Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines
Encyclopedia
Combe Down
and Bathampton
Down Mines is a 6.22 hectare (15.37 acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI) in Bath and North East Somerset
, notified in 1991 because of the Greater
and Lesser Horseshoe bat
population.
The disused mines dates from the 17th and 18th Century and were used to extract Bath stone
for the city of Bath and elsewhere in the UK.
A five-year project to stabilise the mine workings was largely completed by November 2009.
limestones between the valley of the River Avon
and Horsecombe Vale. The geology of the region is dominated by rocks of Middle
and Early Jurassic
ages. The Great Oolite is the uppermost lithology
. This is underlain by the clays of the Fuller’s Earth
Formation, which in turn is underlain by limestones of the Inferior Oolite and the Midford Sands of the Lias
. The Great and Inferior Oolite formations provide effective aquifer
s (rock in which water can be stored and pass through) for public and private water supplies.
’. The Romans
found that it was easily worked and used it for important fortifications. During the 17th Century, small quarries were opened, with major quarries being developed in the 18th Century to produce the Bath stone used for many of the buildings in Bath and elsewhere in the UK, including Buckingham Palace
. Stone was extracted by the "room and pillar" method, by which chambers were mined, leaving pillars of stone to support the roof. These mines were once owned by Postmaster General Ralph Allen
(1694-1764).
The mines contain a range of features including well preserved tramways
, cart-roads and crane bases. The walls and pillars are studded with pick
and tool marks and show evidence of the use of huge stone saws, all of which bear testimony to the variety of techniques used to extract the stone over the mine's three hundred year history.
No mine abandonment plans - either of the tunnels or the caverns, known as voids - were made prior to the 1872 Mining Act.
During 1989 a utilities contractor unexpectedly broke through into part of the mine complex whilst excavating a trench, which resulted in Bath City Council commissioning studies to survey the condition of the mines. It was clear that the mines were in very unstable and some experts considered them to be the largest, shallowest and most unstable of their kind in Europe.
An Environmental Impact Assessment
was completed for the stabilisation scheme and submitted to the Local Planning Authority in December 2002. This highlighted that the mine is; within the World Heritage Site
of the City of Bath; adjacent to the Cotswold
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(AONB), within a conservation area
, containing a number of Listed buildings; a Site of Special Scientific Interest
; a candidate Special Area of Conservation
; of international importance for Greater
and Lesser Horseshoe bats
; and of international geological importance partly due to the work of William Smith
. http://www.edmund-nuttall.co.uk/news/September2006/CJ_bats_in_bath.html Ritchies contract to create bat tunnels
During the access and emergency works Oxford Archaeology
produced large scale plans of visible areas and substantial photography was carried out as the modern roadways allowed access. There were also trials of video photography and laser scanning, so that a substantial record was produced of some 20% of the known workings.
The mine also lies above a Grade 1 aquifer
from which water for public and private use is extracted via the springs that issue at the base of these units, in particular at the Prior Park
, Whittaker and Tucking Mill springs.
(DETR) announced a Land Stabilisation Programme, based on the Derelict Land Act 1982. This was designed to “deal with abandoned non-coal mine workings which are likely to collapse and threaten life and property”. A Bath and North East Somerset
Council outline bid for a two-phase stabilisation project was accepted in August 1999, by English Partnerships
who administered the programme for the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. A parliamentary Statutory Instrument
(2002 No. 2053) was needed before the work could be undertaken.
Approximately 760 properties were included within the planning application boundary - estimates were that ca. 1660 people lived within this area, which also included a primary school, a nursery
and 3 churches.
Foamed concrete was selected as the solution for the large scale infilling of the old mine works: the single largest application of foamed concrete on a project in the UK.
The work was largely complete by November 2009, by which time approximately 600,000 cubic metres of foamed concrete had been used to fill 25 hectares of very shallow limestone mine, making it the largest project of its kind in the world.
Combe Down
Combe Down is a village suburb of Bath, England in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Somerset. Combe Down sits on a ridge above and about 1.5 miles to the south of Bath city centre. "Combe" or "coombe" is a West Country word meaning a steep-sided...
and Bathampton
Bathampton
Bathampton is a village and civil parish east of Bath, England on the south bank of the River Avon. The parish has a population of 1,504.The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the village and a toll bridge links Bathampton to Batheaston on the north bank of the canal.-History:Bathampton Camp is...
Down Mines is a 6.22 hectare (15.37 acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI) in Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...
, notified in 1991 because of the Greater
Greater Horseshoe Bat
The Greater Horseshoe Bat is a European bat of the Rhinolophus genus. Its distribution covers Europe, Africa, South Asia and Australia. It is the largest of the European Horseshoe Bats and is thus easily distinguished from other species...
and Lesser Horseshoe bat
Lesser horseshoe bat
The Lesser Horseshoe Bat , is a type of European bat related to but smaller than its cousin, the Greater Horseshoe Bat...
population.
The disused mines dates from the 17th and 18th Century and were used to extract Bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
for the city of Bath and elsewhere in the UK.
A five-year project to stabilise the mine workings was largely completed by November 2009.
Geology
Combe Down forms a plateau capped by Great OoliteOolite
Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
limestones between the valley of the River Avon
River Avon, Bristol
The River Avon is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in Britain, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...
and Horsecombe Vale. The geology of the region is dominated by rocks of Middle
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
and Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period...
ages. The Great Oolite is the uppermost lithology
Lithology
The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples or with low magnification microscopy, such as colour, texture, grain size, or composition. It may be either a detailed description of these characteristics or be a summary of...
. This is underlain by the clays of the Fuller’s Earth
Fuller's earth
Fuller's earth is any non-plastic clay or claylike earthy material used to decolorize, filter, and purify animal, mineral, and vegetable oils and greases.-Occurrence and composition:...
