Pollution from Shropshire lead mines still reaches the Severn

This information from an Environment Agency page will come as no surprise to regular readers:

There is evidence of lead mining in the Minsterley area of the Shropshire Hills since pre-Roman times. The importance of lead mining grew during the medieval period and had become a major part of the economy of Snailbeach and Minsterley by the late 16th and 18th centuries, respectively. 

This continued to grow throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, until the 19th century, when the mining activity was at its peak. During the 1870s the Stiperstones area was one of Britain’s main sources of lead.

But the page goes on to say that these long-abandoned mines still present a significant pollution problem:

Minsterley Brook is polluted in its headwaters by cadmium, however after the input of a mine water discharge known as Wood Adit at Gravels, the watercourse is polluted along its length for cadmium, lead and zinc down to the confluence with Rea Brook. 

Hogstow Brook is polluted along its length by cadmium, lead and zinc from its source at the outflow of the Boat Level mine drainage tunnel. Further metal polluted inputs enter the watercourse from Snailbeach. 

After the confluence of Rea Brook and Minsterley Brook, Rea Brook is still polluted at the sampling point at Hook-a-Gate Bridge near Bayston Hill. However, Rea Brook is not polluted, when assessed as an annual average, approximately 8km downstream of Hook-a-Gate Bridge at Coleham in the centre of Shrewsbury. 

Rea Brook flows for 25 miles from Marton Pool near the Welsh border to the Severn at Shrewsbury, passing Minsterley, Pontesbury, Hanwood, Hook-a-Gate and Bayston Hill on the way. 

It is joined at Minsterley by the Minsterley Brook, which rises on Stapeley Hill and runs through the wooded Hope Valley. The Hogstow Brook is a smaller stream that joins the Minsterley Brook shortly before its confluence with the Rea Brook.

There is another page on the pollution of these rivers on Restoring Europe's Rivers, but it's 10 years old and I don't know its provenance.

But, for what its worth, it says:

The mines were worked for mainly lead ores, but also zinc ore and latterly barites until closure in the 1940s, leaving spoil deposits and drainage adits which discharge to Minsterley Brook at various points. The mines are a significant source of heavy metal pollution in the catchment, and the discharges from them represent one of the longest continuous sources of pollution in the whole Severn River Basin.

Environment Agency routine monitoring found there were high levels of zinc in Minsterley Brook over most of its length, exceeding the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for the brook (75ug/l). As a result, the watercourse isn't achieving the 'Good status' for water quality as set out in our Severn River Basin Plan. 

The Boat Level adit discharge is the main source of the zinc (around 3000kg per annum) and other heavy metals, such as cadmium and lead, and discharges these pollutants into the Hogstow Brook. Immediately downstream of the Boat Level adit the zinc concentrations are up to 47x the EQS. 

At Minsterley, the zinc concentrations are 8x the EQS. Downstream of the mines, concentrations exceed the EQS for over 15km, until the Rea Brook reaches Hanwood and dilution from other rivers lowers the concentration to below the EQS.

Ecological surveys of the brooks have found aquatic insects were suffering as a result of these heavy metals, which can settle in river sediments. There is also a lower than expected population of small fish species.

To end on a happier note, the pretty little bridge in the photograph above crosses the Minsterley Brook in the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Hope.

Secret Shropshire: Wild Edric and the Seven Whistlers

Is there anywhere spookier in Shropshire than the Stiperstones?

This short programme in the BBC's Secret Shropshire series tells you about the Devil's Chair, the Seven Whistlers and Wild Edric.

In 1946 there was a plan to move Snailbeach village to a new site

Here's a discovery. In 1946 there was a plan to move the Shropshire lead-mining village of Snailbeach to a new site nearer Minsterley.

It was reported in the 15 March issue of the Shrewsbury Chronicle:

SNAILBEACH TO LEAVE ITS SHELL

Plan For New Village In Green Meadows 

If the plans now being prepared by the Clun Rural District Council come to maturity the village of Snailbeach will leave its shell among the scars of old industry on the flank of the Stiperstones, and move down to a new site among pleasant green meadows a mile or so nearer to Minsterley. 

