Search for Limley Mine Airshaft

[Goydenman]

Close to the Nidderdale Goyden cave system is Limley Lead mine. The portal is used as a gear storage area such as boards, old rope and buckets etc. We dug the mine adit to find a very small extension. The way on from there was not only blocked worth fill but missing the walling. Research found that the adit was backfilled and walls removed before the installation of a railway up the dale to build the dams. Recent further research by Tony Cook of the Black Sheep Diggers compared late 1800's maps with modern ones to locate the position of the lost airshaft. The mine is associated with the caves in the area so we were keen to get in there. Digging by hand would be too big a project but then the land owner and tenant farmer offered their support plus the loan of an excavator. The data showed the shaft to be at the top of the field by the wall, the farmer's feeling was that it was further down the field at the site of an obvious crater. Over the years he has been tipping in rubble only for it to still sink away. June 24th came and time to use the excavator. BSD cavers family and friends turned out, the weather was hot. The site by the wall was dug 4m square and nearly 3m deep. The Crater was then dug to about 4m. No mining activity was found in either site nor cave. Although the day did not yield a result it was fun, a good social gathering and clearly showed the strong positive relationship we have built with the local community a benefit for BSD cavers and visiting ones to Nidderdale.

 

[tomferry]

Very interesting. I am assuming you have tried all the old os maps, which overlay and change transparency?

 

[mikem]

Seems to have better records than most:

Browse records of other archives | The National Archives

The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone.

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

North Yorkshire actually have a list of all their mine holdings:

https://archivesunlocked.northyorks.gov.uk/CalmView/GetMultimedia.ashx?db=Catalog&type=default&fname=fb%5C921f34-32c9-4999-98c7-863fcbba1b22.pdf

I see you've already been using some of that info:

New Goyden Developments

The BSD are pushing a number of leads in New Goyden at present. 1. A 25m high aven just beyond the Planetarium - this was climbed to a chamber at the top with nasty steep mudbank. In the roof was small tube that after digging opened into standing height passage with choke roof and wall very...

ukcaving.com

 

[mikem]

Does the crater line up with the expected route of tunnel? - as it could be to do with the water swallow marked on the first survey.

Unfortunately a slight error in angle would put the air shaft along quite a wide sweep of the wall (2nd map on your previous thread linked above)

 

[ChrisB]

a slight error in angle would put the air shaft along quite a wide sweep of the wall

Might the shaft be where the wall kinks a bit? Which would have existed first?

See also the dry grass and slight depression in the field above:

Side by side georeferenced maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

 

[Goydenman]

Thanks for your comments folk. Tony one of our team overlayed old maps with modern and the walls and even trees lined up nicely. We are confident about being in the right area. There is some leeway due to changing position in history of Limley portal. In hindsight we think the shaft may well be deeper than expected below the topsoil

 

[Goydenman]

Does the crater line up with the expected route of tunnel?

No it does not. It is next to shallow valley and land drain that takes water to exit bank side near Frog Pot

 

[mikem]

The wall kink would definitely be worth investigating (unless there's another obvious reason for it's existence)

 

[Goydenman]

Tony wrote this on our FB site......

During the post mortem in the pub Chris and Tony have come to the conclusion that without access to the bedrock (which turned out to be too deep down) it was too difficult to search for any clues via soil disturbance etc. We needed solid rock exposed to enable us to positively find any filled shaft.
The mine was closed down 121 years ago and we can only speculate that the ginging that must have been present lining the top part of the shaft could have been completely dislodged and dropped into the shaft as the first stage of filling it in, followed by covering with soil.
For reference the shaft was a short 10 meters drop to a level at the top of the main lead vein. The mine survey showed that further in along this top level the lead ore vein originally had four 10 meter deep risers coming up from the entrance adit level to the shaft level giving a 20 meter drop from shaft surface to the mine entrance. All the miners work was done working upwards until they hit the barren "top grits" strata.
With two Victorian mine surveys (1890 and 1895) giving the same results for the field location of the shaft we are still convinced we were in the right place. The deep depth of the soil (4+ meters) and just a days access to do the work and clean up were against us (we shared the field with a herd of cows and a large but placid bull so we had to close down the dig before we left). A shame but the project is now over.
The only possible postscript is if our dig on the Dry Wath fault (at New Goyden upstream sump) encounters the mine cross cut that was driven to the fault from the main adit - that would be an unlikely surprise.

 

[Goydenman]

UPDATE ON LIMLEY MIEN AIRSHAFT
Tony Cook of the Black Sheep Diggers did further research on the lead mines and found out that the old survey of Limley mine was alignedb to magnetic north not true north. So finding out where magnetic north was in the late 1800's he made adjustment of the survey with google maps. Once again the farmer kindly lent us an excavator and we dug a hole. No shaft lining was found but we were sure we were in the right place.

