Tag: ironstone mining
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Rosedale Wyke to Ruin: The Decline of Port Mulgrave
Every time I visit Port Mulgrave, I am struck by how little it changesâsave, of course, for the gradual but ceaseless gnawing of the harbour by the North Sea. Today, I didnât manage to descend to the beach, not that I missed much, for from Rosedale Cliffs I could see quite plainly that the old…
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The Minerâs Path: From Ironstone to Ypres
The constant rain has transformed Airyholme Lane into a stream, though it mercifully spills into the field before it reaches the farmyard. I cannot help but wonder what the weather was like on this day in 1917. The miners from Roseberry Ironstone Mine would have trudged along this track to and from their shifts. Did…
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Newton Woodâs Hidden Industrial Heritage
This morning’s low cloud cover meant there was no chance of capturing any stunning shots of the Cleveland Hills, so I turned my attention to something closer to the ground. Folk often ask me about this brick and concrete structure at the Cliff Rigg end of Newton Wood, recently cleared of bracken and brambles by…
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Nature Reclaims Industry: Warsett Hill
A fishing smack chugging serenely towards his lobster pots off Huntcliff caught my attention. The morning is still and muggy, with overnight rain fizzling out and the sea as calm as a millpond. I have been working on the National Trust’s property at Warsett Hill, tidying up an old, decrepit post and rail fence. Acquired…
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Hollins Ironstone Mine
An exploration of the east side of RosedaleâNorthdale Rigg and Heygate Bankâyields splendid views across the dale, the hillside punctuated by two notable scars from the ironstone mining era. This is the site of Hollins Mine, where ironstone mining began in Rosedale in the modern period. The two drifts, known as Garbuttâs on the left…
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Rescue at Roseberry: The 1929 Shale Slide
Back in sunny Cleveland, and I am in search of a new morsel of information to accompany a familiar sight. On this day in 1929, Ralph Elliott, a miner from Great Ayton, had a narrow escape. Working with several others at the âRoseberry mine bank bottomâ, he ascended a spoil tip to release shale. Suddenly,…
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Roseberry Ironstone Mine â A Miner’s Day Begins
A significant anniversary in the history of Roseberry Ironstone Mine. It was on this day in 1921 that the men at the mine received notice to cease work with the mine due to be made idle at the end of the period of notice. In fact, output fell gradually until, in 1924, it stopped completely…
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Ayton Banks Ironstone Mine â its legacy
Playing with my new tripod, a Christmas goodie. I do like the motion blur effect of long exposures. The water is draining from the Ayton Banks ironstone mine, the stone of which turned out to be poor-quality, leading to the mine’s brief existence. It had opened in the first decade of the 20th-century but closed…
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Cutting the First Sod on the Codhill Branch on the Gisbro’ and Middlesbro’ Railway
Cutting the First Sod on the Codhill Branch on the Gisbro’ and Middlesbro’ Railway. â It having been generally circulated throughout the town of Gisbro’ and neighbourhood that the first sod on the Codhill branch of the Middlesbro’ and Gisbro’ railway for the working of ironstone would be removed on Monday last, a large company…
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Boom and Bust: Glaisdale’s Brief Ironstone Mining Era
Back in 1831, Glaisdale was a mere township within the parish of Danby. But, by the end of the century, Glaisdale was a parish in its own right. The village, though, pretty much developed as a mining community, which began around the mid-1860s, and by the end of that decade an ironworks had been built.…