The site selected is near to the old Smelthouse, the derelict building which stands at the side of the field path from Minsterley to Snailbeach. Over a cup of tea at the Stiperstones Inn Mr. William Humphrey, a member of-the Clun Council, explained to our reporter that it is hoped to build a first instalment of 16 houses out of a total of 40 to 50 within the next year. Provision has been made for a children's playground, and eventually a church and school will appear. 

Temporary houses are out of the question, as at present there is no gas or electricity, but every effort will be made to provide modern amenities for both the old and new villages. Lord Bridgeman was interested himself in a project for bringing a light industry to the village, but it is yet too early to say what developments are likely.

Nothing came of the plan, but villages do get moved. Arkwright in Derbyshire was moved to a new site 30 years ago because of the danger of methane gas from a disused coal mine.

I suspect this scheme for Snaibeach is confirmation of what John Wood wrote in his 1944 book Quietest Under the Sun:

Sad to say, this became in the between-wars period one of the most utterly derelict areas in Britain proportionate to its size.

Later. Now read why this plan came to nothing...

More outreach post offices closed in the Shropshire hills

Keeping up this blog's practice of covering "random news items from Shropshire (where he doesn’t live) - New Statesman", here is Shropshire Live:

Post Office Limited has announced the unplanned closure of hosted outreach services in Minsterley, Hope, and Shawbury.

They say the closure, from this week, is due to unforeseen circumstances preventing the Pontesbury postmaster from continuing to operate these outreach locations.

Last year,  nearby Marton, Longden, Stiperstones and Wentnor lost their weekly outreach post offices.

Reader's voice: And the rather plain building above?

Liberal England replies: That's Hope village hall, where the outreach post office was housed. Find me another blogger - or podcaster, come to that - who has a photo of it.

The aerial ropeway trestle at The Bog

When in the Shropshire Hills be sure to visit the visitor centre at The Bog. It's housed in what was the school for this lost mining village and serves tea and wonderful cakes, as well as selling local crafts and books on the area.

I got there using the Shropshire Hills shuttle bus, which will run on every Saturday for the rest of September. I remember the days when these buses would take you to far off places like Much Wenlock and Knighton. They have gone along with reasonable funding for local authorities, but they still take you round the Long Mynd and Stiperstones.

This time there was a new (for me) attraction at The Bog: a trestle from an aerial ropeway that has been put up as a tribute to all who worked at the mine here.

The Shropshire Mining Club explains:

Bog mine was redeveloped before the 1st World War and different ways of transporting ore from the mine to the railway at Malehurst and of coal back to the mine were considered. Traction engines would cause extensive damage to the roads, and extending the railway from Snailbeach would be prohibitively expensive. 

The solution adopted was a five mile aerial ropeway which took less land and could cope with rough ground and gradients. Its drawbacks were its limited carrying capacity, problems in frost and high winds and the amount of maintenance it required. 

It was designed and constructed by "Ropeways Limited" during 1918, much of the construction work being done by German prisoners of war. The mine closed in 1925 and the ropeway with it.

The trestle, which is of the same design as those used on the original ropeway at The Bog, came from Claughton Manor Brickworks, which had the last functioning ropeway in the country. You can see a video of it in use on this blog.

The trestle isn't as tall as I expected, which makes sense of the stories you hear at Minsterley. There the ropeway taking coal up to the boilers at Snailbeach mine ran across people's back gardens. If times were hard, residents would reach up with a stick to tip a bucket as it passed overhead and receive some free fuel.

And then it was time to get the bus to the pub at Bridges to meet another friend from Twitter.

Lib Dem PPC for South Shropshire calls for action on flash floods

From the Shropshire Star:

Chris Naylor, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the new South Shropshire constituency at the general election, says the county needs to be better prepared for deluges like that that hit the area as part of Storm Babet. 

He said immediate steps that need to be taken are drain clearance and looking for ways to control the flow of water.

