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| The Nenthead Mines are the largest accessible group of mines in the U.K. Many miles of passages and working are accessible although exploration should only be attempted in conjunction with experienced groups - It is quite easy to get lot in some places or fall down deep shafts! This article describes a trip down Smallcleugh Level which is about half a mile from the Village of nenthead, near Alston in the Northern Pennines | |
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The worked-out vein cavities can assume huge proportions. In this section waste rock is piled up high on either side of the passage. Eventually the miners might find it necessary to build stone arching over the passage and stack the waste rock on top of it. |
| At this junction the exquisite stone arching can be seen. The sandstone used for this work was quarried on the surface and brought into the mine as required. The jobs of walling and arching would probably have been sub-contracted to specialists and paid for by the fathom. |
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Rather than remove the waste rock from the mine it was stacked and packed wherever possible. This packed rock also provided a working platform for the miners working at higher levels. In this case the arch is held in place by iron pegs set in the rock wall at intervals of 3 feet or more. In the roof more workings can be seen above this packed material following the vein vertically upwards. |
| Another example of packed rock waste (these rocks are known as "deads") supported by a timber beam which has clearly seen better days. The inclination of the mineral vein at a slight angle from the horizontal can be seen clearly. |
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A section cut in natural rock at a junction of two passages with a passing place to allow two trucks to cross. |
| In this shot you can see that the level is passing through an area of waste rock which partially fills a much larger cavity. The weight of the rock above is gradually distorting the level from its normal horseshoe shape and a failure of the supporting arch at some time in the not too distant future is inevitable. |
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Here a collapse has occurred and to pass the blockage it is necessary to climb up into the collapse cavity and then back down again after the blockage has been negociated. The collapse has been partially dug out and to get back into the main level entails a tight squeeze up against the roof. |
| In this picture you can see how the worked-out cavity is backfilled with rock and how stone arching is used to support the waste. At this point a climb down into a lower level is required in order to bypass a roof collapse in the main level |
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The remains of a truck make everybody in the party want to have a ride! Even after many years of neglect the truck runs quite smoothly. Note the large cast wheels, also the stacked waste on the right hand of the picture. |
| Another climb down from higher workings. Note the arching supporting waste rock in the background of the right hand side of the picture. |
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A huge empty section of the vein at Ballroom Flat, so named because of its large proportions. In the last century a candle-lit dinner was held in this chamber with the food being trammed in for the diners from Nenthead Village. |
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The magnificent chamber of Baron's Sump, the roof of which is lost in the blackness above a hundred foot shaft. The timbers in the foreground partially cover the shaft. To the left of the picture are the rusting remains of a kibble, a basket used for hauling materials up the shaft. |
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