Landscape Detective

One of the earliest methods of coal mining, which has left its mark on the landscape, was the 'Bell pit', seen here as concentric depressions in the ground. A shallow shaft was dug into the ground so that the miners could extract coal from the seams just below the surface. The coal was removed from the bottom of the shaft forming a characteristic bell-shaped hole. These mines were short lived, as before long the surroundings became dangerously unstable. They were therefore abandoned and another opened nearby.

In the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries coal mining was widespread across the East Shropshire coalfield. The residue from mining has left  large slag heaps, disused buildings and pit heads as seen here near to the Aqueduct in Telford.

The Ironbridge/Coalbrookdale and Shropshire Coalfields were particularly rich as they mined not only seams of coal, but also ironstone, clay and limestone.

Many people in the Telford area go about their daily lives unaware that the multitude of small tree-covered hills across the area are in fact, manmade. The coal and ironstone mining processes, together with iron working and other small industries, have left vast quantities of spoil and waste. These by-products have built up into mounds on former industrial sites. These are often called slag heaps, spoil mounds or pit mounts. This image shows the slag heap at the Brick Kiln Leasow pit, Madeley.

Open cast mining for iron ore was also practiced in the East Shropshire coalfield. Most of the exhausted mines and their remains have been leveled, but there are still reminders in the landscape. Industrial activity based on charcoal blast furnaces was present from the 16th century, and most industrial sites were based around rivers and streams. Bedlam Furnaces at Ironbridge, visible from the road and shown in this photograph, were built in the mid 18th century to produce wrought iron using coke as a fuel. The furnace water wheel was turned by a steam pumping engine which took water out of the River Severn. The wheel then powered the bellows to give the vital blast of air needed to raise the temperature required in the furnace.

The impact of the industry was far reaching and led to the exhaustion of local timber.  The result was coppicing of the surrounding woodland.  By the 18th century 20% of the parish around Ironbridge had been coppiced.