Celia,
I must admit an element of personal interest in this one as I was brought up
within yards of Paradise Green.
As Rob suggests, Elland Flag mining is a strong contender - I would say the
strongest. The mine between Thornton and Clayton, on the southern side of
the beck opposite Chat Hill, was a fireclay working - active until the
1950s, as were others in the area and probably worked by Julius Whitehead
and Sons. Nearer to hand for Paradise Green are the flag mines and quarries
to the east of Clayton in the 1km grid square SE12/32. The Manningham is
also close to flag workings in the area of Peel Park to Bolton Woods, to the
north-east of the valley between Bradford and Shipley. Similar flag beds
might also be found on the south-western, Manningham, side of that valley
but the area was largely built over in the second half of the 19th century
and all traces probably lost. There were also a number of small coal
workings in that area, notably at Heaton to the north of Manningham.
For an overview of the history of Elland Flag working, and the associated
problems for ground stability today, see Goodwin, C G. Mining in the Elland
Flags: a forgotten Yorkshire industry, British Geological Survey, BGS Report
Vol. 16, No. 4, 1984. Goodwin provides lists of known mines (Appendices 2
and 3) and it is notable that workings in the Clayton area were in the
period 1890 onwards, postdating those in the area adjoining Manningham which
might provide a reason for migration between the two areas.
Peter
______________________________________________
Peter Claughton, Blaenpant Morfil, Rosebush, Clynderwen,
Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
Tel. 01437 532578; Fax. 01437 532921; Mobile 07831 427599
University of Exeter - Department of History
School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Co-owner - mining-history e-mail discussion list.
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Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/
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