Tankerville Lead Mine
- HER Number (PRN): 01312
- Site Name : Tankerville Lead Mine
- Protected Status:
Grade: Ref No.: 1014865 Title: Tankerville lead mine Type: Scheduled Monument - Civil Parish:
- Grid Reference: SO 355 996
- Related Monuments:
- Brief Description: Scheduled Monument: Tankerville lead mine is regarded as one of the finest surviving 19th century mining complexes in Shropshire. It mined the richest lead vein in the county; the complex includes a shaft descending to 520m, the deepest in the orefield. The site is well documented and some of the surviving features are unique to Shropshire.
- Description: Greatest period of exploitation from 1860s to 1884, after earlier operations in early C19. The mine contained the richest vein in the county, and was much expanded after 1870 until 1878 <1>
Surface remains considerable; (a) Small engine house, perhaps for housing 16HP steam engine c 1870 ( List B7/10/145 = SA 17472). (b) Engine House on Watson's Shaft. (List B7/10/143 = SA 18883. (c) Brick chimney (List B7/10/ 142-SA 18882 ). The offices are now used as a house <2>
A programme of structural and historical analysis of the engine house and the rest of the surface remains of the mine complex at Tankerville was undertaken in 1991, in association with plans being considered for the consolidation of the ruins and the erection of a house in the vicinity. This includes extensive background research on the development of the mining operation at Tankerville, photographs and elevation drawings of structural remains and a set of management recommendations. The site and its remaining buildings/structures (inc PRN 17472, 18882, 18883 and 18884) were reported on in detail by the City of Hereford Archaeology Unit and Arroll and Snell - see child records. <5>
Information sheet with plans and illustrations <9>
Part of site Scheduled in 1997. Scheduling description: ->
-> The monument is situated approximately 2.5km north east of the village of Shelve in the southern part of Worthen with Shelve. It includes the ruins (a number of which are Listed Grade II) and the earthwork and other remains of Tankerville lead mine, together with part of its associated water management system. ->
-> Lead mining occurred at Tankerville from the early 19th century, but was originally only concerned with the workings of a small pipe vein worked by means of a crosscut and a small shaft sunk in the 1850s. The established mine was thus known as the Oven Pipe. In 1864 it was leased to Heighway Jones and managed by Arthur Waters, who exploited the full potential of the veins by deepening the shaft and locating the richest lead vein in Shropshire. In 1870 a joint stock company, the Tankerville Mining Company, was floated to raise the capital investment to expand the mine. A new shaft, known as Watson's, was sunk and ultimately became the deepest shaft in the orefield, reaching a depth of c.520m below the surface. A 32" engine was installed for both pumping and winding, but as the shaft was further deepened it was found to be incapable of draining the workings efficiently. By the autumn of 1875 a new engine house was being constructed adjacent to Watson's shaft to house a 40" Cornish steam engine which began pumping the following August. The old Oven Pipe workings are believed to have been gradually abandoned as work concentrated on the new vein. Despite the investment in the mine, the gradual working out of the lead ore, coupled with a fall in the price of lead from the mid-1870s onwards, resulted in the company operating at a loss after 1878. The mine finally closed in May 1884. An attempt to re-open the mine was made between 1891 and 1893 by the Shropshire United Mining Co.Ltd. But although some lead was produced, it is believed to have been obtained from ore already at the surface or from re-working the spoil. Finally, between 1911 and 1913, the mine was leased by Shropshire Lead Mines Ltd., who also appear to have been unsuccessful, and the site and its fittings were eventually sold. ->
-> Standing and other remains associated with the early mining operations at Tankerville are located in the north eastern part of the site, close to the original shaft. With the exception of the shaft itself, these are included in the scheduling. The rubblestone engine house, which is Listed Grade II, is a relatively small structure measuring approximately 4m by 3m. Its south gable wall is thicker than the other walls and is believed to have served as the bob wall on which the balance beam of the engine pivoted. The beam engine which worked the original Oven Pipe, or Old Engine, shaft was described as 'a small colliery engine' which, in turn, raised the ore, worked the roller crushers, and drained the mine. The pit for the valve gear is thought to lie at the southern end of the building and, although it has been infilled, it will survive as a buried feature. -To the west of the Oven Pipe engine house is the stump of a masonry chimney which is built of roughly coursed rubble and is slightly tapered. It stands approximately 5m high, is Listed Grade II and is included in the scheduling. It is believed to have been associated with a boiler house which served the engine house but is no longer visible on the ground surface. Map evidence indicates that it was located between the chimney and the engine house, and it will survive as a buried feature. ->
