James Puttrell

Badlad

Badlad

Administrator
Staff member
Passing on some info......

I?ve been browsing your forums and came across a few references to James Puttrell, and a few mentions of the microfiche collection held in Sheffield Library.

Your members might like to know that I digitised JWP?s personal photo collection and other archive material, and also received a copy of the microfiche collection from the library.

I?ve put these all online as albums on a Facebook page called ?The RockArchivist Page? should your members care to browse. There?s lots of caving (and climbing) stuff on there relating to JWP and chums.

Direct link is here: https://www.facebook.com/rockarchivist - it?s all public; no need to register or anything.

All the best!
Phil Kelly
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Thanks; I'll be interested to have a browse through that.

For anyone who wants a good read, try John Craddock's 2009 biography: "Jim Puttrell, Pioneer Climber & Cave Explorer" (Troubador Publishing, Leicester) 331 pages.
 
rhychydwr1

rhychydwr1

Active member
Congratulations to Phil Kelly on such a mammoth task.  It is a great pity that the caving article were not put in a separate directory.  Would make it much easier all round.
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
Many thanks for doing this - but as a non-facebook user I'm struggling to access a lot of this - or rather, figure out what's what and where. Are the microfiche files in the Photos gallery too? And if that facebook reminder panel doesn't stop jumping up every five seconds I won't be able to stand it, I'm afraid. Mind you, I have read the thing about a hundred times in Sheffield Library, so don't worry about me too much ;)

I guess the big question I should ask is - can anyone get a copy of the microfiche files? Because I asked the lady behind the desk a couple of years ago, and she said no!
 
alastairgott

alastairgott

Well-known member
pwhole said:
I guess the big question I should ask is - can anyone get a copy of the microfiche files? Because I asked the lady behind the desk a couple of years ago, and she said no!
Click to expand...

I think they must have had a few more moments of "down time" in the last 10 months to make copies of things for people.
 
alastairgott

alastairgott

Well-known member
Nervous, how to reply to a personal message I've received... I only do a little climbing and wimped out at rivelin a couple of years ago and also some climbs in the lakes as well. but received a message from a Phil Kelly, who I assume must be same as Phil Kelly who Authored "Peak rock" 2013.


Edit: Also the Lancashire Guide, is one of the key guys in the Rock Archivist Project and also seems to have put tapes online of a Giles Barker interviewing Joe Brown. Is Giles Barker the same Giles Barker who has a cave photography award named after him? The British Mountaineering Council (thebmc.co.uk)

Any ideas how I should respond to the following message as I know he's reading this thread... ;)

"Hi... Can you tell people the puttrell scans are quite old and I don't think the library have plans to update their digitised copies.

I don't believe they want to hand out copies either."
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
That's a shame - they should flog it on DVD. And they'll just have to put up with me visiting for evermore, when they eventually re-open. But facebook's driving me potty with its endless popup, so not for me.
 
M

mikem

Well-known member
I believe Giles Barker is the same - it's come up on forum before.

They are in 24 albums including one named Bagshawe Cavern:
https://m.facebook.com/pg/rockarchivist/photos/?tab=albums&ref=page_internal

Unknown album includes pics labelled Great Douk & Aven Armand, as well as this at T... Cliff (Treak?):
91353925_165348551588697_854789455016361984_o.jpg



Notebook has poems & quotes from other publications. Miscellaneous - Peak Cavern & a hauling party on Bradwell Moss:
90264590_162295178560701_2947582436873076736_o.jpg
 
M

mikem

Well-known member
Also cave shelter in Middleton Dale & this unlabelled mine:
90246266_162295251894027_580495612085010432_o.jpg


There is a typed letter in Unknown that may well apply to these two photos in Miscellaneous (says one is original pic of Barmaster & miners, other explorers)
91255895_165348838255335_2651675734392700928_o.jpg


Actually only 23 albums, as Frank Brindley has snuck into middle
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
I think the top mine with the big tripod and tent is at Brunt Mine in 1906, as Puttrell and mates went down hunting for baryte on behalf of the mineral rights owner to see if the mine could be re-opened, but there wasn't much down there other than clay and collapse - I've got a copy of his report saying 'don't bother'!. I've never seen this photo but there's some familiar characters in it. I think the second photo is at Hard Rake Mine, west of Hassop Common on the southern slope of Longstone Edge, and might be the trip where the winch failed, and they had to jam it with a bit of wood whilst they went off to fetch a new one - with a guy dangling on a bosun's chair halfway down. I think the guy in the 'dunce cap' is Frank Brindley. His office and shop was about a mile up the road from where I live. The old name for Treak Cliff was 'Tray Cliff', which I think is the answer to that puzzle.
 
AR

AR

Well-known member
I'd agree with you about the first one being most likely Brunt Mine, the ruined building looks right.
 
M

mikem

Well-known member
Yes, it does look like Brunt on the back of adjacent photo (also says Moor, not Moss), & other label does resemble Tray
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
One or two of those guys in the Brunt photo are also in the nicking photo of Greaves Croft at Bradwell, the same year. Typically it now seems to have vanished from the internet. In fact one guy seems to pop up in all the photos I've seen from this period - I guess if you lived out there and there was the faint prospect of mines re-opening, then it would make sense to hang out at all of the 'dos', just in case - or just out of interest. He has a moustache, which narrows it down a bit ;)

EDIT - found it, but it's really tiny :(

https://classic.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/2022323/7CBCC7CF9561ECD5F76E2BBD2F7664A54D695408.html?utm_source=new-website&utm_medium=button
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
It looks like it. Greaves Croft is not far from a mystery project we've been working on over the last couple of years - very much join-the-dots, but it's coming together.

Oh, and I found this - a small crop from one of many panoramas I did in Treak Cliff ten years ago - I thought those formations looked familiar ;)
 

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pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
Found Greaves Croft ;)

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?action=zoomWindow&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;y01017&prevUrl=
 
Mrs Trellis

Mrs Trellis

Well-known member
That photo is also in Ford & Rieuwerts Lead Mining in the Peak District p. 32. I guess the bloke on the left is the official and the bloke on the right the new owner.
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
It's an interesting one, as the Barmaster was meant to be George Eagle at the time, and I have another photo with him in it, but he doesn't seem to be present here. The guy with the big white beard appears to be the same one as in Brunt, and one or two of the shady-looking guys also may have been there - and may also be in the other photo I have. I suspect it was a pretty small and tightly-knot world really, as this is. Also given the 'explosion' of potential re-openings that were going on at the time (they called it the 'Spar Boom'), I guess any sniff of some action and money was sufficient to get them out of the house.

One of the articles in the microfiche specifically details this boom, and the plans to re-open Rake Head, Raddlepits etc., none of which actually happened. Fundamentally they didn't have any fluorspar! Most of Moss Rake that I've seen is all calcite and bits of baryte, but again, hardly viable commercially.
 
Mrs Trellis

Mrs Trellis

Well-known member
In the Greaves Croft photo (yours is clearer than in the F&R)  I think the someone - possibly the Barmaster - is hidden behind the bushy beard bloke and it's his hand the "new owner" is actually shaking. At first sight in F&R it appears the new owner and the b.b.b. are handshaking left handed which would be a bit strange.
 
AR

AR

Well-known member
You're right about the bloke with the beard not being the handshaker, if you look his left hand is on the stows and there is someone stood behind him (possibly wearing a trilby?) doing the shake. If it's not George Eagle, then John Mort senior (his deputy) would be the next most likely candidate.
 
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