Speedwell Bottomless Pit drainage......
- Thread starter Mrs Trellis
- Start date
AR
Well-known member
Looking at the first shot there, something does jump out to me. The upper branch of the track is heading towards to a possible run-in level to the Longcliffe Vein, but that is I think about the point the "Swallow Gate" coffin level meets the vein - although we cleared it out from the SoL end it proved to go into a mass of deads outbye on the Longcliffe Vein so it wasn't pushed further. Could the swallow gate have gone to day? Possible...
pwhole
Well-known member
That's very possible actually - I hadn't thought of that option at all, but that is pretty much where the backfilled opening I've seen before was. Like an early shale-gate sough, but above the shale.
Here's some photos of the previous digging work done around Middle Bank by the TSG in the mid-80s, kindly sent to me a couple of years ago as faded prints by Dave Penney. They include the audacious equipment store built into Middle Bank Cave (I gather they were eventually told to sling their hook by a gamekeeper), and the shaft in the floor of the dale, though Dave told me it never went that far. But as far as I know none of this was done with any permission, though older TSG members may be able to help here?
But it shows there was much less attention around there then as they were able to dig a shaft with scaffolding, and even do hauling in their underpants - happy days.
Here's some photos of the previous digging work done around Middle Bank by the TSG in the mid-80s, kindly sent to me a couple of years ago as faded prints by Dave Penney. They include the audacious equipment store built into Middle Bank Cave (I gather they were eventually told to sling their hook by a gamekeeper), and the shaft in the floor of the dale, though Dave told me it never went that far. But as far as I know none of this was done with any permission, though older TSG members may be able to help here?
But it shows there was much less attention around there then as they were able to dig a shaft with scaffolding, and even do hauling in their underpants - happy days.
pwhole
Well-known member
Actually, that blocked level downhill might be a tad too low to be related to the coffin level in SoL - that terminates below another shaft hillock downslope from the entrance shaft. The total depth of these workings is no more than 25m from surface. Though of course if there was a lower level (or more), which I'm convinced there was, it would still work. The accounts refer to 'raising the upper gate to Oakden Level' - which implies that both an upper and lower gate were lower than the canal. There's enough height difference between that and the 'water table' (resurgence altitudes is all we have) for it to work. I'm not even sure if there is a water table here, in a practical sense - the dip of the reef is N/NE here, and about 45°, so water would just as likely run down it into the valley, possibly even under the shale margin, or at least around its perimeter - i.e. the fields next to the road. Unless there's a vertical shaft/aven nearby of course, which would take it all down to the basement immediately.
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