Crystal Palace lead mine

[moorebooks]

This mine was discussed on another forum]
Has anyone here been inside the abandoned Crystal Palace lead mine behind the dinosaurs in Crystal Palace Park in south London

Does anone know or know of this - I'm intrigued

Mike

 

[Cantclimbtom]

REALLY????? wow... that's a very interesting tip/lead
Will need to dig about in Chelsea spelio journals, that seems to be the mother lode for finding out things like that

Entrance to lead mine Crystal Palace Park Bromley South London London England Great Britain United Kingdom Europe Stock Photo - Alamy

Download this stock image: Entrance to lead mine Crystal Palace Park Bromley South London London England Great Britain United Kingdom Europe - ARPT36 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.

www.alamy.com

Could it be something created for the great exhibition and as genuine as the dinosaurs?

EDIT: yes I think my question above is answered by http://www.ourhut.co.uk/wp-content/...lace-Geological-Illustrations-JGoode.docx.pdf
It's a "Derbyshire lead mine"

tempted to make some further comments here, but I better not 🤐 if you understand me. Very interesting tip though, thanks Mike!

 

[mikem]

there was even a [three quarters scale] model of a lead-mine, with "pipe veins, rake veins, and stalactites and with life-size models of Irish Elks above the entrance".

Six of the sculptures were missing, as was a large section of the former limestone cliff with a reconstructed lead mine that was blown up to allow for re-landscaping in the 1962 when the adjacent stadium was built.

Conservation work and latest improvements to the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Previous work done and money spent restoring the dinosaurs and latest news stories concerning their conservation.

cpdinosaurs.org

 

[moorebooks]

REALLY????? wow... that's a very interesting tip/lead
Will need to dig about in Chelsea spelio journals, that seems to be the mother lode for finding out things like that

Entrance to lead mine Crystal Palace Park Bromley South London London England Great Britain United Kingdom Europe Stock Photo - Alamy

Download this stock image: Entrance to lead mine Crystal Palace Park Bromley South London London England Great Britain United Kingdom Europe - ARPT36 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.

www.alamy.com

Could it be something created for the great exhibition and as genuine as the dinosaurs?

EDIT: yes I think my question above is answered by http://www.ourhut.co.uk/wp-content/...lace-Geological-Illustrations-JGoode.docx.pdf
It's a "Derbyshire lead mine"

tempted to make some further comments here, but I better not 🤐 if you understand me. Very interesting tip though, thanks Mike!

It did seem unlikely - the answers are clearly in the article
Mike

 

[JohnMCooper]

A visit to the "tunnels" in Crystal Palace Park is recorded in Chelsea Speleological Society Newsletter Volume 15 Number 10 July 1073

 

[mikem]

Wow, I didn't know they'd existed for 950 years! ;-)

 

[mikem]

Bit more of history: "The geological strata and lead mine were constructed at the same time by James Campbell, an engineer and mineralogist."

Hodge upgrades Crystal Palace Park dinosaurs to Grade I status

In one of her first acts as minister for architecture, Margaret Hodge yesterday upgraded the listing status of Crystal Palace Park's dinosaur sculptures from Grade II to Grade I.

www.architectsjournal.co.uk

Although official listing says: "The associated geological strata and lead mine were probably laid out by David Thomas Ansted, consulting geologist, but constructed by James Campbell using geological rocks."

 

[mikem]

The whole lot wasn't part of the Great Exhibition, which was at Hyde park, but set up as a tourist attraction afterwards, with a loan of £1.3 million (times by 100 for equivalent modern price), that, according to Wikipedia, was never repaid.

 

[History Trog]

The mine at Crystal Palace was supposed to be a replica of one at Matlock, hence I covered the subject in my Matlock book altho' only briefly. Extract from the book below (book is now with PDMHS editor for publication):

Instead of tourists going to Matlock, a display of geological strata at Crystal Palace Park in 1855 included a full-size replica of one of its lead mines.https://ukcaving.com/board/#_edn1 James Campbell of Matlock, a railway and colliery engineer, who was involved with Victoria Lead Mine at Ashover,[ii] built it as a show cave but eventually it became closed over. It had a windlass at a surface shaft and a narrow adit entrance into a chamber several yards across with a stream of water and stalactite deposits. Recently rediscovered, the mine is still not accessible.[iii]

---

https://ukcaving.com/board/#_ednref1 Derbyshire Advtr. 16 Feb 1855 p5c4.
[ii] Mining Journal 14 Nov 1857 p802 c3.
[iii] Accessed 25 July 2005 http://www.communigate.co.uk/london/pengeforum/page9.phtml