Ironstone mining in the wyke beck valley

[The Parksider]

Stephen Burts history of Roundhay contains a few interesting snippets on ironstone mining in Roundhay and of course "foundry mill" at seacroft is a name that remembers the small industry.The direct link between roundhay and seacroft is the wyke valley and at it's northern end medieval bell pits were dug in roundhay to extract ironstone which I assume was pretty poor grade stuff and heavily mixed in the sandstone of the area. There are bits off sandstone I recall you could pick up that had brown patches in the general golden hue that would have been the iron.From the extracted stone I assume the brown ironstone was extracted simply by breaking up and sorting the stone. To extract the iron Burt says copious amounts of wood was chopped down and made into charcoal which would burn at a high enough temperature to melt out the Iron if you place the stone in the heat of a specially arranged fire. This may have involved building it on a hillside to get the prevailing wind working as a kid of natural bellows.From there the ashes were raked over and hand extracted pieces of "spongy" iron were extracted to be then taken to the foundry for re-melting and hammering (which drove out impurities) the iron into "wrought iron". The iron would then have been shaped into ploughs and tools for farming and I assume quarrying, building and mining in the locality.Apparently all the cut down trees, the large charcoal bonfires, the burnt out smelting sites, the heaps of dead rock, around the bell pits and above all the piles of slag and cynders of the of the smelting fires made a real mess of the south side of the Roundhay estate.Burt fascinatingly shows a map of the beck in which there is a long hillock of smelting waste that was such a stand out feature it gained the name "cynderhills". Exactly where cynderhill stood I do not know and suspect there is no trace as the slag would have made ideal road building hardcore in later years.The Roundhay Ironstone ran out quickly, but ironstone mining probably moved down the valley to seacrofts "Ironhills" which is commenorated today in the stret name "Ironwood view"Fascinating stuff Mr. Burt. Anyone add to this?

[grumpytramp]

Well I knew that most of the ironstone worked in North East Leeds was won from the Black Bed Ironstone which as a general rule was 2-3 foot thick and formed the roof of the locally important Black Bed Coal. The ironstone layer is also known as the "Low Moor Iron". It was one of the most important of the Yorkshire "black band" ironstones mined in the Coal Measures along with the Silkstone and Tankersley Ironstone mined in the Sheffield area. The finished Low Moor iron had a world wide reputation for its quality.In truth the outcrop of the Black Bed is probably the link not Wyke BeckI have had a wee poke about some sources of information to hand and can fill this out a wee bit In the Geological Survey's "Geology of the district North and East of Leeds" 1950 describes: Quote: The Black Bed Coal - The coal has been worked on a large scale on the east side of Leeds as far as Killingbeck, together with the overlying ironstobe; it is now only worked at Peckfield Colliery, as a house coal. It is 2 to 3 ft thick at outcrop in Wortley, usually just under 2ft in and around Leeds, and 23 ins at Peckfield Colliery. There is a large area between Killingbeck and Peckfield where the seam is unproven, but in the Waterloo Mian workings, south of Colton and just outside the Sheet, it had the following section: 18 1/2 to 21 ins., dirt 1 1/2 ins, coal 3 to 4 ins.The Black Bed Ironstone - The few feet of ironstone-bearing mudstone which form the roof of the Black Bed Coal have been worked extensively together with the coal on the east side of Leeds. Nearer the outcrop there are ancient bell-pit working on the east side of Seacroft and in the eastern part of central Leeds. They have frequently given trouble in foundations, and on excavation have proven to have been worked for ironstone alone, the underlying coal having been left intact [Kendall and Wroot 1924 p.199]An Account of the ironstone measures is given by Green [1878 p.155] "The ironstone lies in a carbonaceous shale partly in thin continious layers, and partly in bands of nodules or in nodular beds. The layers occur chiefly in the higher part of the belft. The combined thickness never amounts to more than 1 ft 10 ins.; but as the upper most of the bands are but of inferior quality, the workable layers only give about 10 ins of iron ore, diminishing in some cases to only 2 to 3 ins. This ironstone is given in the 'Iron Ores of Great Britain (p70) at 29.12 per cent. At Beeston and east of Leeds, the percentage of metallic iron in this stone is higher than elsewhere but the ironstone itself is not thick" The referenced works may produce a wee bit more background if you can find them in a library:Green A H, R. Russell and others - 1878 - "The Geology of the Yorkshire Coalfield" Memoirs of the Geological SurveyKendall P F and H E Wroot - 1924 - "The Geology of Yorkshire" LeedsI also came accross this account in the Transactions of the Philosophical and Literary Society of Leeds 1837 in a paper entitled " On the Yorkshire Coalfield. By the late Edward S. George, F.L.S 135" Quote: Low-Moor and Royds Seams.Commencing at the point where the Low-Moor coal is covered by the Magnesian limestone, near Kidhall, on the Leeds and Tadcaster road, we find to the westward, on Win-Moor, many traces of old workings extending from a few hundred yards west of Kidhall to Seacroft. In a late trial respecting the manorial rights it was proved that coals had been worked on this tract four hundred years ago. The length of time which has elapsed since these pits were worked does not allow of our obtaining much information on the depth of the coal in the accompanying measures. To the west of the great throw 29, a throw up to the west of ninety yards, we find the Low-Moor seam bassetting near the village of Seacroft; in this part our knowledge of its course becomes more accurate, it being now worked in shallow pits of from nine to twelve yards in the valley at Roundhay ; between them and Seacroft are the remains of much more extendedworkings not only of this coal, but also of the Royds seam and the ironstone above it, which were at Sea- croft converted into iron.The coal for making the iron at Seacroft was obtained from the Beeston seam, the Low-Moor being at Roundhay of inferior quality and not more than sixteen to eighteen inches in thickness. The line of basset extends from Roundhay in a southwesterly direction to the northern part of Leeds, where it is constantly passed through in the sinking of wells; its thickness in Leeds is from fifteen to eighteen inches. In Park-Lane, in Leeds, the potter's clay beneath the coal has been long dug for fire-bricks. In the centre of Leeds the Royds coal and ironstone has been worked, and the old sinkings are often met with in digging foundations for houses. .............     

