SALTOM PIT.
For me the story of the Dunboyne epitomises all that was wonderful about the Whitehaven shipbuilding industry and in exactly the same way , the story of Saltom Pit symbolises all that was magnificent about the Whitehaven coal story. Until Spedding successfully introduced Newcomen's steam engine into Stone Pit at the Ginns coal had been extracted from the land under and around the town . The installation had not been easy ,or without it's problems but these were overcome by Spedding's skills and determination. Consequently , the success of the venture gave the engineer the confidence to undertake what must have seemed a foolish enterprise to most of his contemporaries. That was the sort of man he was and the sinking of Saltom , within a short distance of the high tides , became a landmark in mining history because it was designed primarily to search out the coalfield stretching out under the Irish Sea and is recorded as one of the first such undertaking in the kingdom.
The pit has long been out of action and has been severely neglected but the ruins , rapidly deteriorating , can be reached by either walking along the rocks from Whitehaven's south shore or taking the car up to Haig Pit Museum, parking and then walking to the cliff top overlooking the site. The descent is steep, as can be seen in this photo, and only a little hazardous but the end result is worthwhile. Whichever route you take good strong footwear is advisable.
Thanks to the recent Balmoral trip I added this shot to the collection. Haig Pit dominates the skyline while the pit is snuggled in at the foot of the cliffs in Saltom Bay ....itself a remnant of yet another former industry of the town...
Up until quite recently there was an information plaque at the top of the cliffs but our vandals have seen that off .
However, despite the missing plaque the vantage point gives a good view of the site & of how close it was to the sea emphasising the courage and determination of Spedding in tackling the sinking.
274 years ago , on Lady Day 1729, and long before electricity , hydraulics giant excavators and the like Spedding's men began to sink the shaft after first clearing the bay of its growth , a task referred to in the records as " Ridding an open cast from the full sea." and one which cost £2..7..6. Working in teams of a few men at a time they hacked their way downwards with pick and shovel creating one of Spedding's new ideas as they went . Unlike previous shafts , the Saltom shaft was oval in shape measuring 8ft by 10ft. and designed thus to eventually allow the simultaneous lifting of coal and water. On at least two occasions in the past tidying up work on the site has revealed this shaft and it's distinctive shape. One such clearing up was captured by the " News " photographer in the 80's.
Fortunately , the records associated with the sinking of the pit are still available and tell the story in detail.
Different wages are quoted as the shaft got deeper indicating that the task was getting harder so the men were paid more and there are several references to gunpowder being used presumably to blast away stubborn rock. Prior to the engine being installed the horse gins were used to wind water and waste from the shaft and by Christmas Quarter 1730 they were taking out some coal from the Yard Band . They celebrated their success with some ale at a cost of £2.17.4 . Meantime the engine was being assembled under the watchful eye of Carlisle himself. The records for Lady Day 1730 state:" Stopping back fire damp." at a cost of £1.10.2 and this probably refers to the sudden discovery of a gas pocket at 42 fathoms. The gas apparently began to hiss and bubble through the water at the shaft bottom and when it ignited after contact with a naked candle flame it terrified the workers who fled in a hurry. Needless to say Carlisle had to solve the problem before the workers would return.
By Lady Day Quarter of 1731 and at a depth of 73 and one quarter fathoms the work of the sinkers was completed and they, six of them, were rewarded with a "gratuity" of £6. and a further £1.6.0. was spent on ale to celebrate. On the 9th of February that year "they began to get coals." The steam engine continued to give Spedding problems and as time went on it was replaced and supplemented with additional engines. The pit continued to work coals until 1848 and had a remarkable safety record . When it was surveyed in 1864 it looked like this....an almost self contained community of both homes and shops , within the apparent safety of a sizeable sea wall.
This photo was taken looking north to south and enables the identification of some of the features in the plan. See what you can spot!
