Bideford Paint Mines by Brian Fishleigh

Another Bideford Black worker has recently contacted the Project. Here is his story that he has kindly written down to share with us...

“I worked at Bideford paint mines in 1960/61, whith a Mr Pasco, Cris Weeks, Jim Mugford, Bob Cann, Brian Jury and a Mr Gorge in charge.

We worked on the surface. There were other men under ground. They were Mr Mugford and Donald Glover and more men but I can’t remember there names. They mined the pigment by hand, digging it out with pikes and shovel, and sending it to the surface in truckes pulled up by a winch. Some of it was like clay, some was like cole.

Were it was then shoveled on to a conveyer belt and sent into a big revolving drum that was heated by a large furnace that was lit each morning, so it was broken down to smaller lumps and it then went to a big grinding drum and crushed into powder, and than into paper sackes and stored until lorrys came to take it away and transported it all over the world.

Ther was also a packing shed, were we put the powder in to one pound and half pound packets and sent away, and some times they mixed a carbine power with it.

When we finished a days work we would shower as there were showers on site as we would be black and dirty because it was a very dirty and noisy job.”

 remnants of the 'paint mines’ and processing plant, chapel park (p ward 2013)

Many Thanks

Many thanks to all our special volunteers on this project for all their help yesterday at the Show and Tell Day at the Burton, it was a hugely successful event with lots of visitors and they didn't stop all day - thanks Ros, Mike and Nicole.

BBC1 Spotlight 14313

To promote the Story of Bideford Black project and publicize the Show & Tell event on 20^th March at the Burton Gallery, a team from BBC1 Spotlight was invited to produce an article to be broadcast on their evening news program. On a beautiful sunny morning on Bideford Quay, with the old East the Water Mine site in the background, presenter Carol Madge and a cameraman quickly and efficiently story-lined a series of interviews and filming angles from the information provided by our team to sum up the project and its intentions.

‘The Story of Bideford Black’ BBC1 Spotlight 14313

Many thanks to Peter Christie (local historian), Chris Cornford (local geologist, IGI Ltd), Gerald Ford (ex-Bideford Black miner) and his wife Wendy, Pete Ward (local artist) and Miranda Clarke (Burton Gallery) for their enthusiastic contributions. It was fascinating to experience both the professionalism of the BBC team to produce the article so quickly about a subject they knew very little, and also to feel the excitement generated in the small group as memories and thoughts about Bideford Black were brought to the surface – a most promising indication of the projects potential over the coming months.

in sight of the mines (bideford black; p ward 2013) – painting made live by pete ward on BBC1 Spotlight 14313

'Devon's Non-metal Mines' by Richard A Edwards

North Devon Maritime Museum (http://www.northdevonmaritimemuseum.co.uk/) have kindly pointed us in the direction of this excellent book by Geologist Richard A Edwards that they helped with the research for, along with other local experts. The publication has an informative and well-illustrated chapter devoted to Bideford Black, focusing on the geology and history of coal and pigment mining in North Devon from the earliest records in late 17th Century until the mines' closure in the 1969. It was published by Halsgrove Press in 2010.

Bideford Black Pigments Ltd (It was never just "Bideford Black") and of course "Paint Mines" was just a local name…

Last week Jenny Shepherd, one of the last secretaries to work at the Bideford Black ‘Paint Mines’, contacted us. She has kindly shared some of her memories … 

“What I can remember:

I joined with my friend as a fully qualified secretary from the then North Devon College in 1960/61.  We did all duties from filing to Balance Sheet, trial balance, wages, invoices, correspondence, reception and everything in between.  My friend remembers that we had to ask for the 'phone numbers we required as there were no dialling facilities.

Chapel Park Processing Plant Door (P Ward 2010)

The office was a very old nissen hut with a wooden floor which had subsided so much on each side that there was a large open space (if memory serves correctly it was about 9" across) running the length of the room where the boards had come apart and from where the dust permeated.  Although It was extremely cold and dirty there was a very inefficient and antiquated cast iron, wood-burning stove that we were allowed to use when our fingers turned white and got too cold to type. In fact, everything was antiquated and damp.  The whole thing was situated in the middle of a wood at the end of Mines Road which was then just a country lane.  We were not allowed to see either the mine or the sawmills although we were promised to have a conducted tour.  Unfortunately it didn't happen. When we got home we had to scrub our faces with a nail brush and soap to remove the waterproof dust although it was not so apparent on us as it was on the miners' faces and hands.  I don't think there were any washing facilities for the men but cannot be certain.  We worked for Howard St Louis Cooke who was an accountant as well as (I think) a mining authority and certainly Victorian in his work ethic (and in other ways too which are better forgotten)!  He tried to be a divisive employer but luckily my friend and I remain close to this day.  The names which we can remember are Mr Wally Mugford (mining foreman), Mr Arthur who was possibly in charge of the sawmill and a Martin Pascoe.  The first has been deceased for a large number of years as I suspect has the second.  Mr Pascoe was much younger than them but older than we were.  Mr Mugford and Mr Arthur treated us very kindly.  I believe Mr Pascoe later became a private detective.  There may also have been a Mr Dymond.

‘Biddiblack’ and ‘Jetablack’ were mined and processed into powder at that time.  I understand in the beginning these dyes were used to colour the black pointing between the bricks of Victorian buildings but that subsequently the main monies were made during the war when it was used for camouflage purposes. I also understood that it might have been used later in the production of makeup. 

There was also a sawmill business which, in those days, was relatively new. 

