Iron
Stone Mining
in Redcar & Cleveland
With
out Iron Stone the Teesside area would be very
different from was it is today. A 130 years ago
Iron Stone was discovered in the Eston Hills.
This allowed for not only the birth of major industry
in the region but also the birth of a more cosmopolitan
town, with thousands of workers coming into the
area from across the UK.
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What
is Ironstone?
Cleveland
Ironstone consists of a seriese of deposits varying
in thickness and depth below ground. These seams
can be found beneath much of East Cleveland and
at one time there were dozens of working mines
at places like Eston, Upleatham, Skelton and Liverton.
The
topmost deposit of Ironstone can outcrop on the
surface and is known as the "top steam"
or "dogger seam". This tends to be extreamly
viable in quality an thickness.
Beneath
this at a depth of around 70 meters is the "main
seam", the most reliable and consistent deposit
which can be up to 4 meters thick.
Just
below this lies the "pecten" or "shelly
" seam named after the amount of fossils
found in the stone. This is a more minor seam
at approximatly 1.5 meters thick.
At a
short distance beneath this is the "two foot
seam" which was often confused with the pecten
seam. The deepest level worked was the "avicula
seam", named after a characteristic fossil.
This was mainly exploited at the south of the
ore field in the Grosmont area where the main
deposit is interspersed with bands of shale making
it uneconomic to extract.
When
was Ironstone first mined?
Iron
Age communities from potentially as early as 700
BC originally exploited deposits of iron ore on
Teesside. Evidence for this has recently been
discovered at Foxruch Faarm, Dormanstown by Tees
Archaeology. Here furnace mould fragments demonstrate
the smelting of iron ore and manufacture of iron
objects.
In the
medieval period ironworking was carried out by
monastic houses such as Guisborough Priory who
carried out smelting at Glaisdale. These ancient
smelting venture undoubtedly capitalised on ironstone
outcrops or material collected from beaches where
material washed out from cliff sides.
When
did ironstone becaome a major industry?
Many
local ;andowners realised the potential of Ironstone
deposits in the early 1800's In 1811 William Ward
Jackson of Normanby Hall had six cartloads of
Ironstone from upsall delivered to furnaces on
Tyneside for testing but was met with a marked
lack of interest. This pattern was followed for
the next 30 years with Cleveland Ironstone gaining
a reputation for poor quality and being economically
unviable.
It wasn't
untill 1837 that regualr orders for material from
Grosmont were recieved by the Birtley Iron Co.
based on Tyneside. This material was shipped up
the coast to Middlesbrough and transferred by
rail to Tynside. The resulting pig iron was eventually
transported back to Middlesbrough where Bolcklow
and Vaughan had opened Ironworks in 1840.
How
were the mines worked?
Early
mines began as open case from hill face quarries.
Later, especially where deeper deposits were concerned,
drifts or shafts were used to access the mine.
Ventilation was usually achieved by means of a
fan powered by steam, or latterly by electricity,
pumping air in to the mine by means of a ventialtion
shaft. Ironstone was lifted from the mine in tubs
by means of a winding engine, again poweres by
steam or electricity. Steam power meant that access
to a water supply was necessary and many mine
had their own reservoirs. Various ancillary buildings
are common features of mine sites, such as the
mine office, stables, workshops and the powder
magazine usually sited some distance from the
main complex for safety reasons).
here
can I see the remains of these mines?
As there
were so many mines there are a number of sites
to choose from. Many remains survive at the Eston
Hills and also at Upleatham. Near complete mines
survive at Skelton Parkn Pit and Lumpsey (also
near Skelton). As mine sites were abandoned their
remins have fallen into disrepair and caution
must be exercised when visiting any remains.
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