Long Cliff Mine (split from Windy Knoll topic)

[martinm]

The link to the Long Cliff Mine monitoring form has also now been now corrected. (Despite the fact that it has been blocked since the shaft collapsed in 1962, apparently!)

It would be helpful if any issues like this were reported to the maintainer of the site, (ie:- me), instead of just mentioning them on this forum! (My email link is at the bottom of the home page.)

The only reason that the links have been corrected is cos I keep an eye on these threads for things of interest / peeps who need info, etc. Otherwise they would just stay broken and the forms/surveys that they link to would stay inaccessible to all!

The site is supposed to be a central repository of info for everyone, so please help to keep it up to date...

Cheers,
Martin.

 

[Pitlamp]

Martin - although the Longcliff Mine was thoroughly explored and reported on in 1962 (in a PDMHS Journal if I remember rightly) I think the collapse of the ginging round the shaft top which resulted in the blockage at the bottom was actually during or after the late 1970s.

 

[Mrs Trellis]

Ford (Caves of Castleton latest edition) considers Long Cliff Mine possibly/likely to be the way into the mine workings to the east of the Speedwell Canal in the Halfway House series never yet entered by any cavers.

Equally Long Cliff Mine has not been entered by "modern" cavers with their superior equipment and techniques. It would be good if the entrance and known passage were plotted onto the Peak/Speedwell 3d survey. Of course access to Speedwell is now much easier to do connection testing. Ford & Rieuwerts state the large cavern entered is natural.

There is a stream in there which could be dye-tested (maybe again) , and given our current knowledge of the extent of the Peak/Speedwell system and its relationship to 18thC mine workings that area to the east of the Speedwell entrance (Long Cliff & Cowlow) could yield intersting results.

Perhaps Long Cliff Mine is worthy of a thread on its own?

 

[Goydenman]

Martin - although the Longcliff Mine was thoroughly explored and reported on in 1962 (in a PDMHS Journal if I remember rightly) I think the collapse of the ginging round the shaft top which resulted in the blockage at the bottom was actually during or after the late 1970s.

Pitlamp is right I can confrim walking by it several times with my dad in the mid 70's when the ginging was still in place. We once met someone who was on his way out having explored it. I do not know when the ginging collapsed and it became blocked but I do remember Trevor Ford telling me it had. Just after I had opened the Mam Tor engine shaft and then PB explored it which must be 79 or 1980? Trevor gave me a copy of the survey (R.S. Howes; S. Thomas; R.D. Woodhouse Jan 9th 1944) and told me it was not blocked at the bottom of the shaft but at a constriction within the shaft. It was indeed and we tried to dig it out but got diverted onto other things - anyone who goes down there now should find our tools still there we never went back for them!

 

[Mark]

Went down there in the early seventies, I have a vague recollection of an area of ginging part way down that looked like a walled off level, (cross cut to a climber maybe?)

 

[Goydenman]

When we were digging the shaft was about 60ft deep with short blind level going off for only shart distance at about 50ft level which we used to stack some of the rubble. The survey shows the shaft to be about 13-140 ft deep to level going off towards SE for about 40ft to worked out vein area. In this chamber is stacked deads - is that the ginging you commented about or was it the short level part way down the shaft? At the base of the worked out vein there is a level going back under westish. Opposite side of worked out area another level going SE again la lot of it on a false floor of timbers leading to small chamber with stempled shaft upwards and two other small passages leading off not far one heading north and one heading east. When Trevor Ford went down they put 50ft of ladders down the entrance shaft which did not reach the bottom but he though he could see it just below him so offered to jump down but was persuaded to return and get more ladders. Good job he did because the floor he saw was not a floor but a ledge and constriction in the shaft with another 80-90 ft of open shaft. He also said when they were at the far end they heard the noise of collapse only to find the floor had dropped on their return - so there is probably workings below now hidden and sealed by the collapse. I also note on ther survey that the drill marks for the levels mentioned above are in the direction from the stempled shaft towards the present known shaft for Longcliffe Mine.

 

[Scud]

Several members of TSG, started looking down this mine shaft last summer, with view to planning an attempt to reopen it up but a rockfall from the shaft top which just missed Martyn made us aware of the dangers of this mine shaft, and that we had to stabilise the top before we made any attempt at digging out the blockage, as well as we had to sort out the permissions from the relevant bodies.

Thought has gone into the shaft over the winter and we have come up with a plan but the sorting out of permissions with the various bodies is still ongoing at the moment.  The plan is to totally stabilise the top, rebuilding the ginging, maybe using some of these plastic pipes, then place a lid on the shaft, prior to any underground work being undertaken.  We are hoping to start the project in the spring when the light nights and preferable more mild nights reappear. 

This is assuming that they give us permission!!

Wayne

 

[Goydenman]

Glad someone is having a look and dig. Hope you get permission soon and best of luck.
Go for it!