Tony and Tom at the Limley Mine airshaft dig

Now at 18ft deep we dug down by a large gritstone boulder and made an air connection with the mine estimated to be 12ft lower. The draft and noise was amazing.

 

[Goydenman]

Video of air connection made in the Limley Mine airshaft dig

 

[Goydenman]

small 'bertha' raised that was pinning down the huge gritstone boulder

Finally out .... by Tony, Alex and Chris

and big one left for the 'Liddy family' who set to work with plug and feathers

Success and celebration by the Liddy's. We can now dig onwards down the shaft

 

[Goydenman]

SMALL BEAKTHROUGH
Now the shaft has been dug to 26ft/8m we have finally broken through to Limley Mine. Chris got the first view into the black hole and void beyond he then told Tony 'I have hit a problem with a black thing, it's not chert, will you see what it is?' Tony delighted with the find (after all his research and our digging) went in first followed by Dan. There is at present just approx 2m of passage to a large blockage of loose stones and clay however to the left of this is a hole through to a void below. Before work begins on pushing the mine we aim to make safe the breakthrough point; line the shaft with a pipe; install a lid and landscape the surface. The farmer has been so supportive and that minimises disruption for him and once done we can dig on safely at our own leisure any time we want

First view of the find by Chris

Tony's delight at seeing the find

Tony's sketch of the find....

 

[Cantclimbtom]

What's all this feet??? business in the survey above, 26ft, 6ft etc??

It's a mine, surely it should be written 4 1/3 ftm and 1 ftm

 

[Goydenman]

The find has been measured and is 4.3m long with further shaft 8m deep to what looks like open level below going east-west

 

[Ed]

but this about faces years of digging aims ---- this is heading to the cellar of the Top Crown not the Bottom crown.....

 

[Tonk]

What's all this feet??? business in the survey above, 26ft, 6ft etc??

It's a mine, surely it should be written 4 1/3 ftm and 1 ftm

Ha ha - the Victorian mine survey being worked from is in chains and feet. It was easier to stick with the original units for now to easily compare distances. The modern exporation results will be reported in meters.

PS no "ftm" in sight on the old surveys. This is a mine not a submarine - he he

 

[langcliffe]

Interesting - on the other side of the hill on Grassington Moor, the fathom is the widely used unit for both depths and distances. e.g.
https://archives.bcra.org.uk/?level=image&collection=bsa&document=ES170&item=39

 

[Tonk]

Interesting - on the other side of the hill on Grassington Moor, the fathom is the widely used unit for both depths and distances. e.g.
https://archives.bcra.org.uk/?level=image&collection=bsa&document=ES170&item=39

The mines in Upper Nidderdale (Limley, Lolly, Blayshaw) were run by a Swaledale mine owner - specifically Joseph Cradock from the Old Gang company

 

[Goydenman]

2 Square Deals A Day
Team: Chris, Josie, Tony, Dan and Monty
Chris, Josie and Tony met up at the mine side. Tony showed them some experimental fixings on a section of pipe he had made. Tony plans soon to fix a ladder into the pre-cut 4m long 900mm wide tube ready for lining the entrance shaft. Good to have our technician and also him going ahead alone initially to buy the 6m pipe. Since then the team have rallied around to contribute including two key external supporters – see final comment below.
Last session Dan left the dig suggesting we put further support for the sloping roof scaffold at the breakthrough point. So Chris got on with digging a trench across the breakthrough point floor directly below the last scaffold pole above. Josie and Tony hauled out 30 buckets of heavy spoil mostly grey clay and old miners planking. Chris at one point uncovered the end of a wooden beam and just below that the part remains of a miner’s shoe.
Dan and Monty arrived and while Monty joined Chris Dan got on cutting scaffold poles to size requested from below. The surface team then hauled out another 32 buckets of spoil. Special mention to Josie for hauling 62 buckets throughout the evening. The scaffold was a delicate operation to avoid slumping/collapse. Requiring first pole to be laid across the trench on thin slabs of rock. A vertical pole was then fixed to the west side up to the scaffold above. Then the temporary support previously put in by Dan was carefully removed and the east vertical pole fixed in place quickly. The result was a strong square frame. Already the whole section felt good and strong also providing easy access for people and kit.
Monty then dug out the breakthrough point step to make even better access while Chris dug a trench all the way along the level to Dan’s shaft to take away the ever-flowing trickle of a stream. Chris then with Monty’s help dug another trench across the level about 2-3m further into the mine. They then once again laid a pole on flat slabs of rock and built a second square frame.
On the next session we need to join the two square frames at roof level and board above to prevent slumping. To dig out under the bottom of the frame for water to flow and board across the bottom scaffold poles to provide a crawl-way. Tony has ordered the fixing for the ladder to be fixed into the pipe. Things are progressing nicely.
THANKS
Finally a big thanks to the Barry Andrews fund and the CNCC for their support in contributing to the purchase of the 900mm pipe and further acquisition of a 750mm section respectively.