• Mining and Ores
  • The Mendip Hills

MINING AND ORES

Rutter's Delineation of NW Somerset (1829) describes the village as being 'remarkable for a sort of a pudding stone, formed by silicious pebbles, varying from the size of a pea to that of an orange, firmly cemented together. Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of 1842 states that 'Harptree Hill contains several mines of lead in which are found manganese, quartz, crystal, and a kind of chert containing sergral and varieties of petrified shells. Below the hill can be found numerous veins of Lapis Calaminsus, which were formerly worked to a great extent affording a rich emolument. Trinkums 1927 The whole village is honeycombed with workings, and when the new stables at Harptree Farm were being built, John Purnell walked up a tunnel under the Rectory lawn towards the church, which had to be arched over to support the stable. Mining, particularly of lead, but also of calamine, continued in the area up until about 1890, with peaks of activity around 1650-1670, 1750-1770 and 1850-1890. The tall chimney on Smitham Hill, used in the lead smelting works, and now a landmark from all around. provides a memorial.LEAD MINING The increase in population about 1841 was most probably due to the renewal of lead mining and working of other ores about that time.

The old lead mine workings on top of the Mendips near Priddy

 

The Mendip Hills

The Mendips are the hills that many of us drive over, round, past on the M5, but rarely stop and explore on foot. They stretch from Weston-super-Mare in the west to Frome in the East and include many interesting and varied attractions including Cheddar Gorge and Black Down ( the highest point at 1,065ft).

They are used for many leisure pursuits and made more popular by their proximity to the Cities of Bristol, Bath and Wells. On any average holiday, you may find any or none of the following selection from the vast number of activities available; climbers, cavers, huntsmen, hang-gliders, walkers, cyclists, gliders, fishermen, bird-watchers, motorcycle scramblers, off road four wheel drivers (hopefully only on their own designated track of course!), horse-riders, families trying to entertain small children, people out for a scenic drive from nearby cities, the usual selection of ball games and even ice skaters in season. There is also a stock car racing track near Charterhouse which can be heard for miles around on racing days, although fortunately only on a very limited number of days in the year.

There are some magnificent gorges, the larger and better known being Cheddar Gorge, Ebbor Gorge and Burrington Coombe, but you will also find smaller ones tucked away in Mendip villages in unexpected places, such as the one you are invited to explore in June.

The archaeology of the caves around Cheddar no doubt is Mendip’s major contribution to knowledge of early Britain, and much is made of the caves as tourist attractions at Cheddar and Wookey Hole. Perhaps almost as impressive but less popular, are the many hill forts, one of the best examples being Dolebury, south east of Churchill, dating from the Iron Age and placed in a superb location with panoramic views.

Industry on Mendip has been prolific over the years since the Romans started their mining and, like all early industry, depended on the local resources. Over the years it has included paper making, brewing, mining, cloth mills, iron works, corn milling, rope making and even gunpowder production.

Mendip has been a popular source of minerals since the Romans made their contribution by building the few straight country roads to aid communication. The most prolific metal, Lead, was mined from even before Roman times, until the last mine closed at Priddy in 1908. Calamine was also worked on Mendip, from about 1600 until the middle of the nineteenth century, when cheaper imported ore became available, and pieces of ore can still be found if you look in the right places. Coal had been mined extensively on Mendip even by the end of the seventeenth century, and was a flourishing industry mainly in the Radstock area. The last coal was brought to the surface from the Writhlington/Kilmersdon mine in 1972. The most obvious from such a rocky area, stone, has always been a popular commodity. The type varies widely according to the area, and includes the multicoloured Dolomitic Conglomerate common in the Harptrees, the creamy Oolitic limestone seen at Dundry and used for Wells cathedral, pink Pennant sandstone from Holcombe, white Lias around Stratton-on-the-Fosse and grey Limestone from Litton. With the rapid growth of demand for roadstone and new quarrying techniques, many new quarries opened in the last eighty years, the most noticeable perhaps being around Cheddar.

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