Grinkle Mine

In 1852, Charles Mark Palmer entered into a business venture with his brother, George, to build ships at Jarrow (Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company), on the south bank of the River Tyne in County Durham.{{#tag:ref|Jarrow is now in Tyne and Wear.|name=Locations|group=note}}{{sfn|Jeans|1875|p=240}} As the company installed their own blast furnaces at the shipyard, iron ore needed to be sourced, and a licence was obtained to mine for ironstone in the vicinity of Easington and Boulby on the Yorkshire coast, which had not been mined for iron before this time, but small scale quarrying of ironstone had taken place before in coastal regions.{{sfn|Jeans|1875|p=241}} Initially, ore was mined around the Port Mulgrave area which necessitated the building of a port there.{{#tag:ref|The area around Port Mulgrave was known as Rosedale. When the ironstone industry at Rosedale in the North York Moors started operating, it was decided to rename the area at the coast as Port Mulgrave after the local landowners.{{cite news |last1=Rhea |first1=Nicholas |title=Family heritage link to region's history |url=https://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/news/10216096.family-heritage-link-to-regions-history/ |access-date=29 July 2020 |work=Darlington and Stockton Times |date=8 February 2013}}|name=Names|group=note}} Iron was dug from the cliffs, and loaded directly into ships in the port underneath the workings, at first on a wooden jetty, which was later replaced by a stone one.{{cite journal |last1=Chapman |first1=S Keith |title=Port Mulgrave Ironstone Workings |journal=Bulletin |date=1968 |issue=5 |page=6 |publisher=Industrial Archaeology Group for the North East |location=Barnard Castle |oclc=1015424263}}

Since 1864, the Palmers had been buying up land in the area of Staithes when it became available. They purchased the Grinkle Estate, the Seaton Estate and other pockets of land in what was known as the Rosedale area.{{sfn|Schofield|2007|p=26}} In 1875, the company moved into a new mine, named Grinkle after the estate it was located on, {{convert|3|mi}} west of Port Mulgrave,{{cite web |title=Ports.org.uk / Port Mulgrave |url=http://ports.org.uk/port.asp?id=18 |website=ports.org.uk |access-date=8 February 2020}} and {{convert|9.5|mi}} north of Whitby. This new venture included building a {{convert|3|mi|adj=on}} long tramway connecting the mine to the existing loading facility at Port Mulgrave, as at the time, the nearest railhead was at Redcar some {{convert|13|mi}} to the north.{{cite web |title=Charles Mark Palmer - Graces Guide |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Charles_Mark_Palmer |website=www.gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=8 February 2020}} The mine had a shaft located at the northern side of the railway sidings, and a drift entrance on the southern side. After the conversion of the mine from steam to electricity, a Sirocco Fan and associated buildings were installed on the site which added improved efficiency in venting gases and introducing air from above ground.{{cite journal |last1=Chapman |first1=Nigel A. |title=Ventilation of Mines |journal=Industrial Archaeology Review |date=18 July 2013 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=45–57 |doi=10.1179/iar.1992.15.1.45}} The mine worked the main Cleveland Seam of ironstone, although the Port Mulgrave quarrying operations worked the Dogger Seam.{{sfn|Tuffs|1996|p=3}}

In order to maintain a level operating base for the surface buildings, Easington Beck was diverted through a tunnel and into a culvert.{{sfn|Taylor|1998|p=4}} Even so, the new venture was rooted in a narrow valley with many streams and small valleys to cross.{{sfn|Hoole|1983|p=67}} Between 1875 and 1899, the mine was owned by Palmers's Shipbuilding & Iron Co., but by July 1899, it was in the ownership of the Grinkle Mining Co. Ltd. This company first floated the idea of a different method of exporting the ore mined, as bad weather at sea affected the shipping of the ore from Port Mulgrave. If the weather was too rough to sail, then this would affect the amount that could be mined as the harbourside at Port Mulgrave had limited storage. However, as the new company was not tied to Palmer's anymore, they could sell their ironstone direct to the furnaces on Teesside.{{cite news |title=The Cleveland Mines |work=North Eastern Daily Gazette |date=20 April 1899 |location=Column G |page=2}} In the 1890s, production was hampered by a downturn in demand for ships, which led to shorter working shifts at the mine. In 1893, the mine was only working for one week in every two.{{cite news |title=Short time for the Cleveland mines |work=North Eastern Daily Gazette |date=13 November 1893 |location=Column C |page=3}} Although the new company did still supply Palmer's with iron ore, they sought out new markets as the output from the mine in 1899 was on average {{convert|3,000|short ton}} per week, which was being stockpiled as they were unable to sell it all. This led to another reduction of a four-day working week.{{cite news |title=Grinkle Mines |work=The Northern Echo |issue=9,147 |date=30 June 1899 |location=Column G |page=2}}

