Those who kindly responded to my earlier message, re the "Cinder Pit"  
at Quarrington, Durham, may be interested to know what I have found by  
looking at relevant seam abandonment maps.

Although it is shown with a shaft symbol, labelled "Cinder Pit", on  
the 6 inches to the mile OS Geological Map, there is no sign of it on  
any of the NCB's seam maps.  (Nor is it one of the Borings & Sinkings  
published by the NEIMME.)

It was, however, very close to a significant fault (about 100 feet).   
It was at the higher level.

Coal in the two highest seams at that point, the "Five Quarter" and  
"Main Coal" seams (the NCB's F and G seams), were worked from several  
nearby pits in the 18th and 19th centuries and the pillars were robbed  
from a shaft 513 yards (470 metres) away in the mid-19th century.  My  
guess is that, if there was indeed a shaft at this point, then Cinder  
Pit would have been associated with this.

Regards

Mike

==

On 8 Apr 2014, at 19:00, Mike Syer wrote:

> Thanks, Mike, for this interesting idea.  And Ian's example too.
>
> I've checked the 1839 tithe plan.  Unfortunately, in this particular  
> township (Quarrington), this is exasperatingly devoid of evidence  
> about mines and waggonways that are known from other sources to have  
> been present by then and, in the case of many of the pits,  
> considerably earlier...
>
> But it might be interesting that "Cinder Pit" was situated in a part  
> of a field that was, indeed, sundered from what had been a larger  
> field, by a waggonway (from another colliery).  It is today (2014)  
> combined with the field beyond it (though the satellite view shows  
> the old field boundary). But perhaps when the pit was sunk it was  
> after the waggonway was built, in a small "sundered" field.
>
> That would date its sinking to between the 1830s, when the waggonway  
> was built, and the 1850s, when the first OS map was surveyed.
>
> My main doubt about this interesting theory, however, is whether the  
> word "sunder", already corrupted to "cinder", was current at that  
> time.  Other examples seem to date from some centuries earlier.  But  
> it would explain why a "cinder pit" was, perhaps, used to extract  
> good quality coal.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Mike
>
> ===
>
> On 8 Apr 2014, at 17:27, Ian Pope wrote:
>
>> It is said that the town name Cinderford comes not from cinder  
>> heaps from the ironworks there but from Sunder 'far distant', i.e.  
>> far distant ford
>>
>> Ian
>>
>> On 8 Apr 2014, at 15:19, M J Shaw wrote:
>>
>>> In the Shrewsbury coalfields there are fields named  Cinder Piece  
>>> and Cinder Meadow, they are on productive coal measures but at a  
>>> location where there is no hint of mining. The other possible  
>>> reading of cinder field names is related to sundered, i.e. away  
>>> from the main holding, could the pits be thus and not mining  
>>> related.
>>> Mike Shaw
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Syer" <[log in to unmask] 
>>> >
>>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2014 2:36 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [mining-history] Cinder pits
>>>
>>>
>>>> Thanks very much for all the suggestions, which are greatly  
>>>> appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> I can see, on the map I'm working from, a line labelled "Busty   
>>>> cindered to the north of this line", at the point presumably  
>>>> referred  to in Dave Williams' message.  And there is a boring  
>>>> nearby indicating  18" dolerite, 15" cindered coal and 9" coal in  
>>>> the Busty seam.  These  are about a mile north of the Hett Dyke,  
>>>> which runs roughly WSW to ENE.
>>>>
>>>> The "Cinder Pit" I first enquired about is roughly a mile south  
>>>> of  this dyke.
>>>>
>>>> I'm severely hampered by my own ignorance, I'm afraid...  But I  
>>>> don't really understand why cindered coal would have been mined.   
>>>> I thought before that this "cindered" coal indicated a problem,  
>>>> not an asset.
>>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>>
>>>> Mike
>>>>
>>>> ==
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 8 Apr 2014, at 13:09, David Williams wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> A quick look in Smith and Francis 'Geology of the Country  
>>>>> between  Durham and
>>>>> West Hartlepool' provides much information on the cindering of  
>>>>> coal seams by
>>>>> intrusive dykes and sills.
>>>>>
>>>>> In particular it states on page 48 - '1.25 miles N.E. of  
>>>>> Bowburn  Upcast Pit
>>>>> the coal (Busty Seam), the coal is 33 ins. Thick, but 100 yards   
>>>>> farther to
>>>>> the N.N.E. 15 ins. of cindered coal lies on 9 ins of uncindered  
>>>>> coal  and the
>>>>> seam is overlain by 18ins of 'whin' (dolerite)'.
>>>>>
>>>>> The section on dykes and sills, including their cindering of  
>>>>> coal  seams, can
>>>>> be found on pages 187-191.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers, Dave Williams
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: mining-history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On   
>>>>> Behalf Of
>>>>> Mike Syer
>>>>> Sent: 07 April 2014 17:37
>>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>> Subject: Cinder pits
>>>>>
>>>>> Please can some one advise me why a coal mine shaft might have  
>>>>> been
>>>>> called "Cinder Pit"?
>>>>>
>>>>> There was one at Quarrington [i.e. Bowburn], in Durham.  But I see
>>>>> from web-search that there were others called this, elsewhere in  
>>>>> the
>>>>> country.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>> ---------
>>
>> Ian Pope
>> Black Dwarf Lightmoor Publications Limited
>> 120 Farmers Close, Witney, OX28 1NR
>> www.lightmoor.co.uk
>> Company registered in England & Wales number 5522739
>> Registered office: 6 Langdale Court, Witney, OX28 6FG
>> NOTICE & DISCLAIMER : This email (including attachments) is  
>> confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, notify the  
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>>
>>

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