The photographs shown here are of buildings and equipment from across the British Isles and show the variety of things that are to be seen. No item shown is in or part of a museum although some are owned or have been restored by museums/preservation society or trusts.
They are no prizes for for spotting that most items are connected with mining. This is partially because most surviving I.A. sites are either inner city building in reuse or half way up wet and windy mountains.
The predominance of photographs from North Wales is purely down to the writer visiting there most often and thus having good photographs of the most interesting and remote features.
The Shingling Hammer of Wortley Low Forge. The work closed in 1929 and the rest of the site was levelled in the 1950s, however the hammer, waterwheel and some retaining walls have survived. (February 2000)
The Silkstone Tramway, Nr Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Built in the days then railways were called tramways, had iron rails on stone sleeper blocks and carried materials such as coal, iron ore and limestone only as far as the nearest canal. (June 1996)
Hollinsbusk Colliery and Fire Clay Mine. On the very edge of a housing estate in Deepcar (South Yorkshire), this brick built head gear has survived almost intact. The shaft is capped with concrete and the working may have been connected to two shafts that are now in the grounds of the local junior school (both these shafts were filled over 25 years ago) (May 2000)
The steam locomotive 'Penmaen' was built in North Wales in 1878. It was transported 10 miles or so from Caernarfon to Penmaenmawr quarry and there it stayed. It is thought to have been out of use and partially dismantled when this part of the quarry was closed. Too big and heavy to be moved, it was left where it lay. (July 2000)
Please remember that many interesting sites are privately owned and do not have public access. Additionally, some of the photographs were taken underground. Never enter underground workings without the correct safety equipment and an experienced leader who know the site in question.
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