Below is an enquiry to the South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group.
Clutton is in Somerset (part of the Somerset Coalfield)
Not quite my area of expertise but I've sent some general comments - Perhaps
a member could add more
Regards

David

---------------------

I have posed a question ..........."are there any open Bell Pits in the UK."
I have had no answer to this yet but one person suggested the S.
Glous Mines Research Group .....  So far I have found two capped shafts (I
have found no mention of them in any documentation that I have consulted),
two possible shafts and a line of 42 man made pits which I think are Bell
Pits. Do you have any information of any mining activity around Clutton.

 Many thanks

Alan Gray


> Greyfields Wood (Clutton)
>
> For about 20 years I have been walking the dogs in
> these woods and was aware that there were capped
> mineshafts located there but had not been able to find
> them. However in late 2004 the Woodland Trust, who own
> the woods, decided to drastically thin the woods.
> During this process many of the paths were destroyed
> by the large machines employed to fell and pick up the
> trees. Thus I had to venture further to find paths
> that had not been destroyed.
>
> The area around Clutton was coal producing. The main
> pits were Greyfields at High Littleton and Fry's
> Bottom at Clutton which were both about 400ft deep.
> About 10 years ago I went to a lecture at Fry's Bottom
> Pit and afterwards a lead light was lowered down the
> shaft for 200ft without hitting the bottom! Both these
> pits has winding gear and water was pumped form the
> lower workings.
>
> Back to my story. At the east end of Greyfield Wood I
> found two capped shafts and when Richard and I looked
> at these we found another. Richard suggested that
> these predated the main shaft and thought that their
> downwards progress was stopped by the water table and
> the lack of technical expertise in pumping. Our walk
> then continued to the west end of the wood (near
> Clutton) and I showed Richard the man made pit that I
> found. We walked back into the wood and found another
> three all in line. Richard suggested that these many
> be Bell Pits a very old form of mining. We also
> investigated a large Badger set near one of these pits
> and it was observed that the badgers had excavated
> small lumps of coal.
>



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