In the early stages of the pit the coals were lifted in the old fashioned cog and run gin way and the triangular structure in the middle of the photo marks the location of the shaft. Unfortunately , the gin case and tramway are off to the left and not visible. However, next time you visit the site look down on it from the cliff top and the run for the horses on the gin is , with a little imagination, visible. Once they had extracted the coals it was essential to get them to the port for export. The most obvious route was by sea which created the need for a harbour of some description . Records indicate the " blasting of rocks " and the construction of a wooden pier. Slightly to the south of the pit remnants evidence of the pier can still be found. See if you can find it when you visit! The vagaries of the sea made the use of the pier a temporary thing and by 1738 it had been abandoned. Fortunately , Spedding had foreseen this possibility and a second exit for the coal was already underway. It meant driving a tunnel into the hillside to link up with the shaft of Ravenhill pit on the cliff tops . here , yet another horse gin drew the corfe filled baskets to the surface.Until some years ago this tunnel was still visible .
Nothing remains of the Ravenhill pit except a lane which bears its name.
As well as being unique in as much as it was one of the earliest pits to extract coal from under the sea, Saltom Pit had several other innovations associated with it. Two of these, namely the shape of the shaft and the use of gunpowder for blasting as they sank the shaft, have already been mentioned but there were others . The methane gas encountered down the pit has also been mentioned but as the pit got deeper this problem became more serious so Spedding piped it to the surface behind the shaft bratticing and there it burned away for several years providing both light for those working at night time and some form of entertainment for those who came to witness the spectacle from a safe distance. In March of 1821 a letter writer who described himself as "An Observer" wrote to the editor of the "Bee" and the following is a mere fraction of his description of the visit but conveys his excitement and admiration of the scene.
" a few paces brought us to the brow of the hill & in full view of the wreathing, agitated, & uncertain flame. At times it appeared not more than a yard in length , of a blue colour , intermixed with innumerable brilliant sparks; then , instantly would shoot to the length of 3 or 4 yards a broad , white and overpowering light."
Keeping in mind the date one wonders why the suggestion of Mr Crawford , way back in 1999, that we make the Wellington candlestick into a permanent reminder of those who died in the collieries by igniting the escaping gas never materialised even though it was thought to be feasible.
JOE CRAWFORD'S IDEA FOR A PERMANENT MEMORIAL
Spedding's gas was wasted ,burning away for some considerable time but if his contemporaries had shown Carlisle's courage and foresight Whitehaven could have had street lighting by gas a good hundred years before gas companies even set up in town . Spedding offered this gas to the local authorities for this particular purpose but the offer was ignored. The consolation was that some of it was saved for it was piped to the laboratory of Dr Brownrigg whose experiments with it undoubtedly helped to save colliers lives eventually.
Interestingly enough , the remnants of a building in the New Houses area has been causing debate for a long time and the latest theory is that it may well have been the laboratory used by the good doctor for we do know that the latter worked near Pedlar Pit which was in the same area. Only extensive excavation of the site will eventually prove or disprove the theory.
In relation to the Saltom gas , Spedding made yet another vital contribution . Working deep under ground where this lethal gas accumulated often led to fires or explosions unless there was adequate ventilation and a good, safe lighting system . Spedding made contributions to both of these by inventing his Steel Mill and introducing a system of "coursing the air".
If you fancy trying the Steel Mill for yourself then I suggest a visit to the Haig Pit
Museum..
To improve the ventilation of the coal workings Spedding introduced a system called coursing the air
which basically meant that fresh air was directed around the pit , especially to the places
where miners were working.
The squares represent the pillars of coal left standing to bear the weight of the roof . The arrows indicate the flow of the air down one shaft and up the other and the dotted lines indicate a series of doors or trappings which directed the air to where it was needed. This inevitably meant that someone had to open and shut the doors to allow the movement of the coal wagons, which gave rise to the "trappers"
Like other features of the Whitehaven coalfield , Saltom Pit attracted the attention of many visitors and in 1739 one Sir John Clerk wrote:
"Sir James' riches in part swim over his head, for ships pass daily above the ground where his colliers work." he went on to add a more sombre thought ....."if the roof gives way in any one place, the coal will not only be drowned in a moment, but above 200 people will lose their lives." Thankfully this never happened and the pit had a remarkably safe record right up until it ceased to draw the coals in 1848.