Category: Slapewath
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Spawood and Spa Ironstone Mines
At Slapewath near Guisborough, there were two ironstone mines operating in the late 19th-century within one hundred metres of each other. To the south of Alumwork Beck (the Guisborough side) was Spawood, and to north (the Skelton side) the Spa mine. They were operated by different companies and worked different royalties, but apart from their…
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Wiley Cat Wood
I came across this old weir today but frustratingly I have been unable to find out any history about it. Wiley Cat Wood is a lovely little valley but, at this time of the year, it is heavily vegetated. It’s drained by a beck which flows north seemingly a tributary of Boos Beck but abruptly…
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Rock Hole, Springbank, Slapewath
Walked a section of the Cleveland Way on a cloudy day with several showers. After crossing the A171 at Slapewath the route toils up Springbank around the huge bowl of Rock Hole, the remains of a 17th-century alum quarry. After 400 years some of the shale sides of the quarry noticeably haven’t reverted back to…
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The Slapewath Gap
The defile between Belmont Bank and Airy Hill, the “natural” route east from Guisborough and on to Whitby. A route that would clearly connect up with the medieval trod, the Quakers Causeway, across the moors. In 1861 the Cleveland Railway was built through the gap to access the ironstone mines of East Cleveland enticing landowners…
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Slapewath Viaduct
It is not very often that this view is so clear. During the summer months, when the tree canopy and undergrowth is thick, the viaduct is almost hidden from the A171. Even today I have only managed to get six out of its eight arches in. The viaduct carried the Cleveland Railway, which was built…
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Alum Rock Quarry
Another fine day in the Cleveland Hills. This is the view that will greet walkers on the Cleveland Way as they begin the steep descend around the huge bowl of Alum Rock Quarry into Slapewath. It could be said that here was the start of Teesside chemical industry for at the turn of the 17th-century…