Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club - Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 2 - Summer 1964
THE QUERNMORE COAL MINE
By Tom Walsh.
the publess village of Quernmore could have been a boom town for over hundred
years ago coal was discovered in the locality. In anticipation of the
expected boom the church was enlarged but the coal mine never proved profitable
and the mine has lain idle and forgotten since.
How we found about its exact location is another story but after an inspection
of the entrance my brother Andrew and myself donned the usual ‘gear’ and
entered the mine. It is situated approximately 25yds. west of the River Conder
and slightly North of where the pylons cross the river. The entrance ( Map
Ref, SD. 507588 ) is near to the ruins of an old stone built house at
the foot of a steep wooded bank.
The entrance is a fairly tight crawl which could be
enlarged but which must bo entered with extreme care
due to the state of the roof. The floor quickly slopes down for about three
feet into knee deep water where a stooped position had to be adopted.
Approximately ten yards from the entrance there are two passages leading off
for a distance of about five yards, the roof being higher here. The passage to
the right goes onto dry ground where we found a dry clay bank of clay covered
with ferns. The roof at this point has perfect traces of coal and sheets of a
rusty substance probably from the iron ore in the rock. The passage to the left
should be entered with extreme care as the submerged floor falls steeply away
into a flooded shaft. Above this the mine has been excavated
upwards at an angle of 45 degrees
ending after about twelve feet at a rock face where the
marks of pickaxes are still discernible. Here there are a number of old
pit props.
An interesting find in the passage
above the submerged hole was a rolIer-type
winch with a rusted axle still held in position by
pieces of wood. Under the water I found the iron handle but on winding it
up the roller bent in the middle. From the junction the passage
continues in a straight line until the end where a redish coloured formation
was observed. The total length of the mine is about 75ft. Traces of both
iron and coal were found although the coal was so soft it crumbled on touch.