Black Field, Greencliff

If you follow the seam of Bideford Black east up over the cliff at Greencliff you might be lucky enough to notice how the fields above carry the colour change in their soil, as a black/grey line at the top of the ridge. What evidently lies beneath the earth’s surface shapes and colours and even feeds our needs as inhabitants of the planet, affecting and even, it may be said, creating our ‘culture’, whether it be our agricultural, industrial or creative affairs. While bare fields are arguably not the best way to treat and nourish the land both for our own agricultural purposes or the encouragement of the rich biodiversity upon which our existence depends[i], such vast expanses of soil do allow us to appreciate the richness and diversity of the geology that underpins the places we live.

black field, greencliff (p ward 2013)

This intermittent, undulating and variable seam of 350 million year old Bideford Black runs from Greencliff in the west almost directly east, through Bideford to Hawkridge Wood near Umberleigh in the Taw valley. If you have seen any evidence of it in the fields, streams and hedgerows around you it would be fantastic to hear from you, or to see any photos you might have taken.

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[i] see Graham Harvey, The Carbon Fields (Bridgewater UK; GRASSROOTS, 2008)

A Walk Along Memory Lane – well Paint Mines Lane actually…

Many thanks again to Gerald Ford and Ron Pither for a pleasant morning spent wondering down memory lane – well ‘Paint Mines Lane’ actually. With the help of volunteer Ros Ford and her son Jake, we first visited the old mine entrance in from Brunswick Wharf (by Croft’s independent financial advisors) to peer through the old rotten door to see if we could spy the old adit within that took the miners under the railway and into the lower shaft. The site had been a coal merchant for many years after the mines closed and stained orange water still runs out through the car park from the disused shafts.

The old coal yard/mine entrance at Brunswick Wharf (p ward 2013)

We then proceeded to Chapel Park to explore Cleave Wood, or Paint Mine Woods as it was known to locals. We found the old Mary Ann shaft that was blocked off as recently as 2011 and various but sadly few remains of the mines and processing plant. Despite the recent development of the site and use as a landfill which has drastically re-landscaped the area Ron and Gerald described the basic layout of the plant and recalled many memories of their days working (and playing) there. They remembered the beauty of working surrounded by woods and streams, of childhoods scrumping apples, cutting boughs of holly for Christmas, dropping stones down the old shafts and finding ‘wuzzy bears’ (sweet chestnuts) while they were courting. An interesting time was had by all with much to return to for another day.

Gerald Ford and Ron Pither at the entrance to Mary-Ann Shaft in Cleave Wood (p ward 2013)

Bideford Black (Part I) by Gerald Ford

Ex-Bideford Black miner Gerald Ford sent this excellent account to the blog about his early years at the Chapel Park processing plant - in his own words...

"I will begin to tell you of my life as a worker for the Paint Mines (Bideford Black Pigments) . It started on a day in 1957, when I was 1st employed as a factory hand. The first thing was to meet all the employees there, and if I can, I will remember all their names. First of all we will start with the men underground (Miners). Wally Mugford( Underground Foreman). Bill (Bronco) Cole. Ronnie Short. Donald Glover. and Bert Bowden.

In the Mill and on the surface , men  workers.  George Arthurs(Mill Foreman). Vic Hookway. Martin Pascoe and Johnny Bissett In the packing  shed and John ???????.          

In the office was the Boss Howard St Louise Cookes, who we all had to call Sir, but behind his back we refered to him as Cooky beside other unrepeatable names, and the secretary then  a miss Janet watts. But after being employed there on and off for 10/11 years there was a great number of staff changes, to many to put in this. Names, I will and may say later in this story.

Gerald Ford back at the 'coal' face (p ward 2013)

I was first taken to George to be given my job, which was on the nozzle in the mill taking off bags of ground pigment at 1/2cwt at a time, about 20 per hour (Lovely and warm to sit on in the winter,as it was not the warmest place to work.

To get to the nozzle the culm or pigment had to go through the following proceedure. Firstly it had to be mined, using ,picks,shovels, and pneumatic drills. Then brought to the surface up the Inlcline (1 in 3) by hoisting trams which were the trucks,a matter of 400-500 yards, using a bell system for go ,stop etc.

Once the trams got to the surface they were unhitched then pushed 250 yards using 2 men along the tracks to where they were tipped onto the Feed Bed area awaiting to go through more production.

The pigment was then shovelled on to the feed belt so much at a time so it was not to fast , clogging up, not to slow as to run empty,causing damage to the rollers in the Mill.

At the end of the Feed belt it was tipped in to a very large turning roller drier, which would take approx 1 hour to go in one end then come out the other.

Then it would go onto another belt to take it to the hopper which was to allow the culm to enter the very noisey grinder (large heavy rollers) to be crushed to a very fine powder (Biddiblack)  then blown to the Nozzle, paked awating shipment.

I spent a few years working on this part of the of the production of Bideford Black Pigments and went elsewhere to join the army etc. I returned to the paint mines several years later, to start again, but this time I was underground, starting as a miner working my way up to the underground foreman. Cooky was still there as the Boss."

Ex-miner Gerald Ford, 4413

Ron's Drawing

Ex-miner Ron Pither brought this drawing into the Burton to share with us that he has spent his time making. It shows the ground plan of the processing plant as he remembers it. Thanks Ron.

Ron's Drawing of the Bideford Black Pigments Ltd Processing Plant

Modern Day Miners

Thanks to local artists Merlyn Chesterton, Sue Plummer, Judith Westcott and Grizel Luttman-Johnson for sharing this wonderful picture of the day they went hunting Bideford Black on the beach at Greencliff...

bideford black feet, greencliff (m chesterton 2012)

We look forward to seeing the results of their creative endeavours at a special exhibition in September this year at the White Moose Gallery in Trinity Street, Barnstaple (www.whitemoose.co.uk).

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)

Ron Pither’s List...

On the SHOW & TELL Day ex-Bideford Black miner Ron Pither, with the help of others who came, kindly wrote down a list of all those he could remember who had worked in the mines (see image).

If you can remember any other names associated with the ‘paint mines’ it would be fantastic to hear from you...