Bell pits in Horsforth.

Si · Post by Si » Wed 13 Feb, 2013 11:32 am

This thread is what Secret Leeds does best. Great stuff from Parksider, and I always look forward to GT's insightful and knowledgable posts. Well done all!PS My tuppence worth is that the "messy area" is, as Barfly summised, a bonfire site. IMO the tyre marks are from the farmer's tractor dumping more rubbish on the fire.

BarFly · Post by **BarFly** » Wed 13 Feb, 2013 11:37 am

Thanks, will certainly have to take a closer look sat the hole, any try to visit the other bell pit site to get myself some grotty coal .

BarFly · Post by **BarFly** » Wed 13 Feb, 2013 3:18 pm

Just been across to the hole and it is impressive, though I'd still probably have thought it was just a very big well without the knowledge from you guys. I love the red stream just nearby also.

The Parksider · Post by **The Parksider** » Sat 16 Feb, 2013 8:13 pm

uncle mick wrote: Probably nothing to do with pits, but what's this?http://goo.gl/maps/l1Z0i Having visited the area today, that part has grown over again so the guesses re:bonfire etc may be correct.Thank you for the Hunger Hill info Uncle Mick.Two of eight bell pits you can trace are close to the spot you picture zoom out you'll find then as the two circular areas with trees.The field you show also contains the Ganister quarry site but it has been filled in/has grown over.I'll post the exact bell pit locations later.

The Parksider · Post by **The Parksider** » Sat 16 Feb, 2013 11:36 pm

BarFly wrote: Thanks, will certainly have to take a closer look sat the hole, any try to visit the other bell pit site to get myself some grotty coal . 1. Go to the old ball roundabout......2. Take the road up by the left hand side of the Old Ball.....3. Park at the top by the last house, in front of the litter bin....4. Follow the Public Footpath sign along the old causeway with causey stones that carried coal and agricultural produce from west end to Horsforth.5. Hit a crossroads. The gate to the left has an upright iron bar. A few steps on turn right and after 20 meters you find a bell pit. Circular mound of spoil encompasses a depression where the shaft was. You will find some old rubbish - broken glass and pottery, you will find Horsforth coal. My piece is 1" x 1" x half an inchIt has trees. They all do but these grew on the abandoned sites.6. Double back and go left off the causeway. If you drop down the field diagonally there are two old bell pits down there but you let me know what remains as I didn't get that far. I may return!!7. If you stay on the line west you hit a walkers gate into the woods. Go south instead and walk the line of the barbed wire protected fence. Bell pit 2 is evident as a prominent mound and tree grown circle.8. Go as far as the Farm on Lee Lane, and again a rough mound, tree gown, with a break in the grass covering revealing pit spoil gives you bell pit 3.9. Hit the tarmac of Lee Lane West, go down to the junction with West end Lane and from the cottage on the corner observe bell pit 4 across the road where two lads were killed by a collapse of the pit.10. Down west end lane along the tarmac path. It rises over a hump in the land with trees and a holly bush. It becomes apparent you are walking over another old Bell pit. This is Bell pit 5.....I'm tired now all this walking.......More to come.....

BarFly · Post by **BarFly** » Sun 17 Feb, 2013 12:13 am

I have taken a few of those paths over the last week or so (and before) and I now think I can identify the bell-pits by sight most of the time. There are a few places I'm not sure about though, but it's hard to place them on a map.looking at Google maps I wonder whether this was anything to do with mining:http://goo.gl/maps/ycjggIf you zoom out there are marks in the field to the north also, but they may just be crops rather than earthworks.Next time I walk or cycle up the old (pack horse?) route there I'll have to pay more attention.

The Parksider · Post by **The Parksider** » Sun 17 Feb, 2013 9:49 am

BarFly wrote: I have taken a few of those paths over the last week or so (and before) and I now think I can identify the bell-pits by sight most of the time. There are a few places I'm not sure about though, but it's hard to place them on a map.looking at Google maps I wonder whether this was anything to do with mining:http://goo.gl/maps/ycjggIf you zoom out there are marks in the field to the north also, but they may just be crops rather than earthworks.Next time I walk or cycle up the old (pack horse?) route there I'll have to pay more attention. I'll have a look. For the benefit of anyone else who want to see the pits...11. Go back to the metal swing gate into Hunger Hills wood and go east through the wood following the stone wall. Over the wall the ground undulates but is grass grown. This is the calliard quarry site.At the other side of the field a a grass grown mounds with several trees growing on top, here's the next pit.12. just walk further down the track and another is already apparent a hundred meters down the hill.Finally the track itself hits a bit of a mound in the wood. Not sure wether this is number eight, but what I now know from experience of looking is the remains of some bell pits are simply not there and a flat meadow remains. For others all they managed was to fill the hole and where the overgrowth is broken around it you can easily see the spoil.Trees then tended to take root on the mounds as the farmers plough avoided the pit heap.I suspect it's easy to say the leases to these pits required them to be "filled in" but this seemingly did not always mean fully filled in levelled and debris removed to return the spot to agricultural land. I guess the latter fell to the farmers and even today the farmers plough still goes round parts of many fields where the old mine renders the land at that spot too rough to grow anything.