Ok, so we set off into Hillocks Mine through the oil drum entrance.....
Down the pitches passing not what could be described as extensive workings. At the bottom we find a blasted cartgate level with the "Old Man's" coffin level in the roof. The cartgate leads to a major winding shaft - The Whalf Engine shaft. Now.....The cartgate was blasted from the engine shaft side, you would only sink such a big shaft and drive a level if you were removing a lot of ore...so......where are the "missing" big workings that must exist somewhere at the base of the oil drum route pitches? Presumably whoever drove the shaft and cartgate knew that there was extensive ore having climbed down the same way we have just done but where? Is it through the flooded / sumped passage that is the only obvious way on? I know some work was done here but did it get anywhere?

The other interesting lead I found in Hillocks but have not been back to is a small coffin level. If you get to the bottom of Hillocks via the oil drum entrance, turn right at Whalf Engine Shaft and go past the bottom of the "new" climbing shaft route (can't remember the name). Keep on going through a looseish bit and eventually you will find a small coffin level heading right. It ends after about 50 feet at a boulder choke. My point is this - coffin levels were not driven on a whim! The amount of work they involved meant that they were only driven as cross cuts to ease access to major sources of ore or provide drainage. The coffin level here ends at a boulder choke but must have gone further and presumably into some extensive workings. Anyone know anything about this? Anyone fancy a look? With pop and bang technology this must be a viable project these days.......

The old records suggest Hillocks was more extensive, could these be ways on?

Dan

I was once told that the Engine shaft was dug down to the corner of the large chamber (160'ish feet down) on the basis of dowsing, and before any other workings in the area. And the same person told me that you can dowse horizontally i.e. find something to the side of you.
Differing people are sensitive to different effects - I'm only sensitive to disturbance in the ground or rock and slightly to water. I was taught how to dowse by a guy who could not only find water, but tell you how deep, how fast and in which direction it was flowing. I'm sure that mine owners in the past used people who were sensitive to ores when they were prospecting.

I suggest that if you are interested in digging in Hillocks that you contact the crewe cpc as I know they were pottering about poking boulders in there last year and looking at sumpy bits.

I was down at that coffin level today, You have a point...
Might be worth a bit more poking around..

Tim

PS.. Hey! that's my name!

I'm off to have a look tonight.....7:30ish at the barn.

Dan.

Hi,

Yes, that coffin level got my interest about ten years ago. The choke at the end is possiblythe stope that it was serving, so there not necessarily mileage in speculating that it went further..

Here are some other snippets. Up over the bank in the passage leading to the foot on the shaft (the enlarged cartgate) are some sumped areas. These drained in a drought year to reveal the start of some other coffin levels, and some natural chambers.

Secondly, is the foot of the shaft backfilled? It has been speculated so, so there may be other, deeper working.

The assertion that "you would only sink such a big shaft and drive a level if you were removing a lot of ore" is not necessarily true, many shafts were only dropped as pumping shafts (though not in this case I think), or as prospecting shafts hoping to hit a vein.

Finally, another interesting place is the right angle bend at the point where East level hits crimbo pipe. There is a collapse there...did crimbo pipe continue to the right at the junction. Possibly, as there is a shaft on the surface that isn't seen underground at this point. Its a good dig site.

Andyf

Interesting stuff....
Is the sumped area you refer to the same one I'm thinking of from my original post. If you came from Whalf Engine along the enlarged cartgate you bear off right where the Hillocks entrance comes in and arrive at a large inviting(??) clear blue sump. I think this is where CPC were pumping a couple of years ago.
As for East level - I had a look at this with "Ben" Bentham and Mike Sutton many years ago. Didn't look too promising without fairly substantial engineering and I think we thought it was too far in to warrant much attention. I do remember Mike and Ben finding a drainage level at the start of east level where you climb down - we thought at the time it was some sort of leat for powering a waterwheel but I can't remember why. Don't know if you know where I mean - you go through the "Bung" before waterfall pitch having bailed the duck. You then drop down into a stope at the start of East Level. It was somewhere around there. East level is sadly very badly polluted these days so i can't recommend a trip there to have a look.

Dan.

Hi Dan,

No, the sump that we looked into is up over the bank on the LEFT as you approach from the engine shaft. (I know the sump you are describing on the right, in which the very top of a coffin level is visible IIRC) You have to climb up over a bank of deads on the left to get to the place I'm thinking of.

I can't remember which year it dried out, possibly 1990, but you could drop down into a natural cavity, with a further sump and (IIRC) a further flooded coffin level)


As for the East Level/Crimbo junction I think that as you approached it, you went up slightly over deads, then would go down the other side to enter the pipe. I speculated that if the deads could be moved (stemples required), then the pipe may continue to the right at the junction. There is a filled/blocked shaft on the surface very near to this point.


Andyf