Box Mine - Wiltshire

15 Jul

History

“Mining operations for Bath stone began here as early as the Roman occupation of Britain in 43 AD. The mine is now part of the Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats Special Area of Conservation. Wiltshire is renowned for its historical stone mining significance, and this site contains the largest underground stone quarries in both the area and the UK. Box Mine is made up of numerous smaller mines, once owned by different companies, including Pictors, Nobles, and Stone, who began commercial mining after 1841. A notable section of the mine, known as The Cathedral—something I've wanted to see for years—is located around the middle of the complex. This vast chamber measures 100 feet high and 25 feet wide. Between 1830 and 1850, stone was hauled out of a nearby shaft, which is now adjacent to a row of cottages. The grilled shaft still stands, and there are rumors of someone abseiling into it, though I've been unable to find any proof. Mining output peaked in the late 19th century, but operations ceased entirely in 1968. To the east of the mine lies an MOD installation, marked by added structural supports, safety railings over old wells, and blocked-up drives. The so-called Red Door, once a recognizable feature, is now hidden behind layers of defenses and, I've been told, has recently been painted green. The only official access point is a gated adit entrance, used by cave rescue teams for training and retrieving lost groups. These rescues have occurred numerous times over the years, most recently in 2020, which led to the sealing of other commonly used entrances. Victorian-era graffiti is visible on nearly every wall, including calculations left behind by miners. Sadly, much of this historic artwork has been defaced by modern, meaningless graffiti. Numerous cranes and crab winches remain scattered throughout the mine, ranging in condition from excellent to rubble, with laminated descriptions placed nearby to provide historical context. In the past, visitors could purchase a survey of the mine from the nearby Quarryman’s Arms pub, but unfortunately, those days appear to be gone”.

A small piece of rope can just about be seen dangling down from the gated shaft, you can also climb up behind here and head to another shaft behind this one but we didn't do it on this trip.

Looking behind from where we just came, to the left is what at first glance i thought was a well until looking to the ceiling where its clear to see this was once a smaller shaft of its own.

The size of this chamber didn't disappoint.

The cranes.

number 2 crane was one of the best preserved, these 1800's cranes had a max lift of around 5 tons and were transported all across the mine where and when needed, There are carved out slots all over the mine which show a crane was likely once used there.

Must say im a big fan of the preservation and numbering using brass house numbers.

A nice before wood rot picture can be seen here of the crane still standing.

Mobile crab winch.

Graffiti - This was one of my favorite pieces of graffiti showing the famous tom sawyer who was a Victorian bricklayer who became the worlds first heavy weight boxing champion in 1860.

Random - You can see here the MOD making necessary changes to maintain structural integrity, a nice contrast of old and new.

Looking out of what i believe to be jacks entrance, one of the recently sealed ways in.

Looking at pictures of what this area once was is a shame. there used to be well built brick models including a Dalek but now it seems they have been dismantled to re build crap.

The MOD love to install safety barriers.

This area here was the last area to be officially worked at box, you can see good examples of when stitch drilling came into use around the same time as air was being used.