After meeting residents in Church Stretton affected by flooding from the A49, he told the paper:

"Yet again it has rained hard. Yet again there were flash floods that could have been avoided if the county had been better prepared. Floods at Minsterley, Ludlow, Church Stretton, Cleobury Mortimer and in many other towns and villages in the south of the county.

"I am saddened and shocked to hear that one man died in floodwater at Cleobury Mortimer."

And added:

He added: “The stark reality is that south Shropshire needs to be better prepared for these deluges. The science is straightforward. As the climate warms, the air will hold more water. Deluges, rather than the steady rain we are used to, will become more common.

South Shropshire is the successor to the Ludlow constituency that Matthew Green held for the Liberal Democrats between 2001 and 2005.

Since then it has returned a Conservative with large majorities, but in recent weeks two of the safest Tory council wards in the constituency have been gained by the Lib Dems with huge swings. Something is stirring among those blue remembered hills.

The Joy of Six 1104

"I believe that the leadership is making a serious mistake. Our policy on rebuilding trade and cooperation in Europe can be popular – if only we let people know about it. There is no credible answer to the challenges Britain faces without it. And, even better, it distinguishes us very clearly from Labour, which is running scared of Brexit." Duncan Brack asks why Ed Davey never talks about Europe.

Andy Boddington reports that Shropshire is to receive no 'levelling up' money to revitalise its bus services: "The operating costs of bus companies have increased significantly over the last year following the increase in fuel prices. Passenger numbers have also not recovered since the pandemic. We are in danger of losing many of our services. Two routes under threat are the 435 service between Ludlow and Shrewsbury and the 553 Bishop’s Castle Shrewsbury service."

Merve Emre fears that academia has ruined literary criticism.

Emily Brontë acted with pragmatism, courage and kindness in her last illness and the received wisdom that she was a 'stubborn', self-destructive patient is grossly unfair, says a new account discussed by Mark Bridge.

"Let me now be your guide to the five most horror-inflected Crown Court cases.  Witchcraft, demonic possession, folk horror and, er, imaginary killer robots, they’re all here (and I’ll finish up with a rundown of the series’ other mildly spooky-flavoured stories)." Ivan Kirby discovers the dark side of the afternoon programme Seventies children watched if they were off school ill.

Sarah Weinman on Sandy Fawkes, the journalist and Soho character who met a stranger at a hotel bar and agreed to a road trip across America. Her companion later turned out to be a serial killer.

Why is the constituency called Shrewsbury and Atcham?

I have solved one of the mysteries of Shropshire politics: why is the constituency called "Shrewsbury and Atcham" when Atcham is only a small village?

The solution is that the constituency does not cover just the town of Shrewsbury, but also takes in a swathe of countryside to its south that stretches from the Severn to the Welsh Border. This includes the Stiperstones and the nearby large villages of Minsterley and Pontesbury.

And until 1974 the local authority covering that countryside was Atcham Rural District Council.

Atcham RDC was merged with the Borough of Shrewsbury in 1974. The new authority was expected to be named merely Shrewsbury, but when councillors met they decided to call it the Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham. 

The parliamentary constituency adopted the name Shrewsbury and Atcham in time for the 1983 general election, even though it kept the boundaries of the old Shrewsbury seat.

The Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham disappeared in 2009 when Shropshire became a unitary authority. And under the 2016 Boundary Commission proposals, the constituency, while remaining largely unchanged, will revert to the name of Shrewsbury.

When that happens, the benign ghost of Atcham Rural District Council will have been laid to rest.

The lost pubs of Minsterley

When I started visiting Shropshire more than 30 years ago there were three pubs in Minsterley. You can see them all in this aerial photograph from 1947.

The pub that is still open today is the Crown & Sceptre, which is in the bottom left-hand corner.

In the top left corner is the pub I knew as the Bridge Hotel, but may still have been known as The Miners' Arms when the photo was taken - they were lead miners in this part of the world. The building is still there, but it is now a private house.