[chameleon]

I have Burt's book and it is full of such information. I think most people can associate leeds with coal mining but, I wonder how many realise the extent and importance of both clay and ironstone excavation - coal being in part perhaps secondary in some repects and necessary for both of these other activities.

[The Parksider]

grumpytramp wrote: Well I knew that most of the ironstone worked in North East Leeds was won from the Black Bed Ironstone which as a general rule was 2-3 foot thick and formed the roof of the locally important Black Bed Coal. The Black Bed Ironstone - The few feet of ironstone-bearing mudstone which form the roof of the Black Bed Coal have been worked extensively together with the coal on the east side of Leeds. Nearer the outcrop there are ancient bell-pit working on the east side of Seacroft and in the eastern part of central Leeds. They have frequently given trouble in foundations, and on excavation have proven to have been worked for ironstone alone, the underlying coal having been left intact [Kendall and Wroot 1924 p.199]An Account of the ironstone measures is given by Green [1878 p.155] "The ironstone lies in a carbonaceous shale partly in thin continious layers, and partly in bands of nodules or in nodular beds. we find the Low-Moor seam bassetting near the village of Seacroft; in this part our knowledge of its course becomes more accurate, it being now worked in shallow pits of from nine to twelve yards in the valley at Roundhay ; between them and Seacroft are the remains of much more extendedworkings not only of this coal, but also of the Royds seam and the ironstone above it, which were at Sea- croft converted into iron.The coal for making the iron at Seacroft was obtained from the Beeston seam, the Low-Moor being at Roundhay of inferior quality and not more than sixteen to eighteen inches in thickness. The line of basset extends from Roundhay in a southwesterly direction to the northern part of Leeds, where it is constantly passed through in the sinking of wells; its thickness in Leeds is from fifteen to eighteen inches. In Park-Lane, in Leeds, the potter's clay beneath the coal has been long dug for fire-bricks. In the centre of Leeds the Royds coal and ironstone has been worked, and the old sinkings are often met with in digging foundations for houses. ............. Possibly not for a number of people on here, but certainly for me an absolutely fascinating post indeed and I am deeply indebted for your trouble.Some years ago I traced all the coal workings in Leeds and was amazed that it wasn't just Waterloo and Middleton but over half of Leeds.As chameleon says coal is too often refered to and the iron mining industry and the fireclay mining industry are oft forgottenOn old maps we have plenty of iron foundries in Leeds. How much of the ore was Leeds Iron and how much may have been better grade imported stuff I don't know. On old maps we see brickworks and potteries all over Leeds. I assume the fireclay was mainly from the Leeds mines?Fascinating that the mining actually took place in the centre of Leeds, one history book having THAT picture of a bell pit outline in the call lane area. Woodhouse moor was another mined area I have read.Fascinating and instructive that some pits were dug for iron and they actually ignored the coal!What traces of "surface" (bell pit) mining are left? I only know the rigg colliery at Garforth can be seen as ground discolourations from the air, and Miggy Woods protects the undulations that are the remains of many bell pits. Again GT you are a maestro!!!!!

