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OUR MEMBERS
We were
set up as a charitable Trust in March 1996 to preserve the Tankerville Mine
near Pennerley but we have since expanded our interests to cover the whole of
Shropshire.
Our members
are made up of mining historians and local people with an interest in their
mining remains. In 2005 we formed a
limited company but the old unlimited Trust continues and owns all our
artifacts and records.
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Mining used to be one of the major industries of
Shropshire, lasting from the Roman period up to the mid-20th century. All of
this left spoil heaps, buildings and other structures throughout the county.
A few years ago, many of the surface structures still remained from mines
that had been closed.
Headgears
still stood on Bunting Shaft at the Bog Mine, as well as George's Shaft and
Black Tom Shaft at Snailbeach Mine. Again at Snailbeach Mine there were dust
covered books and records in the mine office and the tools were hanging up in
the blacksmith's shop.
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Today, many old
mining features have gone. Many buildings,
shafts and adits have collapsed and been lost forever. Strangely, as the
remains get less the public interest in industrial archaeology seems to be
growing and over the past few years there has been great demand to see the
working conditions of our ancestors.
This is reflected
at Ironbridge Gorge Museum and also at Snailbeach Mine where the unique
surface remains have been preserved by the County Council and the Trust. |
We
preserve and interpret the remains of the
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The Trust has
installed a concessionary footpath at Tankerville
Mine to allow public
access to see the remains there. There are also several other sites you can
visit.
Snailbeach Mine has almost a complete set of
mine buildings and has been preserved by the County Council and managed by
the Trust. This would be an ideal place for you to start.
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Members explore mines underground
in Shropshire and further afield in the UK like Cornwall, Derbyshire, Wales
and Ireland. We have even been on
trips to Poland and Spain to look at their mines.
Walks
are organized to look at mine sites and also social history, ecology and even
ghosts of the area.
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We have erected a number of
mining memorials locally. Each
memorial consists of a mine truck welded to rails and a special plaque. The first one was placed at Stiperstones
School in June 1999 and others have been placed at Severn Valley Country Park
and Westbury School. (click on
thumbnails for larger pictures)
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Mines used a lot of railway track
and we are re-laying some at Snailbeach Mine, both on surface and
underground. We have to first of all collect it, like here at Llanfair Light
Railway. Much of this was laid in Day
Level, allowing us to use a truck with seats to push visitors in. More will
be laid on surface when we have time. (click on
thumbnails for larger pictures)
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We have regular working meets
to preserve sites, mostly at Snailbeach and Tankerville Mines.
There are jobs
for everyone to do from steeplejacks to recording artifacts.
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Volunteers open the
Snailbeach Mine Visitor Centre on Sundays from Easter to October and Day
Level for underground tours.
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We have the Blacksmith’s Shop
working on special open days and are always looking for volunteer blacksmiths
and others to work the bellows.
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We don’t always work hard !! Members of the Trust enjoy letting their hair down (those who have it)
as much as anyone. Here are some of the
social events we arrange which Friends, relatives, etc are able to join in
with. (click on
thumbnails for larger pictures)
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Last revised: 19
July 2008