Slate Mine in Lake District

Lake District Part 2

(Read Lake District Part 1 Here)

Mining in Lake District

Have you ever gone inside a mine? If not please do so. It is an amazing experience. LD (Lake District) Mountains had many mines, most notable and still operational one is Slate mine. Slate is a very fine grained smooth surface stone, usually greyish but also available in other colours. It is mainly utilize d as building material especially as roof stone plates because it is durable. We used it as a pencil to write on a black metal plate when we were young. Not sure if it is still in use somewhere for writing.

People of LD area were quite poor if we go a few decades back. Their main livelihood came from farming and animal growing mainly sheep and cow. Mining was one of means to earn living even though it was very dangerous, demanded harsh labour and paid very little. Miners would walk to the mine site from as far as 40 miles in hilly terrain. They would bring two weeks food packed at their back; maximum they could carry. Food consisted of mainly bread & boiled potatoes which would go mouldy after few days but they had to eat it, there was no other option. They would work inside the mine dawn to dusk, everyday with Christmas as their only holiday. The work was carried out by the whole family; all of them lived inside for weeks to save time.

There was no electricity so work was carried out manually in poor lighting of lamps or candles. The process of mining began with digging a hole in a rock. Young would hold a heavy metal rod in place and adults would hit it with a heavy hammer.  After digging a hole, it was filled with gun powder and blasted from a safe distance to break off a big chunk of slate rock. It was left overnight to settle because explosion usually disturbed a large area and it sometimes made rocks fell from top killing miners. This blast would damage the broken slate, usually wasting up to 90%. The remaining good slate was carried back by adults to sell. They would earn small amount at the end of a hard day’s labour if lucky, nothing otherwise. And working conditions, it was pitch dark, hot and humid with no ventilation inside a mine; they used candles to see what they were doing. Their lungs failed at early age (40s) because of inhaling fine dust, if they survived till then from other diseases, falling rocks, and gun powder accidents. Children suffered frequently from accidents. But disabled children were good for the family, they could beg on streets; a far better option than inside.

The finished slate was cut in different sizes and given names e.g. empresses was 26 x 16 inches and small lady was 14 x 8 inches. It was then exported to Britain as well rest of the world. The conditions inside mines have imporved condiderably now days. The mine safety is regulated and monitored closely, at least in modern countries.

Honister Slate Mine Visit:

We visited the only working “Honister Slate Mine” in LD. It is situated on top of the Honister Pass in Borrowdale area. The valley and the area around are unique & stunningly beautiful. We approached the mine via a long narrow mountainous road called Romantic Street, similar to hilly roads in Kashmir. Dark greyish green debris of waste slate stone around the mine is visible from miles, much like a mole on a charming face. One stunning path of Honsiter Pass continues down the valley. Low clouds reminded me of Nathia Gali. After parking our car we saw a bus climbing the mountain. We wondered where this bus is heading to. After passing through the mine shop, we landed in a room that had miners’ high-visibility jackets and safety helmets lined up. We were greeted by Mark Weir, the late owner of Honister mine. Yes he died only 3 months ago. It was his video recorded message.

Soon we were sitting in the same bus going up the hill to visit the mine. A young lady led a group of 20 inside the mine tunnel. Soon we were browsing through the inside tunnels and halls where mining has been done. The mining is conducted in a systematic layered way. A section is mined, then next section is skipped in order to make sure the mine roof doesn’t collapse. We wondered in the caves for some time. The lady guide showed us tools used inside, both old & new. It was dark inside and tunnel roof was low. I banged my quite a few times, thanks God I had helmet on. We brought back few stones as memories, now on displayed in our drawing room, come & have a look (by appointment only!).

 OK, the LD visit continues. Read about Pencil Making, Wordsworth and other interesting things in next blog.