The following mining & caving books are available from:
Tony Oldham,
'Duncavin',
Rest Home for Retired Cavers,
Riverside Mews,
Cardigan,
Cardiganshire,
Wales, UK
SA43 1DH
E-mail Tony :
for further details.
The Royal Forest of Dean
THE CAVES OF THE FOREST OF DEAN by Tony Oldham and Keith Jones
Part 11 in the Series "Limestones and Caves of South Wales" new
1996 edition 47 pp 22 maps / surveys.
Includes such classics as Redhouse Swallet and Slaughter Stream
Caves etc.
SB £5.00 post free.
THE CAVES OF THE SOUTH EASTERN OUTCROP by Tony Oldham and Keith Jones
Part 8 in the Series "Limestones and Caves of South Wales" 1995
25 pp 10 surveys / maps etc.
Includes such classics as Otter Hole.
SB £3.00 post free.
THE MINES OF THE FOREST OF DEAN and surrounding areas by Tony Oldham (Extract)
[1999] 63 pp surveys, illus., NGR of mines
etc.
Coal, Iron and even a Gold Mine! Companion edition to
the above two books.
SB £8.50 post free
THE FOREST OF DEAN IN THE MINING JOURNAL AND OTHER REFERENCES by Tony Oldham
[1998] 18 pp illus.
One of my favourite pastimes is reading The Mining Journal.
I started at the beginning, Vol. 1 1835 and being a slow reader, I have
only got as far as 1851, although I have flittered through later journals
as well. Using quantity as a yardstick, rather than quality I tend
to rate each entry by length instead of content. Often, I have quoted verbatim,
and if I remember, this is enclosed in inverted commas. Col or column
refers to the length, or part of the length of a page, about 16 inches.
I have used the £ sign instead of the small letter L [cf lamina]
and tried to retain original punctuation. Three full stops, [thus
... ] denotes a Mogadon attack or lack of interest and I have omitted a
small or large chunk of text.
This bibliography not only covers the Forest of Dean Mines,
but includes its mine workers, mine owners, the Mushets - the legendary
iron smelters, and to a lesser extent the railways. This is not just
a boring index but a pot-pourri of anecdotes, like the two men who survived
a 510 foot plunge down a shaft when the rope broke. How?
Sorry, you will have to buy the book!
SB £3.50 post free
IRON MAKING IN THE OLDEN TIMES: as instanced in the Ancient Mines, Forges,
and Furnaces of the Forest of Dean / Historically related, on the
basis of contemporary records and exact local investigation by Rev H G
Nicholls 1866 reprinted 1981 with an introduction by I J Standing
82 pp. illus. A remarkable book as it gives a first class account of the
iron industry. Long out of print SB £10.00
SPECIAL REPORTS ON THE CINDERFORD HAEMATITE MINES / Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
by Henry E Doughty March 1931 19pp. 3 maps. Includes: Cinderford
Iron Ore Mine report of Mr George Smith; Cinderford Iron Ore Mine report
of Mr E Ivor David; Cinderford Iron Ore Mine Special report of Mr W Foster
Brown Deputy Gavellor; Facts to be noted, History and Geology etc.
P/Copy £3.00
Wales
THE CAVES AND MINES OF ANGLESEY by Tony Oldham vi + 36 pp illus.,
surveys.
Anglesey is overshadowed by the great Parys Mountain copper
mine. This book describes many of the smaller mines including the
long forgotten coal mines at Berw. Usual gazetteer style: name, NGR,
description and references.
SB £4.00
A Welsh Mining Bibliography from Current
Titles in Speleology - For free download of MS Access Database (384
kb)
right click the above link, and select 'Save Link As...' / 'Save Target
As...'
Copies of many of the items in this database may be obtained
from Tony, contact him for details & prices.
THE LOGUALAS MINES PAPERS These papers, formerly the property of
Justin Brook have been donated to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
They describe an attempt by a firm of brokers on the notorious Vancouver
Stock Exchange to prospect and work a group of mines in the area of Logaulas
in Wales. The mines they were interested in were Glog Fawr, Glog
Fach, Cwm Maur and Lisburne. One of the engineers discovered that
a road had been built on the back of a lead-zinc lode and as a result the
lode had never been worked. The Canadians failed to pay their UK
Consultant, Geoffrey Leader, MIMM, who lived in Oxshott in Surrey.
29pp. in photocopy £4.00
CYM [sic] BYCHAN OR NANTMOR MINE, NORTH WALES by Nicholas d’A Laffoley
and Anthony J Rex. PDMHS Vol 9 No 6 1986 pp 387-392. Cwm Bychan
is noted for the remains of the aerial cableway. Complete with surveys.
Offprint £1.00
THE COPPER MINES OF SNOWDON by John and Ruth Neill. Climbers’ Club
Journal Vol. 14 No 1 1962 pp 70 - 77 map and section. Offprint £1.00
Ireland
THE MINES OF IRELAND by Tony Oldham [June 2003] i + 45 pp, surveys.
Until the publication of the first edition of this book some
years ago, very little was known about the mines of Ireland. By researching
scientific [and the not so scientific] journals I have accumulated a wealth
of information on the mines both north and south of the border from Bronze
age to present day. For each mine a short description is given,
followed by a list of references, and if known the NGR. A recent
visit describes the present day remains. I have also attempted to
provide eejit proof directions for finding the mines. Useful
reference work. SB £6.00 post free
MINES OF IRELAND is also available on a floppy disc. A more useable
format as one can do a word search etc.
3.5" Winword 6.0 format. £5.00
MINES OF IRELAND is also available on a CD-ROM. Same format/benefits
as the floppy disk, but also includes many colour photographs. About
700 mb. How would you like that as an attachment ?! £5.00
for further details.