South Skelton (Ironstone)	Index	South Skelton (Ironstone)

Location:	Skelton-in-Cleveland 11½ miles [18 km] E of Middlesbrough
Map Ref:	(Sheet 94, OL26) NZ655165
Opened:
Closed:
Owners:	1870's - T. Vaughan & Co.
	1880's - Clay Lane Iron Co. Ltd.
	1910's - Bolckow, Vaughan & Co. Ltd.
	1929, 01 Nov - Dorman, Long & Co. Ltd.
Output:	1873 - Ironstone.
	1882 - Ironstone.
	1884 - Ironstone.
	1888 - Ironstone.
	1890 - Ironstone.
	1896 - Ironstone.
	1902 - Ironstone.
	1914 - Ironstone.
	1921 - Ironstone.
	1923 - Ironstone.
	1924 - Ironstone.
	1925 - Ironstone.
	1927 - Ironstone.
	1929 - Ironstone.
	1930 - Ironstone.
	1934 - Ironstone.
	1945 - Ironstone.
	1950 - Ironstone.
Employment:	Year  Pit   Total  Below  Above 1896 275 231 44 1896 Boosbeck & South Skelton combined 1902 403 351 52 1914 436 369 67 1921 377 309 68 1923 422 348 74 1924 343 275 68 1925 291 228 63 1927 267 215 52 1929 252 208 44 1930 278 235 43 1934 19 5 14 1934 Standing 1945 444 358 86 1950 364 275 89
	Colliery Management (prior to 1955)
Seams Worked:	1950 - Cleveland Main
Notes:	Miscellaneous Notes and Incidents for South Skelton (Ironstone)

Description

The South Skelton mine is situated near Boosbeck, and has recently been reconditioned. The headgear is 71 ft. high of angle and lattice braced steel construction, by Redpath, Brown & Company, Limited, and a new stone-cleaning plant has been put down. There are two shafts, 217 ft. deep. The winding shaft is equipped with an electric winder by Robey & Company, which is driven by a 320-h.p. motor. The Robey overwinder is fitted with a King's slow banker. The cage keps are of the automatic "Beien" type.

The main haulage is endless rope a mile in length, driven by a motor of 100 h.p. The haulage plane is practically level, and is fed by self-acting inclines on the rise side and main rope haulages from the dip side. The stone from the Carlin How mine is delivered to the terminus of the endless rope down an incline of 2½ in. to the yard by a main rope haulage at the surface of the Carlin How shaft, a distance of about a mile.

The main pumping plant consists of two turbine pumps, each driven at 1,460, r.p.m. by a 200-h.p. slip ring motor working on the high-tension supply. Each of the pumps is capable of delivering 1,000 galls. per min. against a head of 410 ft.

Ventilation is by an 84-in, double-inlet "Sirocco" fan of 90,000 cub. ft. of air per min., the drive being a 70/9 b.h.p. squirrel-cage two-speed pole-changing motor through Hendry laminated belt. The upcast shaft is equipped with a small steam-driven hoist and single-deck cage as a second means of egress from the mine.

The heapstead and belt house, built by Dorman, Long & Company, is of all steel construction. The ironstone-cleaning plant consists of two parallel steel picking belts, with compartments for carrying the shale and other refuse. The belts are each 100 ft. long by 7 ft. 6 in. wide, and have an approximate capacity of 600 tons per 8-hr. shift. The belts are fed by two friction-driven tipplers.

The main underground haulage plant consists of two 320-h.p. main-and-tail haulage gears, which are driven by motors running on the high-tension supply. There are five auxiliary haulages of main-and-tail and single drum types, the powers ranging from 25 to 50 h.p.

The mine water is dealt with by two 3-stage turbine pumps, each of 600 galls. per min. against a head of 290 ft. The pumps are installed adjacent to pit bottom and are each driven by a 85-h.p. motor.

Iron & Coal Trades Review 1937

Disasters (5 or more killed)

None Found

Names of those killed at this colliery

Please note that this collection of names is by no means complete!

