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Where am I?  DCC > CAVING AND MINING > MINES > PLACES > GLOUCESTERSHIRE

MINING IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE

The Club has actively explored in a number of mining sites in Gloucestershire, mostly in the Forest of Dean.  The table below shows just some of these sites.

The Forest of Dean is a basin of limestone with coal measures overlying the centre of the basin.  (This is the reverse of Derbyshire where the limestone is a dome in the centre and the coal measures form a ring around the outside.)  This structure has led to the features of the Forest of Dean that attract the caver and miner. Click on the context-sensitive areas of the map for more detail.

Geological map of the Forest of Dean	View over the Forest from New Fancy Colliery tip
	Entrance to Wet Sink
	Worcester Quarry

IRON MINES

The iron mines are shown on the map alongside which is taken from the Geological Survey Report of 1927.  The mines are located in limestone and again are found around the outcrop but this includes the eastern outcrop and the Wigpool outlier to the north.  The levels shown in the south west corner of the map were driven from the lower ground to undercut the iron deposits.  The iron is believed to have originated in the coal measures and then moved down and replaced limestone in what are very cave-like masses.  Indeed, some of the mines, such as Westbury Brook show signs of having been open caves which were later filled with iron ore.

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LIMESTONE CAVES

Firstly, the limestone like any limestone is prone to solution and the formation of caves.  Until recently, the prospects for large systems seemed poor but in the last twenty years or so, the idea that the FOD was worked out was proved very wrong with the finding of Otter Hole (actually in Wales) and then the Wet Sink system. 

The main caving area in Gloucestershire is around English Bicknor and Symonds Yat although caves are also found further south on the western outcrop of the limestone.  Otter Hole is actually in Wales.

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COAL MINES

The coal mining area is in the centre of the basin.  The coal field was never rich although a couple of significant deep mines were sunk in the later phase of mining.  Most of the mining was however carried out from shallow drifts which are still to be found all around the forest.  Some of these are still mined by Free Miners of the Forest of Dean, an ancient custom and right which is constantly under threat these days.  Unusually, the coal mines are relatively gas free and the miners even used carbide lights until quite recently.

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STONE MINES

There are even stone mines in the forest.  The sandstone is still worked in quarries such as Worcester Quarry and turned into dimension stone at a saw mill nearby.  At the quarries, the stone was worked underground by classic techniques leaving large rectangular caverns.

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VISITING

The DCC used to have regular trips to the Forest, mostly at Easter.  Like many other things, these have lapsed, not least because access to the Old Ham / New Dunn complex is not as free as it used to be.  (The main shaft in New Dunn became polluted with a black, oily tar which led to that mine's closure to normal visitors.  Recent work with a biological attack on the tar is considered hopeful.)  Wet Sink is accessible by prior arrangement and Otter Hole can be visited with leaders.  There had been concern at Otter Hole due to pollution but this turns out to be natural and no longer prevents trips, provided simple precautions are taken.  The resident caving clubs are the Royal Forest of Dean Caving Club, the Gloucester Speleological Society and the Hades Caving Club.  All of these are active and very friendly. Finally, you can have 'clean trip' by visiting the iron mine at Clearwell (called Clearwell 'Caves') and there may be a coal mine open to visits now.  Nigel Dibben still has a number of contacts in the area so if anyone is interested, give him a call. 

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USEFUL LINKS

Some links to Forest of Dean sites:

• Clearwell Caves,

• Royal Forest of Dean Caving Club,

• Gloucester Speleological Society and

• Hades Caving Club

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