We were advised that the mines travelled beyond Weare Giffard towards Torrington and possibly beyond but I do not know if or how they would have been filled in.  Mr Cooke owned many detailed maps.  I know, just on one occasion, when we were returning home from work there was a most eerie sound which sounded like the then popular theme music of the TV programme Quatermass.  We had never run so fast in our lives.  We believe it was just the angle of the wind through trees and over one of the shafts but it terrified us at the time!

Rather different circumstances than today's!

Kind regards

Jenny Shepherd “

Chapel Park Processing Plant Site (P Ward 2010)

Many thanks to Jenny, and we look forward to any other details she might recall… 

we need your stories!

Our poster to publicise the SHOW & TELL day at the Burton on the 20th March, form 1100 to 330...

We look forward to seeing you there.

Mystery Photos

We were recently shown these two photos from the www.northam-devon.co.uk website - one a view from the old paint mines across to Cleave in Northam, the other a painting of a donkey on a shed very near the mines using black paint, possibly Bideford Black itself ( lets hope so, the image is fantastic)...

 Cleave from behind mine at Bideford (from www.northam-devon.co.uk)

Northam Donkey House (from www.northam-devon.co.uk)

However, as yet we haven’t found their source or any verification of the nature of the donkey painting - there is no accreditation on the www.northam-devon.co.uk website or any means of contacting the authors. If anyone has any information regarding the source of these photographs we would really appreciate it so that full credit and even copyright information may be given and the possibility of using them in future publications may be possible.

Many Thanks :-)

A SONG OF BIDEFORD BLACK by John Purser

‘The Tale of Bideford Black’, a song written by local musician John Purser, has been kindly sent to us as a lively addition to our archive with a short explanation of how he came to write it. It is exactly this kind of original and diverse response to our local history that will make this project such a genuine and personal archive of our local community. Enjoy…

https://soundcloud.com/john-purser1/the-tale-of-bideford-black

“Basically the song started with the account of anthracite mining in "The Book of Bideford" by Peter Christie and Alison Grant - my late mother-in-law, who lived in Bideford had a copy.  I was intrigued by the thought of mining paint and caught out one or two geography teachers where I taught in Hertfordshire.

On moving to Barnstaple I became an active member of Bideford folk club and many local singer-songwriters became friends.  This inspired me to start writing. "Bideford Black" was the first song I wrote (in 2003). I am not a prolific writer – my latest song "Bideford Witches" emerged last year after about three years in the writing.”

Many thanks John :-)

Message from Australia

In 2011 local artist Pete Ward exchanged an amount of Bideford Black for some Australian earth pigments with visiting Aboriginal Elder Noel Butler. Noel and his nephew have since used the pigment to paint their bodies for ceremonial and public performances in New South Wales. On hearing about the 'Story of Bideford Black' Project Noel sent this message about his experiences of using Bideford Black...

'In our Culture as Aboriginal Australians we paint the colours of the Earth on our bodies in patterns and markings representing symbols of spiritual connections to the land. This also gives us a connection and an identification with our land.

Upon meeting Pete Ward, and his connection with Bideford Black and his understanding of the connectedness with the soil from his land, we have a spiritual communication and tie that is not understood by many non-indigenous people. This is capable of everyone to have a sense of belonging to the earth.'

Noel Butler

Aboriginal Elder

South Coast NSW

Narooma Noel & Phil, New South Wales (image courtesy Trish Roberts 2012)

Many thanks to Noel, Phil and Trish for sharing their story.

Announcing our project and funders

We are delighted that the Bideford Black project is now up and running and are thrilled to announce and acknowledge our funders:

A Heritage Lottery Fund 'All our Stories' grant and The Friends of the Burton.

We sent a press release to that effect and you can see it here on the North Devon Gazette's website
and here at the North Devon Journal's website

Bideford Black Miners 1935 (courtesy Ackland and Edwards Archive)

Welcome to the Bideford Black Blog!

A project to celebrate the history, geology and uses of a unique natural resource

Running alongside seams of anthracite across North Devon is a black clay-like material that was mined for 200 years in Bideford for its uses as a strong black pigment. The unique ‘Mineral Black’, or ‘Biddiblack’ as it was known, was commercially produced for applications in the boat building industry, for colouring rubber products, for camouflage on tanks in WWII and was even bought by Max Factor for the production of mascara. The mines were closed in 1969 when the production of cheaper oil-based blacks and the depletion of the seam made the operation financially unviable, but many locals still remember the ‘Treacle Mines’ and have tales to tell of using the paint or going into the now defunct mine shafts.

However, these memories, and the chance of finding any other physical artifacts, relating to the mining industry are becoming scarcer as time passes. It is hoped that this project, led by local artist Peter Ward, will provide an opportunity to explore this unique local resource and to bring these memories together before it is too late.

We're in the very early stages of this project which is funded by The Heritage Lottery & The Friends of The Burton Art Gallery & Museum. Our plan is to set about recording people's memories of Bideford black - a special pigment which has been put to lots of uses over the years, from the industrial to the artistic. There are going to be events, educational opportunities and at the end of the project a new permanent display, telling the Story of Bideford Black, located at The Burton.

While we're preparing to post details of the project over the coming year why not visit HERE and discover more about the pigment itself? You can also check out more work by Peter Ward who works with this pigment - visit HERE and HERE.

Details of what we're up to will be posted to The Burton Art Gallery & Museum facebook page which is HERE as well as on this blog.

If you've already got some information about Bideford Black to share please feel free to get in touch right now! Our email address is bidefordblackblog@gmail.com