And in the centre of the picture is the Bath Arms Hotel, which has been demolished and replaced with new housing.

After Stiperstones vernacular - with a note on Seven White Gates

I took the photograph above in 2010:

The sudden rise of the lead mining industry in this remote part of England in the mid 19th century meant that the Stiperstones area has the feel of the Wild West. Shanty villages were thrown together with materials like corrugated iron and their hastily abandoned remnants can still be found today.

Snailbeach has this atmosphere most strongly, but you even find it down at Minsterley - a larger village on the main road to Shrewsbury.

You may have to hurry though. A planning notice on a nearby lamppost suggests this shop may soon be replaced by a more conventional building.

I was right. When I went back this summer the building had been replaced by the one below.

The good news is that the business has stayed in the same family - the gentleman in the photo built the new shop though it is now run by his daughter

Today The Flower Shop does coffee and very good baguettes and is even a BT wifi hotspot. All in all, I highly recommend it.

Chatting with the owners I learnt something of interest to readers of Malcolm Saville's Seven White Gates.

An aerial ropeway used to pass over Minsterley, carrying ore from the local lead mines or coal to them to power their engines.

I was told that the locals would sometimes hitch a ride on it to get to Snailbeach.

A good book if you are interested in this aspect of the county's industrial history is Aerial Ropeways of Shropshire.

What remains of Minsterley station

Poor man. The spam factory and the vast creamery at Minsterley were too much for him. He might have shown us the station master's house though.

That's what I wrote when posting the second part of Holden Webster's exploration of the remains of the Minsterley branch in Shropshire.

That house turns out not to be so easy to photograph. It is now a private dwelling, but quite where the residents get on and off their land is not obvious.

Anyway, Six Bells Junction has a nice 1959 photo of Minsterley station in decay.

Minsterley church and Minsterley Hall

I had been to Minsterley church before, but was not happy with the photographs I had come away with.

This summer I tried again, but I am not sure I did any better. The light was good, but there was something religious going on, most likely a funeral, which cramped my style.

What I had not appreciated before was that there are other interesting buildings at this end of the village.

I found an old maltings that is now used as a veterinary surgery, a toll house and the half-timbered Minsterley Hall. There are also some barns waiting to be cleared away so housing can be built.

The nearby Methodist church will have to wait until another visit.

Shropshire Hills bus service started today

I may struggle to get there this summer, but the Shropshire Hill shuttle buses started running today.

You can find full details and the timetable on the Shropshire Hill AONB site.

Once again, spending cuts mean that only the service being provided is the core one from Church Stretton over the Long Mynd to Pontesbury, Minsterley and the Stiperstones is running.

It's not so long since you could reach Much Wenlock, Bishop's Castle and Knighton on these buses.

The Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle bus is under threat

Let's move to Bishop's Castle, says the Guardian today:

Hang out at… What a choice. The Castle Hotel, with log fires, beams, leather chairs and a lovely garden? The Three Tuns? The cheery Six Bells? Or coffee, cake and classical music at Yarborough House?

I'm slavering already, though I don't suppose I will move there. Deep Shropshire does not seem a sensible place to retire to, though the genteel Church Stretton gets more than its share.

These days my family situation makes it hard for me even to visit there, though I have hopes of getting away this summer.

Trouble is, it may soon be much harder to get there without a car.

The other day South Shropshire Greens tweeted a cutting of a letter to the Shropshire Star by Steve Hale.

It began:

Shropshire Council has issued its latest findings on the viability of a number of bus routes within the county. 

Out of 29 routes, the 553 Bishop's Castle to Shrewsbury is rated as 27 (one being the most viable) thus strongly suggesting that, whatever consultation people engage in, it will be axed by Shropshire Council to save subsidy money.

You can find those ratings in Appendix 2 to Appendix A of the council's Shropshire Bus Strategy 2016-2021.

Will there be a rising? Or will Treasury cuts to local government mean the end of rural bus services across England?