Between 1900 and 1914, some ore was transported underground to the Loftus Mine, and then used at Skinningrove Steelworks. This allowed the miners to resume full time working and the contract to supply the Pease and Partners steelworks at Skinningrove, meant that the underground transfer was a simpler method of transporting the ore.{{cite news |title=The Grinkle Mines output |work=The Northern Echo |issue=9,353 |date=27 February 1900 |location=Column B |page=3}} However, this practice ceased on the outbreak of the First World War.{{PastScape |num=1061619 |desc=Grinkle Ironstone Mine |access-date=16 July 2020}} Additionally, with the possible threat of wartime action at Port Mulgrave, first a rope-worked, then later, an electric incline was installed in 1917, connecting the mine directly with the nearby Whitby to Loftus railway line, which was just to the north.{{sfn|Tuffs|1996|p=15}} The mine stopped working in 1921, and apart from brief interludes of mining in 1927 and 1929, it had all but stopped supplying Palmers and their blast furnaces at Jarrow ceased production in May 1930, which meant a ceasing of mining at Grinkle.{{sfn|Tuffs|1996|p=15}} The site was completely abandoned in June 1934,{{sfn|Tuffs|1996|p=14}} with an official notice stating that the company had been dissolved appearing in the London Gazette in October 1936.{{London Gazette |issue=34,332 |date=16 October 1936 |page=6,616 }}

During the course of the mine's operation, 22 workers died,{{cite web |title=Durham Mining Museum - Grinkle (Ironstone) |url=http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/g905.htm |website=www.dmm.org.uk |access-date=8 February 2020}} including one who was riding the empty wagons out of the mine when it derailed on the points and threw him out and crushed him.{{cite web |title=Durham Mining Museum - Colliery Accident 1905 |url=http://www.dmm.org.uk/names/a1905-25.htm |website=www.dmm.org.uk |access-date=8 February 2020}}

At the age of 13, future Labour MP, William Mansfield, started work at the mine. He rose to be a check-weighman at the site in 1908.{{Who's Who | title=Mansfield, William Thomas | id = U213558 | type = was | volume = 1920–2016 | edition = December 2007 online | access-date = 17 July 2020 }}{{cite news |last1=Morgan |first1=Mike |title=MP wants national status for ironstone mining museum |work=Evening Gazette |date=18 January 2014 |page=22|issn=0964-3095}}

