Thanks Stafford I had forgotten to look at Galloway. It’s nice to see that
his discussion is very cautious.
I had come across the example that he quotes from Leeds, which was
photographed, but his comment about the technique being used until the mid
19th century by the Low Moor and Bierley Iron works in Bradford needs
looking at as it contradicts other contemporary sources. The 1842 Commission
on Women and Children in Mines gives a good account of mining around
Bradford and shows that multiple shaft working was employed. The reason
given was cost. The coal and ironstone was relatively shallow and the
topography fairly flat and so as workings advanced rather than make roadways
big enough for horse haulage it was considered cheaper to sink new shafts to
reduce the haulage distance and continue moving corves by hand.
Interestingly they used some steam engines for shaft haulage and as the
shafts moved they just fitted a longer rope. Many of the steam engines also
wound several shafts. As two seams were worked, one for coal and ironstone
and the other for coal (the best bed and the better bed) bell pitting could
have become complicated. An undated late 19th century book in Bradford
library shows that the seams were worked by pillar and stall at that time.
Saying that just to the west of Low Moor close to the Shelf Iron Works is a
field containing about 6 or 8 large shaft mounds laid out in a grid pattern
very similar to those at Bentley Grange near Wakefield which is the site
usually used to demonstrated Bell Pits. These shafts are shown on the first
edition 6" mapping as old shafts which implies that they were abandoned by
1850.
I think that the idea of multiple shafts connected as Clive suggests is a
more feasible suggestion and is probably the case with most sites that are
currently classed as Bell Pits particularly where a grid layout is present.
Where true Bell Pits exist it might be worth considering what they
represent. Yes from a modern perspective they would appear to be uneconomic
and short term, but coal or indeed ironstone have not always been produced
on a large scale. Bell Pitting would be ideally suited to seasonal work and
perhaps this is how it was used in the medieval and early post medieval
periods. I have seen pictures of striking miners digging shallow outcrops
during the general strike and believe that i found some field evidence of it
and to be honest it would be difficult to tell the differnce between these
workings and medieval workings.
It is nice to see that others have been having similar thoughts on the
subject. Now all i need is to find out when the OS started using the term as
i strongly suspect that they are the main reason for it's widespread use.
Martin Roe
Conservation Officer NAMHO
National Association of Mining History Organisations http://www.namho.org
Lead Mining in the Yorkshire Dales
http://www.mroe.freeserve.co.uk
The Industrial Heritage of Calderdale
http://www.halifaxcouriertoday.co.uk/ftpinc/calderheritage
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