'Hanging Flat Mine' nr Stoney?

U

uprussia2004caver

Guest
Can anyone tell me anything about 'Hanging Flat Mine'?  I've never heard of it myself, which I find strange as according to the PDMHS website it is near Stoney Middleton, an area I know fairly well.
Any info would be appreciated.
Ta. Jon
 

SamP

New member
I believe it to be directly across the road from rubble rift. Just up the dale from the entrance to horse shoe quarry as you meet the first layby, hop over into the 'out-back' a sort of delph splits through the back of the quarry...theres a mega drafting hands and knees crawl about 3m from the road and about 100-150 yards up theres a big 4-5 foot entrance....

i think its one of them two...

im sure somebody who knows Stoney abit better should be able to confirm. :D
 

AndyF

New member
Hanging Flat mine used to be a big open adit right at road level just by the entrance to Horshoe Quarry. It was worked quite late, i think till the 60's or 70's.

Big walk in level split into 2, right led to a run in shaft, left went for a looooong way until a run in.

Very muddy, horrible rotting shoring, dodgey roof  . .eeeukkkkk nasty place.

The entrance section was used for a "cave rescue" filiming of Peak Practice. To55ers left a load of polystryrene "boulders" near the entrance.

Some time after the entracne was filled, but it WAS still open a few years ago, you could squeeze in over top top of the blockage.


 

martinb

Member
Here's the GR and GPS if you are in desparate need to find it.....


Hanging Flat Mine SK 206 760 420643,376013
 

shotlighter

Active member
From the map, it looks like the place that had the tin shed over the entrance, which was IIRC supported by steel rings. In the early 80's the place was open & still had the compressed air bags etc. in situe.
 

Pete K

Well-known member
Had a bit of a walk down Stoney Dale today and had a look down Hanging Flat Mine. Not having remembered to bring the description we wandered about for a bit looking for the way in. We ended up at the top of an old track near the car park of Horseshoe/Furness Quarry. Although we didn't find the entrance we did find some interesting shafts.
One on the left:
3319252187_7a3b669a03.jpg

and one on the right:
3320081436_f17333db3c.jpg

Anyway, after a quick poke around we headed down back to the road and almost immediately stumbled upon the correct entrance. It really is very close to the road, you just don't see it until you're on top of it. It's right in-between the lay-by and the turn-in to the quarry car park.
The entrance is indeed still passable, although it could do with a bit of clearing. After a short wriggle the mine level quickly becomes a comfortable walking passage and remains quite large throughout the whole mine. There are an abundance of big polystyrene 'boulders' throughout the mine and just look like rubbish now.
The right hand branch passes an upturned hopper(?) and heads on to a collapse and a false floor over shaft. Above this area the mine appears to go up and I would hypothesise that we are in the area of the big shaft on the hillside above. The timbers down there are huge! We didn't talk too loudly in this bit :eek:.
The left branch from the entrance heads through what appears to be some kind of scenery construction complete with more 'boulders' and on into a loooooonnng tunnel. On the way to the end there are 4 junctions. They all head off to the right and all come to an almost immediate dead end at collapse or back fill. A couple of them would probably 'go' if looked at more closely/violently. Possible connection to the other surface feature? The main level ends at what could be a muddy forefield or a collapse. Shovel in situ.

Well worth a look, don't kick any timbers.  :)  http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/Hanging-Flat-Lead-Mine/

3320084530_d57300094b.jpg
 

Chocolate fireguard

Active member
We used to cave in the Stoney area quite a lot and sometimes camped above Hanging Flat Mine (this is getting on for 50 years ago now) near a ruin we referred to as Brushfield Cottage. We all "knew" that it had been the home of a guy called Cornelius Brushfield who worked the mine centuries ago. We also "knew" that he had lived and died at the ruin, never in his life going beyond Eyam. I suppose it was a load of rubbish.
 

ditzy 24//7

Active member
had a trip in there the other day
where does the level you can see down the shaft go to
what was mined we coud only see some black calcite stuff
does anyone know about the naturl that the mine cuts thru it looks quite big in places
do all the colapsed bits lead to stopes going up
 

Pete K

Well-known member
ditzy said:
had a trip in there the other day
where does the level you can see down the shaft go to
what was mined we coud only see some black calcite stuff
does anyone know about the naturl that the mine cuts thru it looks quite big in places
do all the colapsed bits lead to stopes going up

Hi Ditzy,
we had a good look over the edge of the shaft when we where there, couldn't see much. I plan to go back there with a Spit kit and a scaff bar sometime.
The collapses do seem like the bases of run in stopes to me, after all, it is a bloomin big pair of tunnels that go nowhere! They all seem to go off at similar angles to each other which may indicate a number of parrallel scrins/veins. Also surface evidence of open stopes on the hill side above.
If it had hit large natural I'm sure we would know as it was worked in recent history (60's?).
I'm guessing its a lead mine but I couldn't find any mineral.
 

Mark

Well-known member
The levels are called slits, which were driven into the vein from the parallel drive, which is the main tunnel.

The vein was drilled and blasted nearly to surface, and the fluorspar was loaded out of the slits in relative safety. the boulders at the end are remains of the vein walls which have collapsed.

These cavities are completely man made, and don't go anywhere. they are extremely dangerous (it would be a good idea to stay out)

If you walk over Longstone edge, the deep open cuts are the same technique seen from above, it gives you some idea what you are getting into.

The shaft in the floor used to go to a lower level which didn't really go anywhere.
 

ditzy 24//7

Active member
thanks for that
there is defo some natral just beyond were the levels split
on left going in there is a small hole and some layered mud with a filled tube opposite that has a skmall gap
on the r passage there is a rfit with futing on the left and on the r a dome where that short ladder goes up past a timber and tin roof with an passage going on . rekon it is all one passage
didnt fancy standing on the timber for a better look
 

Brains

Well-known member
11749768a10532196316l.jpg

Looking at a small natural sediment filled tube. The fill is clay rich and layered, with a small void above. This is in the rock between the two levels. Behind me is a small open tube with more layered sediment
11749768a10532196485l.jpg

In the other level, looking at the ladder that leads to a void above the timbering that looks like a solution dome, with an ongoing rift. Behind the camera is a natural fluted rift that leads to the other side of the fill in the first photo.

11749768a10532196776l.jpg

The internal shaft, with an area of false floor around it.
11749768a10532196716l.jpg

Looking down the shaft to where another level can be seen

11749768a10532196647l.jpg

Some interesting gooey mould on some timbers
 
Top