						Barker, Joseph, 28 Aug 1879, aged 20, Miner, fall of ironstone while he was drilling a hole, a piece of stone which had been shattered by a previous shot fell without warning, Buried: Skelton in Cleveland, All Saints on 31 Aug 1879 {NBI}
						Barker, William, 07 Jan 1895, 11:30 a.m., 6th hour of shift, aged 44, Deputy, while preparing to set some timber a fall of roof took place, Buried: Skelton Cemetery [More information ...]
						Barr, William, 01 Mar 1911, aged 37, Miner, he was engaged with another miner in removing a stook which would have been finished that shift, when a sudden fall of roof (shale and dogger) took place and displaced several balks; the deceased was probably caught by a running balk as well as the fall; a shot had been fired 3½ hours previously, which may have shaken the stone into which some of time balk ends were inserted, and a sudden pressure of the roof caused the stone to burst off; the working was said to have been very closely timbered
						Bennison, Harry, 16 Jan 1952, aged 28, Driller, struck and buried by a fall of stone, residence: Boosbeck
						Cessford, John David, 18 Apr 1904, aged 44, Electric Pumpman, When walking in-bye at 7 a.m. took ill. He was removed to manager's house. Died at 11 a.m. same day from cerebral haemorrhage
						Cheesman, John, 21 Apr 1897, aged 63, Miner, He was caught by the full set when travelling out-bye on the engine plane and killed [More information ...]
						Edwards, William, 17 Apr 1878, aged 50, Miner, struck on head by a piece of stone from a shot, which rebounded from the opposite side wall
						Ellis, John, 28 Oct 1875, aged 14, Driver, crushed by tub, Buried: Skelton in Cleveland, All Saints on 16 Nov 1875 {NBI}
						Husband, Robert, 18 Dec 1919
						Jackson, George William, 08 Apr 1897, aged 27, Miner, Killed instantly by a fall of stone from the roof of his working place [More information ...]
						Parker, Samuel, 19 Sep 1923
						Smith, George, 24 Dec 1903, aged 32, Deputy, Thigh fractured and back injured by a fall of stone from face. Died the same day. [More information ...]
						Sunley, John, 04 Oct 1916, address: 2 Hobdale Terrace, Boosbeck
						Watson, Robert, 11 May 1883, aged 61, Horse Man, while engaged removing two trucks he got his foot fast in crossing points and the trucks went over him, Buried: Skelton in Cleveland, All Saints on 14 May 1883 {NBI}
						Wood, Frank R., 25 Jun 1908, aged 21, Drifter, he was bringing two full tubs outbye along the main road to the landing, when a large piece of dogger fell from the roof on to him and killed him; there is a fault or hitch near to, and this may have had something to do with the roof falling; the mine officials thought the fall was due to the hot weather affecting the air going into the mine
						15 names found

If you know of any fatalities missing from the above list then please contact us with the details and we will add them to our database.

Those names marked with , have a web page providing individual details of the accident, the page may also include a photograph of the deceased. Click on the symbol next to the name to see the web page.

  more information on some of the fatalities shown above

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

  a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of South Skelton (Ironstone)

  list of collieries/pits etc. near to South Skelton (Ironstone)

Credits

Sources:

Pictures:

Related Links:

	On this site
	Newspaper articles
	Article on the discovery of Ironstone in Cleveland (published in 1857)
	External sites
	Skelton-in-Cleveland History, comprehensive history of the area
	Cleveland Ironstone Mines web site by Peter Tuffs

Further Reading:

• Catalogue of Cleveland Ironstone Mines by Peter Tuffs, Cleveland Ironstone Series, published by Peter Tuffs
• Cleveland Ironstone by S. Keith Chapman, published by Peter Tuffs
• The Cleveland Ironstone Industry and its Impact on Teesside by S. Keith Chapman, published by Peter Tuffs
• The Ironstone Mines and Railways of Cleveland and Rosedale by T.E. Rounthwaite, published by Peter Tuffs
• Cleveland Ironstone Mines and Iron Industry by Richard Mead, published by Peter Tuffs
• Cleveland Mining Incidents by Simon Chapman, published by Peter Tuffs
• The Coal Mining and Ironstone Mining Properties of Dorman Long, published by Peter Tuffs

Further Research:

  Research Notes for South Skelton (Ironstone)