Threlkeld
Quarry and Mining Museum
OS Grid Reference: NY325261
Map Reference: 54°37'31"N , 3°2'44"W
On a wet day in August 2008 my Dad and I decided to pay a visit to the
Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum, 3 miles from Keswick, and deep in
the heart of Blencathra next to the Borrowdale valley, my Dad had told
me a great deal about it and how interesting it was and knowing how much
I enjoy exploring underground tunnels, passageways and shafts, I was
very much looking forward to my visit.
So armed with my Phillips guide to minerals, rocks and fossils and my
Dad's pocket magnifier we set off and arrived at Threlkeld at 10am, just
as the mine and quarry were opening, we were cheerily greeted by a group
of friendly volunteers who work at the site. I was keen to get exploring
underground, so we collected out safety helmets and lamps and set off
with our guide for the morning Philippa and her aptly dressed assistant
Dicken. It was very interesting, and we learnt a great deal about the
tough life and working conditions of the miners and quarrymen at the
start of the 20th century, when the charming little village of Threlkeld
became a boom town, when zinc and lead were first discovered in the
area. Soon over a hundred men were working at the mine, and so terraced
houses were built to accommodate them, the quarrying for granite for
roadstone ballast and building quoins continued in the area until the
mid 1980’s. The mine itself had closed in 1928, after Over 13,400 tons
of zinc and 10,000 tons of lead sulfide containing significant amounts
of silver called galena, were mined there.
It was very dark inside the mine even with our head lamps, and at one
point we turned them out and Philippa lit a candle to show us just how
much light one candle gives out. Many of the tunnels were extremely
narrow and only dug out at shoulder height to allow the miners to walk
in putting one foot in front of another, and carrying their equipment,
they were called coffin shafts because of their coffin shape, other
shafts were not at full height so you had to be careful not to bang your
head when squeezing through them, the bottom of the shafts were wet with
pools of water, and water was dripping from the ceiling.
A giant waterwheel had been constructed underground to pump out the
water that was constantly flowing in from underground springs and
rivers, the pumps needed to be constantly working or the mine would soon
fill up with water and the miners would drown. Sometimes it was
difficult to see where the pools of water were, because of the fine dust
covering the water making it look like solid ground!
The water smelt bad and was polluted with the chemicals and other
contaminants from the workings, so it was not suitable for drinking.
It was absolutely fascinating walking in and out of the different
levels, the deeper we went into the mine the more the air became stale,
it was not difficult to see just how tough the conditions were for the
mine workers and their families, children as young as 10 were expected
to do a full day’s work underground, they had to push the carts of rocks
in trolleys along the rails to the surface of the mine, it must have
been exhausting for them, air was piped into the lower levels and later
on, so was compressed air and water as a lubricant for the heavy diggers
that were used to replace the pick axe and chisels used to break up the
rocks, they looked like the road diggers that are used today to dig up
our pavements and roads, but they needed to be used horizontally which
made it very hard for the men using them to break up the rocks, later
props were used to rest the diggers on to take some of the weight.
A miner of the time was only expected to have a working life up to the
age of 45, because the work was so very physically demanding and tough,
they would often die earlier of lung problems too, because of the
poisonous gasses found underground, Minerals and decaying timbers used
up valuable oxygen too, and Carbon dioxide was given off by the decaying
supports used on the roof and sides of the mine. Some horrid gases were
also released from rocks and decaying vegetable matter, and as if that
wasn’t bad enough there were sometimes explosive gases released from
deep inside the mine that would easily ignite and cause a bad explosion.
The timbers used to support the mine’s roof and walls underground
suffered from dry-rot faster than wood used on the surface because of
all the moisture and humid air found below ground, so they were very
liable to cause a tunnel to collapse trapping the miners, altogether
life as a miner in the old days was extremely hard work.
After our mine visit we were allowed to roam freely around the extensive
micro granite quarry and museum to our hearts content, we had a good
look round the excellent museum, which was jam packed with exhibits of
old days mining equipment and quarrying artefacts, including chisels,
hammers, wedges and old drills that were used at Threlkeld, and there
were lots of old photographs of the people that worked in the mine,
there was also a good section of old miners lamps used by miners before
battery lamps had been invented, when you were expected to work 12 hours
a day and pay for your own candles and explosives to work the mine.
Outside there was a unique collection of vintage excavators and old
mining machinery that looked like giant dinosaurs and in an old out
building we stumbled on Ian Hartland working on “Sir Tom” a 0-4-0
saddletank narrow gauge engine built by Bagnall of Stafford in 1926, and
named after Sir Tom Callender, the loco worked at British Insulated
Callender Cables, Kent, until 1968, after lying idle for 33 years, it
arrived at Threlkeld in 2001, and since then has undergone a complete
restoration, it is the same model as two Bagnall 0-4-0 saddletank
engines which were housed in the engine shed at Threlkeld from 1900
until 1937.
The boiler was re-tubed by Derek Bouch at Carlisle, which has passed its
final boiler inspection with flying colours; also a new Saddle Tank was
made by Alistair Bell also at Carlisle as the old one was full of holes!
But many parts had to be made by Ian Hartland on site to replace worn
and missing items.
I spent some time talking to Ian Hartland, the quarry owner, locally
thought of as being something of a legend in his own lifetime when it
comes to engineering and vintage machines, he collects Ruston-Bucyrus
excavators and he also owns a couple of Series one Land Rovers, which
was a good conversation opener as my Dad and I are great Landy fans.
Hopefully in 2009, Sir Tom will be used to haul passenger trains into
the inner quarry, all that remains to be done are a few adjustments to
the engine and the track, completion of the two platforms and carry out
the final track inspection in time for the 2009 season, sounds easy
doesn’t it, but the reality is quite different, maybe that is why only a
Fred Dibnah character like Mr. Hartland with a real love of engines is
needed to engineer such a task!
In 1998 Ian Hartland after reading a book on excavators by Peter
Grimshaw, and a life long enthusiast Philip Peacock formed The Vintage
Excavator Trust at Threlkeld Quarry
Well was it worth visiting the Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum,
absolutely yes, it was without a doubt a most fascinating and absorbing
place, I learnt a great deal about mining in Threlkeld, the museum was
so interesting and packed full of mining I am really looking forward to
my next visit.