-> Following the sinking of Watson's shaft in the western part of the site, a 32" steam engine was installed at the shaft head. It is thought to have been housed in a building to the east of the shaft which is shown on photographs of the mine, dated c.1874, as a structure with a hipped roof. There is now little surface evidence for this structure, apart from its western gable wall and the western ends of its two side walls, but the rest of the walls will survive as buried features. The weight of the pumping rods in the shaft were counterbalanced by a balance bob (a heavy weight moving up and down within a bob pit) .The balance bob tunnel is situated between the eastern side of Watson's shaft and the west wall of the engine house and is a tall, stone- lined and brick-vaulted tunnel. ->
-> The Cornish engine house which was erected in 1875 to replace the existing engine house lies to the west of Watson's shaft and was the last major structure to be built at the mine. The increasing problems with drainage as the shaft was deepened led to the decision to install an engine specifically for pumping the mine workings whilst the existing steam engine was retained for winding. The engine house is built of roughly coursed local Tankerville shale and measures 8.3m by 6.1m. It is Listed Grade II and is included in the scheduling. It originally had three main storeys and a basement pit in the western portion of the building. Three of its walls are 0.82m thick whilst its bob wall, facing the shaft, is approximately 1.15m thick. The machine bed for the engine cylinder remains visible within the engine house, though partly buried under debris, and is of good quality stone. A series of empty beam sockets in the external wall of its north wall indicates that a single storey structure was, at some stage, erected against this side of the engine house. Approximately 8m to the west of the engine house is a small well with a square entry which is thought to be associated with the mine and is included in the scheduling. ->
-> To the north east of the Cornish engine house is a tapering chimney which is Listed Grade II and included in the scheduling. It is octagonal in section, built in red brick above an ashlar capped rubblestone plinth. It is believed to have served the boiler house immediately to the north east. The boiler house is thought to have been associated with both engine houses at Watson's shaft. The traces of the demolished boiler house are fragmentary. It is known that it used an existing revetment wall to the west as one of its walls, within which are the stubs of returning walls.
-> Once the lead ore was brought to the surface, via the shaft, it was taken to the dressing floors, where processing involved crushing the ore and separating out the impurities. Immediately to the south of the Cornish engine house are the standing remains of the ore hoppers. The ore was deposited at the ore hopper level and broken up into sufficiently small pieces to go through the grills of the hopper gratings. The ore hoppers have been partly built into the adjacent hillside with a masonry revetment wall along their eastern side. There are six hoppers in all, each with stone-lined sloping sides, narrowing to a square opening within the revetment wall at the level of the crushing floor situated to the east. The crushing floor is a raised area, de.fined to the north, west and east by retaining walls which continue to the north of Watson's shaft. Its western revetment wall, north of the Cornish engine, is curved and it is thought that there was an access track or road leading to the engine house immediately to the west of the wall. Photographic evidence indicates that the southern half of the crushing floor was covered by two sheds or shelters, and some powered processes are believed to have occurred here. Immediately to the east and below the level of the crushing floor is the site of the lower dressing floor. Documentary records indicate that new machinery, including machine jiggers, classifiers and round buddles, had been installed here by the autumn of 1877, and buried deposits associated with several of these features are believed to survive beneath the ground surface. Many of the dressing processes required a good water supply, and the level below the crushing floor, which is also occupied by the original Watson's shaft engine house and the boiler house, is situated immediately below the dam of the mine's lower reservoir. It is a rectangular, stone-lined reservoir and there are traces of a sluice at the eastern end of its masonry dam.
