Coal Mining in East Leeds

[chameleon]

Brunel wrote: I have now created a FLICKR account for warringtonrhino, and supplied him with instructions for uploading photos.user name.. warringtonrhino

[Leodian]

I hope warringtonrhino that you do get your work onto the web.That I should press the 'enter' key when seeing such as "press the return key" was not at all obvious when I first started to use a keyboard.I have every sympathy for you and others who are dyslexic. Your earlier comment "Dyslexia...to me it looks like Dailysex" still made me

[chameleon]

Leodian wrote: I hope warringtonrhino that you do get your work onto the web.That I should press the 'enter' key when seeing such as "press the return key" was not at all obvious when I first started to use a keyboard.I have every sympathy for you and others who are dyslexic. Your earlier comment "Dyslexia...to me it looks like Dailysex" still made me Oh dear..... I hope that's taken by all as intended. Sure it will be

[Brunel]

warringtonrhino has posted up to flickr.History of Seacrofthttp://snipurl.com/22acl0f

[Leodian]

Brunel wrote: warringtonrhino has posted up to flickr.History of Seacrofthttp://snipurl.com/22acl0f That is excellent work and drawings warringtonrhino. I look forward to seeing more. I'm not a member of Flickr so I cannot post there.

[chameleon]

Brunel wrote: warringtonrhino has posted up to flickr.History of Seacrofthttp://snipurl.com/22acl0f Now that's what I call support. Well done both

[Brunel]

And if you would prefer the larger PDF version, you can download them from here: http://snipurl.com/22ad7c3

[The Parksider]

chameleon wrote: Parksider, I was reminded recently of a passage in Bogg's book about E lmete which refers to a foundry there - did I ever post/send it to you???     I have the book and the reference is to Foundry Mill which he visited. Burt's book deals with the medieval iron industry, and Boggs with the much much later "speculative venture" as suggested by GT.What the cynder hills date to I don't know and wether Mathers Mill was a corn mill or an early blast furnce I am not sure at all!Originally I thought we had a continous iron industry that would stand a complete story recording, but at the mo there's a big hole in the middle of the chronology with a question mark in it!

[Si]

Nice work, Warringtonrhino. Excellent clear maps and sketches.PS I also call it the "enter" button, and I've no idea what PDF or JPG means.     

[warringtonrhino]

Here are the notes I have done for the Mather's Leat section of my project. As you can see it is not complete, and there are questions which I still need to find answers, any suggestions? The leat the levels and routeTo establish the levels and route I utilised the 1905 map which has 25ft contours and the land levels had not been altered to build roads and houses.MethodPlot the contours from the map, Add streams based on the contours – NOT those shown on the map. Compare the plotted streams with the map streamsObservations/Conclusions/SpeculationsSome streams have disappeared; agriculture may have caused them to dry up.Wyke beck ought to be further north; because in a V shaped valley the stream is central, in a J shaped valley, as here, the stream would be closer to the steeper side. I.e. nearer to Boggart Hill than Fearnville. This may have been because the leat route took priority and the beck was moved to the town boundary.In flat areas, streams tend to meander: the Wyke beck between Eastfield and Fearnville is considerably straighter than the sections above and below. At some time it must have been important to redefine the route of the beck.For a leat to service a mill, water must be drawn from above the working wheel level.The Foundry mill is central between the 175 and 200 foot contours, say 180 foot ASL.At its nearest point Wyke beck is 150 foot ASL, which is 30 feet below the mill.A route for the leat must keep between the 175 and 200 foot contours and if possible have a fall towards the mill. I have noticed that water courses on the Pennines linking reservoirs and mills are almost level and canals have no discernible fall or flow. The most practical route was added to the contour map, and checked for potential problems. The leat started at Eastfield, the 1908 map shows Wyke beck, in its current location, with another stream heading in the general direction of Foxwood. There is a weir arranged so that the main flow of water is down the other stream, and Wyke beck gets the overflow. This confirms the speculated route. The leat would have cut across a number of streams which flowed from the north east, into Wyke beck. The leat would be a few feet higher than the stream level. So the leat would effectively dam the stream. A weirs on the north and south walls, would allow stream water into the leat and the surplus to continue down the route of the original stream. See sketch This is similar to details seen on canals and Pennine watercourses. The route is confirmed by referring to other dated maps, even if the leat appears as a single line on some of them. The 1938 map clearly confirms the speculated route in the between Brooklands Drive and South Parkway. The leat is shown as a double parallel line with suggestions of weirs where it crosses the stream at South Parkway – which has arrows indicating the flow.When I came to live in Seacroft, Easterly Road had been built over the old weir and footbridge and the bulldozers had obliterated much of the original contour levels. The feeder streams had been culverted, except for very short sections. The culvert plans however confirm the existence and routes of the streams and the section of leat between 1 Brooklands Lane and 158 South Parkway. Some of the routes were tidied up to save pipework. There was a bank/depression on the approximate route of the leat between Kentmere Approach and Asket Place (1955) but this may have been the edge of the ground build up for the new housing. The recent remodelling has obliterated it. It may be possible to find a section through the leat near the culvert which runs from Asket Crescent towards Foxwood farm. This is the only part of the leat which has relatively little over fill. Permission to be sought and diggers will have to avoid the culvert.Outstanding IssuesWhy was the Wyke beck straightened?Why was it called Foundry Mill? – There were no foundries in 1779 when the title was first used.Did the mill start life as an iron mill then change to a corn mill when the iron ore ran out? When were the bells pits in Foxwood used? (From- to)When did iron making start and end?