{{Infobox rail line

| box_width =

| name = Grinkle Park Mine Railway

| image = Grinkle mine abandoned tramway - geograph.org.uk - 1546974.jpg

| caption = Grinkle Mine abandoned tramway

| type = Tramway

| status = Closed/lifted

| start = Grinkle Mine

| end = Port Mulgrave

| open = 1875

| close = 1930

| linelength = {{convert|2.5|mi|0}}

| tracks = 1

| gauge = {{track gauge|3ft|lk=on}}

}}

{{Grinkle Mine tramway}}

Grinkle Mine was linked to Port Mulgrave, some {{convert|2.5|mi|0}} away, by the company's own tramway, which opened in 1875. The {{convert|3|ft|adj=on}} gauge line{{cite book |last1=Spencer |first1=Brian |title=The visitor's guide to the North York Moors, York and the Yorkshire coast |date=1984 |publisher=Moorland |location=Ashbourne |isbn=0861901142 |page=66}} was also used to transport workers to the minesite from the port due to the remoteness of the mine's location. From the Grinkle Mine site, a single track left southwards through Ridge Lane Tunnel, {{convert|376|yd}} long,{{cite web |title=Disused tunnels database |url=http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/tunnels/database/r.html |website=www.forgottenrelics.co.uk |access-date=7 February 2020}} then curved eastwards through the hamlet of Dalehouse where it entered a longer tunnel (Port Mulgrave Tunnel, {{convert|1,729|yd}}){{cite web |title=Disused tunnels database |url=http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/tunnels/database/sort/p/desc/names.html |website=www.forgottenrelics.co.uk |access-date=8 February 2020}} which exited onto the cliff-face at Port Mulgrave.{{#tag:ref|Another source lists the gauge as being {{convert|2|ft|6|in}} and the tunnel lengths to be different too. Another source lists the tunnel as being {{convert|3|mi}} in length.{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |title=Tiny Mulgrave is not any old port in a storm |url=https://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/features/columnists/10206758.tiny-mulgrave-is-not-any-old-port-in-a-storm/ |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=Gazette & Herald |date=6 February 2013 |language=en}} A consultation of modern day Ordnance Survey mapping shows the tunnel to be about {{convert|1.5|km|order=flip}} in length, and is possibly confusing the distance between the two sites, which was 2.5 miles. This tunnel was also known as Dalehouse Tunnel, or Seaton Tunnel.{{sfn|Taylor|1998|p=5}}{{cite web |title=Railway tunnel lengths, other structures |url=http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/tunnels/tunnels4.shtm |website=www.railwaycodes.org.uk |access-date=8 February 2020}}|name=gauge|group=note}}{{sfn|Wade|2017|p=29}} The railway cost Charles Palmer £40,000 to build in 1875.{{sfn|Wade|2017|p=30}}

The tunnel through to Port Mulgrave was {{convert|5|m|order=flip}} tall, and was between {{convert|7|m|order=flip}} and {{convert|8|m|order=flip}} wide.{{sfn|Schofield|2007|p=137}} This had been a previous ironstone working dug into the cliff, which was developed into a brick-lined tunnel for the tramway connecting the dock to Grinkle Mine.{{sfn|Schofield|2007|p=137}} The tunnel mouth on the seaward side is still extant and bricked up, some {{convert|50|ft}} above the high water mark.{{cite web |title=Exploring the Yorkshire Coast |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/yorkshire-coast/features/exploring-the-yorkshire-coast |website=nationaltrust.org.uk |access-date=29 July 2020}} Wooden viaducts were built over the becks that the tramway had to cross to get to the port,{{cite news |title=Happy landing |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&t=&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=Grinkle%20mine&docref=news/16BC669E090C6FD0 |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=infoweb.newsbank.com |date=8 May 2018|url-access=subscription}} with timber supplied from Whitehall Shipyard in Whitby.{{cite journal |last1=Chapman |first1=Simon |title=Grinkle Mine Railway |journal=Bulletin |date=1968 |issue=7 |page=21 |publisher=Industrial Archaeology Group for the North East |location=Barnard Castle |oclc=1015424263}}

Trains typically consisted of eight wagons, carrying a loaded weight of {{convert|8|short ton}} each, ({{convert|64|short ton}} per train).{{sfn|Taylor|1998|p=5}} These were worked by 0-4-0 Saddle Tank engines; two of which were built by Fowler of Leeds and two by Hudswell Clarke.{{cite journal |last1=Chapman |first1=Simon |title=Grinkle Mine Railway |journal=Bulletin |date=1968 |issue=7 |page=21–22 |publisher=Industrial Archaeology Group for the North East |location=Barnard Castle |oclc=1015424263}}

Port Mulgrave was originally created in 1850s to ship ironstone dug from the surrounding cliffs lining the coast. As this became exhausted, the mining company moved inland to Grinkle Mine and built the tramway so that the port could still be used as a loading point.{{cite news |last1=Reid |first1=Mark |title=Staithes, Port Mulgrave & Dales Beck |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=Grinkle%20Mine&docref=news/117EC893F5BA49A8 |access-date=30 July 2020 |work=infoweb.newsbank.com |date=15 March 2007|url-access=subscription}} During its heyday, up to 800 ships a year were loading ironstone for the smelters in the North East of England.{{cite news |title=Trawling for fresh business |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/trawling-for-fresh-business-1-2357295 |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=30 June 2009 |language=en|url-access=limited}} Wooden gantries were built some {{convert|60|ft}} above the stone jetties that allowed the mined ore to be laden into the ships by means of gravity.{{cite book |last1=Hoole |first1=Ken |title=The North East |date=1986 |publisher=David St John Thomas |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0946537313 |page=70 |edition=3}} Ships would work in a triangular route; firstly carrying coal to London from the Tyne, then running empty to Port Mulgrave, loading with ironstone and then sailing for the Tyne, where they would swap ironstone for coal to begin the journey again.{{sfn|Wade|2017|p=31}} Ships could only enter Port Mulgrave harbour when the tide was rising, and would also need to leave before the water became too low.

