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The Stone Mines Stabilisation Project The Combe Down Stone Mines Project is a major strategic project by Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES) to stabilise abandoned limestone workings in Combe Down and preserve the health and safety of the area. It is aimed that it will remove the current threat to life and property of those living, working in, and traveling through the Combe Down area. In doing this it will ensure that the internationally recognised heritage, wildlife and environmental properties of the area are conserved for future generations. In March 1999, the then Department of Environment, Transport and Regions announced a Land Stabilisation Programme, based on the Derelict Land Act 1982. This seven year programme was designed to "deal with abandoned non-coal mine workings which are likely to collapse and threaten life and property". It is administered by English Partnerships. The first trance of funding has been used to develop the main scheme and to undertake Emergency Works. The offer for the remainder of the scheme was accepted in 2005. The Mines The mines in Combe Down are of oolitic Limestone, worked mainly during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Though there is evidence that the Romans first extracted Bath stone, underground workings became significant in the 18th Century with the rapid expansion of Bath. Bath stone was worked by the pillar and stall method which left chambers with pillars of un-mined stone between them to support the roof. No records of the workings were made prior to the 1872 Mining Act. Approximately 80% of the mines have less than 6m cover and as little as 2m in some places. Irregular mining practices and robbing stone from supporting pillars have left the mines unstable. Historical Importance & Significance of the Mines Ralph Allen (1693-1764) did the most to raise the profile of Bath stone and he is one of the men credited with the expansion of Bath. In 1726 he began to buy up land on Combe Down and obtained a lease granting sole rights to extract freestone from the Combe Down area. He set up a stone industry capable of it being marketed nationally and internationally. He built Prior Park as a showcase for Bath stone and constructed a tramway linking the area being mined south of his mansion to the river in Bath. The quarries continued to be worked after Ralph Allen died in 1764, particularly to the west in the Byfield area. The construction of the Box railway tunnel in the 1830s revealed the presence of a new source of oolitic freestone in Box and Corsham and this brought about the decline of underground mine workings in Combe Down. The major underground workings ceased in the 1860s, but a few small workings continued until the early 1900s. Mining stopped in Combe Down during the early 1900s due to the gradual depletion of the resource over time. The systematic reworking of these quarries in the 19th and early 20th centuries is unique. The stone mines have supplied the stone for buildings and structures in Bath and many other cities both in the UK and around the world. The mines are therefore an important historic and archaeological record of the development of the World Heritage Site of Bath and are of international significance. The village of Combe Down which is now part of the City of Bath, still shows much evidence of the mining. The quarries played a part in the birth and development of geological sciences in that William Smith, “the Father of English Geology” and a figure of world significance developed his ideas about geology and quarrying from study in the quarries and the construction of the Bath and Somerset Coal Canal. He was living in Tucking Mill on the southern edge of Combe Down when he produced one of the first geological maps. Subsequent geologists, such as William Lonsdale, continued the tradition in Bath. The mines are also the home of four species of bats, some of which are under threat, and a planning condition was made that a bat habitat should be preserved and their future monitored. Part of the Byfield mine will be preserved for this purpose. The Scheme The proposed scheme involves infill of the majority of the mines. Oxford Archaeology contributed an archaeological assessment and an above ground assessment to the Environmental Statement that accompanied the planning application and is carrying out further research and survey during the stabilisation. Oxford Archaeology has a list of artefacts taken from the mines during the works which will be catalogued and lodged locally. Details of proposed mitigation were included in the Environmental Study accompanying the Planning Application, including sand infill of the archaeologically most significant areas (currently being reviewed for engineering reasons), recording and the production of a 3D 'flythrough'. Details of the Environmental Study and the Stabilisation are available at the Stone Mines Information Centre in the village. It was proposed that a small and limited sector of mine (sympathetically stabilised as rock support conditions dictate) be preserved in the vicinity of Gammon's Yard, now renamed Ralph Allen’s Yard, off Rock Hall Lane, for a high quality presentation/interpretation area created near the existing mine entrance. In addition, there will be high level recording throughout the contract (digital/linked recording) and the creation of a visual 3D 'fly-through' interpretation model/video of typical mine archaeology At the last update of this report in January 2006, the emergency work is coming to a close and the main scheme will begin during 2006. For up-to-date information, see the section on the Combe Down Stone Mines on the Council website - or email stone_mines@bathnes.gov.uk | ||
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