Formation, which in turn is underlain by limestones of the Inferior Oolite and the Midford Sands of the Lias
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period...
. The Great and Inferior Oolite formations provide effective aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
s (rock in which water can be stored and pass through) for public and private water supplies.
History
The Great Oolite stone, used for building purposes, formed over 146 million years ago when the area was underneath a deep tropical sea on which the shells of ooliths were deposited. The ooliths bonded together to form the distinctive rock known as oolitic limestone or locally as ‘Bath stoneBath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
’. The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
found that it was easily worked and used it for important fortifications. During the 17th Century, small quarries were opened, with major quarries being developed in the 18th Century to produce the Bath stone used for many of the buildings in Bath and elsewhere in the UK, including Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. Stone was extracted by the "room and pillar" method, by which chambers were mined, leaving pillars of stone to support the roof. These mines were once owned by Postmaster General Ralph Allen
Ralph Allen
Ralph Allen was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. He was baptised at St Columb Major, Cornwall on 24 July 1693. As a teenager he worked at the Post Office. He moved in 1710 to Bath, where he became a post office clerk, and at the age...
(1694-1764).
The mines contain a range of features including well preserved tramways
Tramway (mineral)
Tramways are lightly laid railways, sometimes worked without locomotives. The term is in common use in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and elsewhere. In New Zealand, they are commonly known as bush tramways...
, cart-roads and crane bases. The walls and pillars are studded with pick
Pickaxe
A pickaxe or pick is a hand tool with a hard head attached perpendicular to the handle.Some people make the distinction that a pickaxe has a head with a pointed end and a flat end, and a pick has both ends pointed, or only one end; but most people use the words to mean the same thing.The head is...
and tool marks and show evidence of the use of huge stone saws, all of which bear testimony to the variety of techniques used to extract the stone over the mine's three hundred year history.
No mine abandonment plans - either of the tunnels or the caverns, known as voids - were made prior to the 1872 Mining Act.
During 1989 a utilities contractor unexpectedly broke through into part of the mine complex whilst excavating a trench, which resulted in Bath City Council commissioning studies to survey the condition of the mines. It was clear that the mines were in very unstable and some experts considered them to be the largest, shallowest and most unstable of their kind in Europe.
Mine and environmental survey
An underground survey of the Firs and Byfield mine areas was carried out in 1994, commissioned by the then Bath City Council. It was found that approximately 80% of the mines had less than 6 m cover and as little as 2 m in some places. Irregular mining and robbing stone from supporting pillars had left the mines unstable.Environmental impact assessment
An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects....
was completed for the stabilisation scheme and submitted to the Local Planning Authority in December 2002. This highlighted that the mine is; within the World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
of the City of Bath; adjacent to the Cotswold
Cotswold
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in central England that give their name to:*Cotswold *Cotswold *Cotswold Chase, a horse race*Cotswold Games, annual games in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
(AONB), within a conservation area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
, containing a number of Listed buildings; a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
; a candidate Special Area of Conservation
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
; of international importance for Greater
Greater Horseshoe Bat
The Greater Horseshoe Bat is a European bat of the Rhinolophus genus. Its distribution covers Europe, Africa, South Asia and Australia. It is the largest of the European Horseshoe Bats and is thus easily distinguished from other species...
and Lesser Horseshoe bats
Lesser horseshoe bat
The Lesser Horseshoe Bat , is a type of European bat related to but smaller than its cousin, the Greater Horseshoe Bat...
; and of international geological importance partly due to the work of William Smith
William Smith (geologist)
William 'Strata' Smith was an English geologist, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map. He is known as the "Father of English Geology" for collating the geological history of England and Wales into a single record, although recognition was very slow in coming...
. http://www.edmund-nuttall.co.uk/news/September2006/CJ_bats_in_bath.html Ritchies contract to create bat tunnels
During the access and emergency works Oxford Archaeology
Oxford Archaeology
Oxford Archaeology is one of the largest non-governmental archaeological organisations in Europe....
produced large scale plans of visible areas and substantial photography was carried out as the modern roadways allowed access. There were also trials of video photography and laser scanning, so that a substantial record was produced of some 20% of the known workings.
The mine also lies above a Grade 1 aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
from which water for public and private use is extracted via the springs that issue at the base of these units, in particular at the Prior Park
Prior Park
Prior Park is a Palladian house, designed by John Wood, the Elder in the 1730s and 1740s for Ralph Allen, on a hill overlooking Bath, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building....
, Whittaker and Tucking Mill springs.
Mine stabilisation project
In March 1999, the then Department of Environment, Transport and RegionsSecretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was a UK Cabinet position created in 1997, with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions ....
(DETR) announced a Land Stabilisation Programme, based on the Derelict Land Act 1982. This was designed to “deal with abandoned non-coal mine workings which are likely to collapse and threaten life and property”. A Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...
Council outline bid for a two-phase stabilisation project was accepted in August 1999, by English Partnerships
English Partnerships
English Partnerships was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level...
who administered the programme for the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. A parliamentary Statutory Instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
(2002 No. 2053) was needed before the work could be undertaken.
Approximately 760 properties were included within the planning application boundary - estimates were that ca. 1660 people lived within this area, which also included a primary school, a nursery
Nursery school
A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...
and 3 churches.
Foamed concrete was selected as the solution for the large scale infilling of the old mine works: the single largest application of foamed concrete on a project in the UK.
The work was largely complete by November 2009, by which time approximately 600,000 cubic metres of foamed concrete had been used to fill 25 hectares of very shallow limestone mine, making it the largest project of its kind in the world.