-> The spar (quartz and calcite chips) removed during the dressing processes would have been taken to the spoil or spar tip to the north of the mine complex. The spar is believed to have been carried here by a tramway system, and the linear embankment on the north west side of the site is thought to be the trackbed for a tramway which ran from the northern end of the crushing floor via a bridge into the spar tip. The embankment is approximately loom long, and a 14m sample length of this feature is included in the scheduling in order to preserve the relationship between the spar tip and the mine complex. The milking parlour and associated farm buildings to the east of the crushing floor, the surfaces of all paths and farm tracks, the concrete surface of the farmyard and all fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath these features is included. ->
-> Tankerville lead mine survives well and is regarded as one of the finest surviving 19th century mining complexes in Shropshire. It is a compact site where the buildings are clearly inter-related and where the original layout of the complex has been little altered by subsequent development. Its surface remains, particularly in the central and western parts of the site which retains terraces and a high concentration of ruined structures, represent an up-to-date lead mine of the Victorian period retaining evidence of mining techniques and mechanised ore processing. The ore hoppers and the compact crushing and dressing floors are considered to be unique to Shropshire and are rare nationally. Additionally, there is a considerable archive of documentary material, including a number of early 20th century photographs, providing information on mining operations at Tankerville during this period <10>
MU.399.15 Unit 1: A probable spoil heap of Post Medieval date, seen as an earthwork, and mapped from non-destructive fieldwork. EH Author: FJS Date: 12/04/94. ->
-> MU.399.17 Unit 1: A definite spoil heap of Post Medieval date, seen as an earthwork, and mapped from non-destructive fieldwork.EH Author: FJS Date: 12/04/94 (See PRN 08192).<11>
Vertical aerial photograph reference number - RAF 106G/UK/1698/5170-1 27-AUG-1946: The earthwork remain of a disused mine shaft and linear quarrying presumed to be associated with Post Medeival lead mining were seen centred at SO 3552 9949 and mapped from aerial photographs. <12>
Material mined: Lead & Barytes. Geology: Mytton Flags. Worked: Abandoned 1894, 1925. Visited: 3/6/1979. Old Engine Shaft is located in the middle of the farmyard at Tankerville Lodge and is completely blocked. Nearby are the remains of the small engine house that worked it, and a chimney. At the rear of a new barn an arched tunnel leads a few yards into the yawning chasm produced by the crowning of Watson's Engine Shaft. This, the deepest shaft in the orefield at 1690ft is in too loose a condition to descend at the moment. At the rear of the shaft is the large engine house that pumped the shaft, and its octagonal chimney.->
-> On the uphill side of the road, behind the cottage, was Lewis's Shaft, now filled and in the process of being landscaped. New Shaft is located a short distance along the road to Bog on the right hand side. It is open to deep water. The path to it leads across the dam of the mine reservoir. <14>
Various features of the lead mine were photographed during aerial photographic survey in 2010. <16><17>
A watching brief was carried out during excavation of drainage trenches at Tankerville Mine, Shropshire. Demolition deposits post-dating the working life of the mine were observed. The drainage works did not impact upon deposits of archaeological significance. <18>
An outline building survey and ground monitoring prior to remedial works to the structural remains of the lower level buildings at Tankerville Lead Mine, Shropshire. The building survey was conducted to create simple outline elevation drawings of the surviving masonry to identify the levels of preservation and nature of construction material and assist the project architect in planning the proposed conservation works. The removal of spoil and collapsed areas of masonry from the base of the wall was monitored by an archaeologist. <19>
A portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) spectroscopy survey was carried out in 2014 as a means to characterise the degree and nature of contamination at a historical lead mine. It was possible to take 40 in situ readings within a period of less than 2.5 hours. Lead (and other elements, including zinc, barium and arsenic) were detected at levels of as much as 100 times above normal background levels. The limited nature of the survey prevents a detailed exploration of spatial variation in heavy metal contamination and how this might be related to specific mining and ore processing activities. The collection of data from exposed deposits within two excavated trenches [as monitored in <19>] shows that the degree of contamination varies with depth and that this variation is not predictable. This situation is likely to be related to the variety of different activities that took place and the complex site formation processes which give rise to the deposits of mining waste. <20>
A conservation management plan for Tankerville lead mine was produced in 2012, as part of a student assignment at the University of Birmingham. Contains extensive background information on lead mining at Tankerville, including pictorial evidence, as well as evaluating its significance and identifying issues in its ongoing management, outlining aims and objectives for its conservation. Includes a gazetter (appendix 3) identying the individual consituents of the site and identifying individual significance and risks - see child records for further information. <21>