Advent Calendar 18: Minsterley

The sudden rise of the lead mining industry in this remote part of England in the mid 19th century meant that the Stiperstones area has the feel of the Wild West. Shanty villages were thrown together with materials like corrugated iron and their hastily abandoned remnants can still be found today.

That's what I wrote in October 2010, though I am not sure that "hastily" was the right word. I have read accounts of the Shropshire lead mining area in the 1930s that say there was desperate poverty because the population was too high for the work available in such a remote area..

This building has now been replaced by something more permanent looking, but I am glad I captured it before it went.

The Long Mynd and Stiperstones shuttle bus starts tomorrow

Running every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday until 2 October, this service connects Church Stretton with the remote country around the Long Mynd and Stiperstones - and with some very good pubs too.

A sad paragraph at the bottom of the Shropshire Hills Shuttle Buses page says:

Unfortunately, Castle Connect, which ran between Ludlow, Knighton, Clun and Bishop’s Castle will not be running in 2016. This route was set up three years ago as part of Shropshire’s Sustainable Transport Project. Now that funding has ceased, the cost of running this service for another year was in danger of putting the future of the Long Mynd & Stiperstones Shuttle at risk. Thank you to all who supported this route over the last couple of years. We are looking at other options to better link the towns with the hills, and will be applying for new grants to support this.

My photo shows the shuttle bus near the car park beneath the summit of the Stiperstones, with the Long Mynd in the distance behind it..

Shrewsbury to Minsterley disused railway 2

Poor man. He did so well in part 1, but the spam factory and the vast creamery at Minsterley were too much for him. He might have shown us the station master's house though.

At least Six Bells Junction has a photo of the station in its final days.

He is also mistaken about the junction with the Snailbeach mineral line at Pontesbury. It was a narrow-gauge railway, so there cannot have been a simple junction with the standard gauge Minsterely branch.

In fact the lines met a little way to the south of Pontesbury station. The Snailbeach line came in at a higher level so that its wagons could be emptied into standard gauge wagons standing beneath it. Secret Shropshire has a photograph of the remains of this arrangement.

I visited that site some years ago - I am afraid it must have involved some trespass and suspect this was before new building in Pontesbury made access to the trackbed more difficult.

In those days it was occupied by a vast salt store owned by the county council highways people. It was up for sale and I wondered when I discovered this video if it is still there.

Google Street View shows it is and is now part of The Wharf Business Park.

Shrewsbury to Minsterley disused railway 1

Another exploration of a disused railway in Shropshire. The blurb on Youtube says this one closed in the 1950s as a result of a coal strike and had originally been intended to reach as far as Montgomery.

Part 1 takes us as far as Pontesbury. I am looking forward to part 2, as I have explored the line between there and Minsterley myself.

The Congregational Chapel, Minsterley

I went to Minsterley chiefly to photograph its church, but I was also taken with this Congregational Chapel.

The website Shropshire's Nonconformist Chapels (which I highly recommend) describes it as follows:

In 1795 the "chapel house" was licensed for nonconformist worship. A joint church of Independents and Baptists was formed in 1803 which continued until 1833 when they separated, with the Independents building this chapel and the Baptists building the chapel at Lordshill ...

The chapel in Minsterley was built of brick which is now rendered. An upper floor was inserted in the late 19th century to be used as a schoolroom. The chapel was still in use by the Congregational church in 2003.

I shall have to go back to Lordshill chapel and photograph it one day. In the mean time you can see it in the 1950 Powell & Pressburger film Gone to Earth.

This completes the middle Sunday of my holiday, which I have been blogging about since the Iron Church at White Grit.

Stiperstones vernacular

The sudden rise of the lead mining industry in this remote part of England in the mid 19th century meant that the Stiperstones area has the feel of the Wild West. Shanty villages were thrown together with materials like corrugated iron and their hastily abandoned remnants can still be found today.

Snailbeach has this atmosphere most strongly, but you even find it down at Minsterley - a larger village on the main road to Shrewsbury.

You may have to hurry though. A planning notice on a nearby lamppost suggests this shop may soon be replaced by a more conventional building.