Leicestershire exploration?

benshannon

Active member
I live in Coalville. this town and its surrounding areas are well known for their mining. I wondered if anyone has been down them recently? Guessing there isnt much in the way of natural caves around here, but i imagine theres a large network of mines?
 

andys

Well-known member
I'm pretty sure that the only mines around there are coal ones - and as such they would probably be too hazardous to explore and quite likely to be fairly solidly sealed anyway?
 

Huge

Active member
There are a few small areas of limestone in Leicestershire. The most obvious is probably at Breedon on the Hill. The hill has been quarried away on one side and apparently there are cavities in the quarry faces, the larger ones completely infilled with sediment. One infilled cave is 60m wide by 10m high and dips into the face at about 40degs! I don't know if there's anything that can be explored.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.emgs.org.uk/files/mercian_vol13on/Mercian%2520Geologist%2520volume%252018%25202012-2015/Mercian%25202013%2520v18%2520p139%2520East%2520Midlands%2520Geology%2520Landmark%2520Breedon%2520Hill,%2520Ambrose.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjQo4H_4szfAhXJRxUIHROEAEkQFjANegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw33qZErxoeTyZCWx9T3Aikg
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
I can't help wondering if the late Dr. Trevor Ford ever wrote anything about that area. Might be worth a search of Cave Research Group publications - or (since the early 1970s) BCRA literature?
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
. . . and a contributor to the Mercian Geologist magazine (another possible source of info?).

When Trevor passed away we lost a treasured mine of information. But he was an avid writer, so there's a good chance he'll have published something somewhere about that area. I'm sure he'd have been aware of it.
 

Duncan Price

Active member
There are extensive gypsum workings at East Leake.  Unfortunately British Gypsum are (or were when I lived there) fairly sensitive about allowing access.  I don't know if they are still active as a lot of gypsum comes from flue gas desulphurisation - e.g. the nearby Ratcliffe on Soar plant.
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Is it a gypsum karst, like the one at Ripon? (Didn't the Russians explore some amazing long underwater cave, with crystal clear vis, in a gypsum area, a few years ago?)
 

benshannon

Active member
So interesting info here. ill do some digging (Pardon the pun) im itching for my club to all get back from their xmas break as im desperate to get underground again.
 

Tripod

Member
A long history of mining for Lead and Coal in the Staunton Harold/Calke/Ticknall area. Little to be seen now though.
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Best of luck Ben, there are still many limestone areas up and down the country which have slipped under cavers' radar so far. That quarry with the sediment-filled fossil passages sounds very interesting.
 

AR

Well-known member
The late Bob King wrote this article for the PDMHS bulletin in the late 1960s, relating to a small lead mine in the Charnwood area: https://pdmhs.co.uk/MiningHistory/Bulletin%204-1%20-%20The%20Quest%20for%20a%20Lost%20Lead%20Mine%20in%20Leicestershire.pdf
 

mikem

Well-known member
http://www.busca.org.uk/heritage/articles/old-industries-of-barrow/limestone-quarrying-burning-in-leicestershire.html

This may also be of interest:
https://lra.le.ac.uk/handle/2381/35074?mode=simple

Mike
 

benshannon

Active member
found this survey of Leicestershire and rutland.

would be an awesome system to explore if it was accessible.lol

http://prntscr.com/m2i2sk
 
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