Coal Cutter
Well-known member
The trouble with mine reports is often mines are so vast, you cannot hope to cover it all in one trip or report. Last year I did a report on the main Rampgill Vein. This time, me Sausage and another friend explored the Hangingshaws Branch of Rampgill.
Rampgill Lead Mine was started in 1736 by Greenwich Hospital, and was eventually sold onto the famous London Lead Company in the 1740s It was a very high yielding mine but had been mostly worked out by the end of the 19th century.
Then the Vielle Montagne company reworked a lot of it for zinc during the first twenty years of the 20th century.
A lot of the Nenthead mines are connected, and where we took the pics, we were sitting 17 metres directly below Smallcleugh mine.
Hangingshaws was used as a haulage level for the Longcleugh and Middlecleugh veins in Smallcleugh mine.
It was a nice trip, but the water which just hit my belly button area was a bit fresh and muddy. A difficult climb up a shaft was then encountered which then involved a climbing a ladder which was suspended off a seriously frayed bit of nylon rope on side, and a cable tie on the other side
Heres a few snaps:
Sausage at the top of the shaft. Hoping that cable tie will take the strain
Climbing the shaft we ended up in a huge flats, called Prouds Flats. Many interesting things were found here. Heres a nice pack wall:
An ore tub and arch former, backlit by Sausage:
A nice tub chassis and zinc bucket. The zinc probably came from this very mine!
This is a Jackroll. Basically a very simple hand cranked, un-geared winch.
Old vinegar bottle. Probably used to carry water.
Oil can and some other container:
Baking powder tin & rail shoe.
Another ore tub, this time with the metalwork intact:
A nice wooden floor. This is actually the place where the last shot of bang was fired. The fired deads are still piled up. This was a working floor, made it easy to move barrows etc:
A beautifully preserved dynamite crate, from the Faversham Gun Cotton & Powder company. It was empty:
These two pics give a nice indication of the different periods the mine was worked. The first shot is a label off an old dynamite box. The second shows a wrapper from a later and probably safer explosive:
General view of the end of the flats, Sausage in blinding boilersuit:
Heres a self portrait in the deeper part of the main level:
And finally, the best thing about underground exploration is to chill out, absorb the atmosphere and have a good lunch...
A very enjoyable trip, hope you enjoy the pics
Dean
Rampgill Lead Mine was started in 1736 by Greenwich Hospital, and was eventually sold onto the famous London Lead Company in the 1740s It was a very high yielding mine but had been mostly worked out by the end of the 19th century.
Then the Vielle Montagne company reworked a lot of it for zinc during the first twenty years of the 20th century.
A lot of the Nenthead mines are connected, and where we took the pics, we were sitting 17 metres directly below Smallcleugh mine.
Hangingshaws was used as a haulage level for the Longcleugh and Middlecleugh veins in Smallcleugh mine.
It was a nice trip, but the water which just hit my belly button area was a bit fresh and muddy. A difficult climb up a shaft was then encountered which then involved a climbing a ladder which was suspended off a seriously frayed bit of nylon rope on side, and a cable tie on the other side
Heres a few snaps:
Sausage at the top of the shaft. Hoping that cable tie will take the strain
Climbing the shaft we ended up in a huge flats, called Prouds Flats. Many interesting things were found here. Heres a nice pack wall:
An ore tub and arch former, backlit by Sausage:
A nice tub chassis and zinc bucket. The zinc probably came from this very mine!
This is a Jackroll. Basically a very simple hand cranked, un-geared winch.
Old vinegar bottle. Probably used to carry water.
Oil can and some other container:
Baking powder tin & rail shoe.
Another ore tub, this time with the metalwork intact:
A nice wooden floor. This is actually the place where the last shot of bang was fired. The fired deads are still piled up. This was a working floor, made it easy to move barrows etc:
A beautifully preserved dynamite crate, from the Faversham Gun Cotton & Powder company. It was empty:
These two pics give a nice indication of the different periods the mine was worked. The first shot is a label off an old dynamite box. The second shows a wrapper from a later and probably safer explosive:
General view of the end of the flats, Sausage in blinding boilersuit:
Heres a self portrait in the deeper part of the main level:
And finally, the best thing about underground exploration is to chill out, absorb the atmosphere and have a good lunch...
A very enjoyable trip, hope you enjoy the pics
Dean
