Holwell Mine - Jan 21

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BikinGlynn

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Holwell Iron Company, it was constructed in 1878 with the first iron being tapped in 1881.The site later expanded to include a foundry.

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Holwell was amalgamated with the Stanton Iron Works Company in 1918 but continued to operate seperately. It was subsequently taken over by the large producer of Iron & steel Stewart and Lloyds in 1947. The introduction of the Continuous Casting Process increased production significantly, however in the 1950s and 1960s there was a steady decline in the use of the blast furnaces at the site and a decline across the industry in general due to increasing international competition from import cheap pig iron.

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During the 1960s the installation of Kunkel-Wagner machinery made Holwell one of the most advanced foundries in Europe. but Holwell's internal Ironstone quarry closed in 1962.

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The mines are in a public nature res so access can be a bit dogey. the mines are home to Natterers, Daubenton's, Pipistrelle & Brown long eared bats... of which I saw no evidence whatsoever.
Iv been in here 3 times, all rather rushed visits, first was solo as someone couldn't contort the somewhat tight entrance :D
second was with my lad who wasn't keen so didn't get far in again, third was more successful with a non member friend but with torch issues still had to rush around a bit.

Its pretty unstable as signs on the roads above now warn you where not to park in case your car "disappears into a hole" but with the massive entrances there is no O2 issues normally associated with iron mines.
Its all a bit samey so here's the best of what I got.

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Thanks For Looking
 

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