 |
 |
Spence level is actually in the township of Melbecks further up Swaledale from Grinton. It dates i think from around the mid 19th century, but i have no precise date available. At this time it was a small part of the Old Gang Mine which was one of the biggest mines in the area and had been since around 1780 although it had been worked by several different owners since then. This makes it unlikely to have been the work of an independant miner. It is always difficult to find out why a level is given a particular name and it would probably be difficult to prove that it was named after one of your ancestors. There were many Spencleys associated with this mine but i have never seen any reference to anyone called Spence. You can see a picture of Spence level on my website @, http://www.mroe.freeserve.co.uk/millgill.htm and access more information about mining in the Yorkshire Dales from my home page, http;//www.mroe.freeserve.co.uk Martin Roe _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%