[The Parksider]

grumpytramp wrote: "on excavation have proven to have been worked for ironstone alone, the underlying coal having been left intact" I think this quote gives me a further prod in the search for Harehills colliery. The principle extraction was not always coal but often fireclay and now it could be simply ironstone.I feel nobody can doubt that over the life of a mine there could have been multiple extractions and at any one time supply/demand/economics may dictate what they pulled out of the mine.So maybe (unless the colliery has been confirmed with me trailing in someone's wake again) Harehills colliery was such for a period of time until it became more a fireclay pit, making me feel the colliery was actually part of the brickworks that today I think is the mosque up harehills lane????.Possibly GT you can help or Chameleon. Visiting mining sites in the dales has always given me a habit of looking at the waste to see if there's any shiny minerals to be found. The same habit applied to old coal sites, particularly where slags and ashes may prevail has often led me to pick up some glassy green "stones" that fracture with sharp edges and are coloured often in various shades of green band.If it looked like any mineral it would be the spit of Malachite the copper ore, but having asked a friend at the uni to test it for copper none was found nor expected in Leeds. It's fascinated me for 40 years what this stuff is.I'd also be fascinated to see what 25% iron, Leeds ironstone looks like? Is the other 75% the sandstone????

[The Parksider]

chameleon wrote: I have Burt's book and it is full of such information. I think most people can associate leeds with coal mining but, I wonder how many realise the extent and importance of both clay and ironstone excavation - coal being in part perhaps secondary in some repects and necessary for both of these other activities. On the subject of Foundry Mill I did an extensive tour of the area and found what I think is Ross Gill that is the stream that looks to have been diverted around the hillside and onto foundry mills and which I think replaces the mill ponds as the water supply for Smeatons wheel.I posted an extensive report but things went wonkey!!

[Hector]

Re: Harehills Pit was situated in Gipton, the area situated between Thorn Walk and Oak Tree Drive was known as the pit hills.This pit was owned by the Low Moor Iron Company.

[The Parksider]

Hector wrote: Re: Harehills Pit was situated in Gipton, the area situated between Thorn Walk and Oak Tree Drive was known as the pit hills.This pit was owned by the Low Moor Iron Company. Which is Thorn Walk????I have Gipton Pit at the bottom of oak tree drive and at the top there was another pit on the right before you get to harehills lane/compton road lights.Pits often changed names a bit. I could not find seacroft colliery, but it turns out to be Brian Pit which was on seacroft moor.Was Gipton Pit harehill pit at one time and what was the one at the top called??

[Brandy]

Theres a natural spring running from a culvert in the woods marked by the red cross.I remember when i was working as a labourer on the asda site and we had the job to re-route the stream under the road and an old irish guy told me that the orange horrible looking discharge around spring was in fact iron traces in the water.Seems he was telling the truth after all!

[grumpytramp]

The Parksider wrote: Was Gipton Pit harehill pit at one time ?? No Leeds Fireclay Company operated both at the same time