Upper Wharfedale between Barden and Buckden. This area had very few large mines and it is likely that many miners also worked part-time as farmers. In spite of this, the industry played an important part in the local economy until the late 19th century. The monograph also looks at the small, but locally important, coal mining industry which provided fuel for domestic purposes and some for lead smelting.

A5, 122pp., 14 photo's, 22 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 41 3. £10.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

British Mining No.47.

The Mines of Alston Moor. R.A. Fairbairn

This monograph redresses the balance in this much visited but rarely chronicled area where previous studies have almost ignored the major contribution of mining companies other than the London Lead Company. The author divides the area into groups of related veins and gives details of their history, mine adventurers and companies, geology and leases. He also looks at smelting, including that which took place at mills remote from Alston Moor. The monograph is copiously illustrated with maps, plans and diagrams.

A5, 192pp., 27 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 40 5. £12.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

The Grassington Mines. M.C. Gill

This monograph follows the development of the Grassington Mines from the relatively small workings under the Customary Mining Law of the 17th and 18th centuries, through the demise of the laws and the introduction and failure of leases, to the larger, highly capitalised and mechanised mines of the 19th century.

These were all touched on in BM 13 but, as part of a major reappraisal, the author has returned to all the documentary sources and also has had extended access to the vast records in the Duke of Devonshire’s archives at Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey. This work produced much new material on many aspects of the mines and a very detailed history has emerged. As a result, therefore, readers familiar with earlier papers and books will find new interpretations and some contradictions in this monograph.

The monograph also looks at the history and techniques of smelting at the Grassington mills and at 20th century attempts to work the mines and their dumps. It is well illustrated with detailed plans and sections, photographs and tables. There are two appendixes giving the mining laws, and also a detailed list of sources.

A5, 160pp., 16 photo's, 23 tables, 25 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 39 1. Not currently available

Out of print, but copies are availble from http://www.moorebooks.co.uk

British Mining No.38.

A History of the Manor and Lead Mines of Marrick. L.O. Tyson

Mining in the manor of Marrick has ancient origins. There are maps dating from around 1592 which show the smelting sites, but, as the owners at Marrick remained strongly Roman Catholic, many means were adopted during the persecutions of the 17th century to avoid confiscation. This volume follows the history of mining in Marrick until final closure in 1939.

A5, 72pp., 14 photo's, 14 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 35 9. £10.00 + £0.75 p.& p.

British Mining No.35.

The Goginan Mines. S.J.S. Hughes

Little remains at surface of these once prosperous lead workings near Aberystwyth, yet they were a source of wealth for the Royalist cause during the Civil War. The history and geology of Goginan and its smaller neighbours are described in a monograph which contains anecdotes, production statistics and a descriptive tour of the remains.

A5, 88pp., 10 photo's, 36 figs.

ISBN 0 901450 33 2. £8.00 + £1.00 p.& p.

British Mining No.30.

Frongoch Lead and Zinc Mine. D.E. Bick

Frongoch was the largest of Cardiganshire's lead mines. This monograph tells the story of its development in the early 19th century and the eventual rise under John Taylor & Sons to a pre-eminent position as a part of the Lisburne group of mines. When the Taylors pulled out in the late 1870s, in the face of falling lead prices, the mine was able to survive for another 20 years by working the huge reserves of zinc blende which had been left untouched by the Taylors.

A5, 89 pp., 22 figs., 19 plates

ISBN 0 901450 47 2. £10.00 + £0.75 p.& p.