1. The History
This small ganister mine can be found high up in Wharnecliffe woods, north of Oughtibridge, high above a valley created by the erosion of the River Don. On the outcrops on the western-facing slopes of the River Don, there were a number of small ganister mines here. Ganister itself is a close-grained, quartzose sandstone found in the coal measures of northern England. Consisting of over 90% silica with traces of alumina and lime, it was used in the manufacture of silica bricks, which were typically used to line furnaces in the iron and steel making process.
The mine entrance is located at the side of Waterfall Clough, a small stream that flows south-west down the slope of the woods into the River Don. The mine is most likely to have been owned by the Oughtibridge Silica Fire Brick company due south of the mine, located 0.6km south of the mine as the bird flies. The company was founded in 1856 before Gannister was widely used, so initially used other refractory materials such as pot clay.
The lofty location of the mine allowed the gravity of the tramline to take the ganister down the slope to the Great Central railway line between Manchester and Sheffield. Opened in 1845, this then facilitated the short remaining leg to the works themselves. Dropping the “Oughtibridge” from its name, the works and mines prospered and found themselves at the centre of particular strategic influence during the second world war. In 1947 the works were taken over by the Steetley company in 1947. In the 1980s the southern half of the former Silica Fire Brick site was redeveloped for housing while the remaining north half was taken over by Intermet Refractory Products Ltd who still occupy the site today.
In terms of our little mine, its hard to determine when it opened and when it closed. However best guesses are that it opened in the 1860s and closed sometime around the finish of World War Two.
Old O/S map showing (1) the location of the mine, (2) the tramway linking the mine with the Great Central Railway and (3) Silica Fire Brick Works:
Silica Fire Brick Works, pictured in 1910:
An advert from the 1960s for Oughtibridge silica bricks:
2. The Explore
All credit has to go to @tarkovsky for this one. See his excellent report from November 2017 HERE.
Without him first finding this place and then giving us a really accurate pin, we’d never have found it. It’s up a pretty steep hill and it’s not the easiest place to find, especially when it’s tipping down. Maps indicate there are 3 separate adits in total here. One no one appears to have found. Of the other two, the larger one has been blocked with backfill. This leaves the small adit we explored. It also has had its entrance backfilled in the past; however, a small landslide appears to have exposed the top of the arched brick adit entrance. The gap is big enough to squeeze into the arched initial chamber. Straight ahead at the end there appears to have been a rockfall. However, at the back to the left is an aperture small enough to crawl through that takes you into a larger chamber. The far end is flooded and goes round the corner to the left before reaching a dead end.
It’s a small little mine but we spent the best part of an hour in here taking pictures and enjoying the peace and quiet before trekking back down the hill.
3. The Pictures
Most definitely NOT picture heavy as it’s only a small little mine.
On the inside looking out:
The arched entrance in full:
There are some pretty coloured rocks:
You can see the small coal seam on this one:
Small aperture to the right once you’ve squeezed into the main part of the mine:
Looking down the second chamber:
Note the rotten former wooden roof supports to the left:
Looking back to the 1st chamber and exit:
Struggled getting decent pictures of the flooded section to the left:
That’s all folks!
This small ganister mine can be found high up in Wharnecliffe woods, north of Oughtibridge, high above a valley created by the erosion of the River Don. On the outcrops on the western-facing slopes of the River Don, there were a number of small ganister mines here. Ganister itself is a close-grained, quartzose sandstone found in the coal measures of northern England. Consisting of over 90% silica with traces of alumina and lime, it was used in the manufacture of silica bricks, which were typically used to line furnaces in the iron and steel making process.
The mine entrance is located at the side of Waterfall Clough, a small stream that flows south-west down the slope of the woods into the River Don. The mine is most likely to have been owned by the Oughtibridge Silica Fire Brick company due south of the mine, located 0.6km south of the mine as the bird flies. The company was founded in 1856 before Gannister was widely used, so initially used other refractory materials such as pot clay.
The lofty location of the mine allowed the gravity of the tramline to take the ganister down the slope to the Great Central railway line between Manchester and Sheffield. Opened in 1845, this then facilitated the short remaining leg to the works themselves. Dropping the “Oughtibridge” from its name, the works and mines prospered and found themselves at the centre of particular strategic influence during the second world war. In 1947 the works were taken over by the Steetley company in 1947. In the 1980s the southern half of the former Silica Fire Brick site was redeveloped for housing while the remaining north half was taken over by Intermet Refractory Products Ltd who still occupy the site today.
In terms of our little mine, its hard to determine when it opened and when it closed. However best guesses are that it opened in the 1860s and closed sometime around the finish of World War Two.
Old O/S map showing (1) the location of the mine, (2) the tramway linking the mine with the Great Central Railway and (3) Silica Fire Brick Works:
Silica Fire Brick Works, pictured in 1910:
An advert from the 1960s for Oughtibridge silica bricks:
2. The Explore
All credit has to go to @tarkovsky for this one. See his excellent report from November 2017 HERE.
Without him first finding this place and then giving us a really accurate pin, we’d never have found it. It’s up a pretty steep hill and it’s not the easiest place to find, especially when it’s tipping down. Maps indicate there are 3 separate adits in total here. One no one appears to have found. Of the other two, the larger one has been blocked with backfill. This leaves the small adit we explored. It also has had its entrance backfilled in the past; however, a small landslide appears to have exposed the top of the arched brick adit entrance. The gap is big enough to squeeze into the arched initial chamber. Straight ahead at the end there appears to have been a rockfall. However, at the back to the left is an aperture small enough to crawl through that takes you into a larger chamber. The far end is flooded and goes round the corner to the left before reaching a dead end.
It’s a small little mine but we spent the best part of an hour in here taking pictures and enjoying the peace and quiet before trekking back down the hill.
3. The Pictures
Most definitely NOT picture heavy as it’s only a small little mine.
On the inside looking out:
The arched entrance in full:
There are some pretty coloured rocks:
You can see the small coal seam on this one:
Small aperture to the right once you’ve squeezed into the main part of the mine:
Looking down the second chamber:
Note the rotten former wooden roof supports to the left:
Looking back to the 1st chamber and exit:
Struggled getting decent pictures of the flooded section to the left:
That’s all folks!
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