Further information on the history of the mine and surviving structures on the website of the Shropshire Caving and Mining Club (http://www.shropshirecmc.org.uk/sites/tankerville.html). <22>
Visited during a condition survey by the English Heritage Field Monument Warden, in 2000. Condition recorded as improving with some consolidation work and vegetation clearance being undertaken. <23>
Photographs submitted to the HER in 2012, mainly of the engine house (source unknown). <24>
Identified, and recorded on an IRIS form by Shropshire Caving and Mining Club. These workings are identified as Tankerville Mine, in operation during the early 19th to early 20th century. The remains of a number of features identified: pumping enginehouse, open Watsons Shaft & open New Shaft at SO355991; jiggers & Old Shaft at SO355996; open adit at SO356995; filled Lewis' Shaft at SO356996 and a partly fille shaft & collapsed adit at SO358996. <25>
Outline, partial, history of Tankerville Mine. <26>
A risk assessment was undertaken in relation to degrading organic fill which is suspended above the Oven Pipe Shaft (PRN 01312), and a deep adit which links to a drainage level known as Boat Level (PRN 02815) and which is partially blocked. Various studies have identified a potential risk of failure of the fill or the blockage resulting in potential impacts to human life and the environment by a sudden discharge of mine water or failure of the shaft. <27>
Site assessment as part of the MPP project. Noted late C19th engine house, chimney & washkilns. Dressing floor (damaged) and C20th jigger. <28> - Record Type: Monument
- Sources:
(00) Card index: Shropshire County Council SMR. Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards. SMR record cards. SMR Card for PRN SA 01312. (01) Monograph: Brook F & Albutt M. 1973. The South Shropshire Lead Mines. p84. (02) Monograph: Davies T J. The Engine Houses of the Mines of South Shropshire. p47-52. (03) Photograph: Tyler Alan W. 1978-Aug. Tankerville Mine. Black and white. 35mm. (04) TEXT: Jones D M. 1978. Draft Report on South Shropshire Area. (05) Field survey report: Morriss Richard K. 1991. Tankerville Lead Mine, Pennerley, Shropshire. Hereford Archaeology Series. 102. (06) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-03. CPAT 92/MB/0409 to 0410 (2 photos). Black and White. Medium. (08) Deskbased survey report: Pearce A. 1996. Tankerville Mine - Account Based on Currently Available Secondary Sources as at January 1996. (09) Leaflet: Adams D R. 1998. The Site of Tankerville Mine. 1:500 (main plan). (10) Scheduled Monument notification: English Heritage. 1997. Scheduling Papers (New Scheduling, 14/03/1997). 21657. (11) Database file: National Monuments Record (NMR). 1993/ 1994. Marches Uplands Mapping Project (MUMP) MORPH records (2006 version). Marches Uplands Survey. MU.399.15 Unit 1; MU.399.17 Unit 1. (12) Online database: National Monuments Record (NMR). Pastscape. MONUMENT NO. 1232074 & also 871041. (13) Non-archaeological specialist report: Wardell Armstrong Ltd. 1993. South Shropshire lead mine study: report on the Tankerville Mine complex. (14) Volume: Heathcote J S. 1979/ 1992. A Survey of the Metal Mines of South (West) Shropshire. Shropshire Caving and Mining Club Accounts. No 12. p60-61; C35-C36. (15) Monograph: Michael Shaw. 2009. The Lead, Copper & Barytes Mines of Shropshire. p133. (16) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Jan-30. SA1002_049 to SA1002_053 (5 photos) Flight: 10_SA_02. Colour. Digital. (17) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Mar-7. SA1004_102 to SA1004_107 (6 photos) Flight: 10_SA_04. Colour. Digital. (18) Watching brief report: Partridge A. 2014. Tankerville Mine, Shropshire: watching brief. Headland Arch Rep. 1055. (19) Archaeological fieldwork report: Mayes S. 2012. Tankerville Mine, Shropshire: historic building recording & archaeological watching brief. Headland Arch Rep. 915. (20) Artefact specialist report: Dungworth D. 2014. Tankerville Lead Mine, Tankerville, Worthen with Shelve, Shropshire: geochemical survey - technology report. EH Research Department Reports. 42-2014. (21) Management report: Deaton F. 2012. Conservation management plan: Tankerville Lead Mine, Shropshire. (22) Webpage: Shropshire Caving and Mining Club. updated 2014. Tankerville Lead Mine (webpage of Shropshire Caving and Mining Club). http://www.shropshirecmc.org.uk/sites/tankerville.html. 08/05/2015. http://www.shropshirecmc.org.uk/sites/tankerville.html. (23) Field survey report: Leigh Judith. 2001. Scheduled Ancient Monuments in the Shropshire Hills ESA: Brief Condition Survey. (24) Photograph: Unknown. 2012. Photographs of Tankerville Lead Mine during repairs. Colour. JPEG. (25) Record form: Shropshire Caving and Mining Club. 1994. IRIS form [AIA - Index Record for Industrial Sites]. IRIS Record Sheet. SA?SCMC/AJP69. (26) Newsletter: Shropshire Mines Trust. 1997. Shropshire Mines Trust, Newsletter No. 4. 4. Shropshire Mines Trust, Newletter No 4, March 1997. (27) Non-archaeological specialist report: Green B and Connelly R. 2005. Tankerville Lead Mines Risk Assessment. SRK Consulting Rep. U2858. (28) Record form: Anon. late 1990s?. MPP Site Assessments. MPP Step 4 evaluation form?. MPP Site Assessments, Lead Industry: Site Number 5. - Tags:
- Related Places:
- For more information contact: Shropshire Council HER
- Date Created: 20/02/1996
- Date Last Edited: 04/09/2019 15:56:26