Steam engines worked the line between the mine head and the west portal of the tunnel at Port Mulgrave, where a stationary engine rope-hauled the wagons through the tunnel and out onto the jetties.{{sfn|Chapman|2007|p=83}} As the western portal of Port Mulgrave Tunnel was the switchover point for the traction, this is where the tramway had a small shed on a siding off the main running line.{{cite web |title=Explore georeferenced maps - Map images - National Library of Scotland |url=https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=54.54877&lon=-0.79486&layers=168&b=1 |website=maps.nls.uk |access-date=17 July 2020}}

The harbour at Port Mulgrave was furnished with three overhead gantries, all with storage below, and an incline leading up from sea level back up to the gantries to allow for an overspill storage if necessary.{{cite journal |last1=Chapman |first1=S Keith |title=Port Mulgrave Ironstone Workings |journal=Bulletin |date=1968 |issue=5 |page=6 |publisher=Industrial Archaeology Group for the North East |location=Barnard Castle |oclc=1015424263}} Besides exporting ironstone, the jetties were also used to import coal for the steam engines and the company also delivered the coal to local communities.{{sfn|Chapman|2007|p=85}} Despite being the loading point for the newer mining operation, mining and quarrying of ironstone at Port Mulgrave did not come to an end until 1881, six years after Grinkle had opened.{{sfn|Tuffs|1996|p=31}} A separate {{convert|2|ft|adj=on}} gauge railway ran around the harbour walls to provide materials and labour to maintain the harbour walls.

A new incline was proposed in 1899 to directly connect the Grinkle minesite with the Whitby to Loftus railway line. This would allow the transportation of ironstone from the site direct to the smelters of Middlesbrough via the railway.{{cite journal |title=North of England |journal=The Engineer |date=July 1899 |volume=88 |page=101 |publisher=Morgan-Grampian |oclc=1113524449}} All work and transfer of materials was ceased by 1916 in Port Mulgrave,{{cite book |last1=Dillon |first1=Paddy |title=The North York Moors : 50 walks in the national park |date=2019 |publisher=Cicerone |location=Kendal |isbn=978-1-85284-951-1 |page=214 |edition=2}} partly due to the new incline at the mine site, but also in part of fear that the port could be used as an invasion point, or be attacked by submarines picking off the shipping.{{sfn|Tuffs|1996|p=15}} A rope-worked incline was built first, sometime during 1916, when the Boulby and Grinkle Park Mines Company reached an agreement with the North Eastern Railway for sidings to load ironstone. These were on the south side of the line, opposite the loading sidings for the Boulby iron ore mine.{{sfn|Hoole|1983|p=55}} In 1923, over {{convert|25,000|tonne}} of ore were loaded at the site, which has since been obliterated by the new Boulby Mine complex.{{cite book|last1=Hoole|first1=K|title=Railways of the North York Moors : a pictorial history|date=1983|publisher=Dalesman Books|location=Clapham|isbn=0-85206-731-3|page=67|chapter=3: Battersby - Grosmont|ref=none}} After 1916, when ore was transferred direct to the railway line, the tramway ceased to be used to output ironstone, but due to the remote location of the mine, it was still used to transport the miners up and down the valley to the minesite.{{cite journal |last1=Chapman |first1=S Keith |title=Port Mulgrave Ironstone Workings |journal=Bulletin |date=1968 |issue=5 |page=5 |publisher=Industrial Archaeology Group for the North East |location=Barnard Castle |oclc=1015424263}}

The port complex structures were later destroyed by fire in 1934 during a process of removal of the harbour machinery.{{cite book |last1=Staniforth |first1=Alan |title=Cleveland Way |date=2019 |publisher=Quarto |location=London |isbn=978-1-78131-503-3 |page=100}} During the early stages of the Second World War, what remained of the port was demolished by the Royal Engineers.{{cite news |last1=Reid |first1=Mark |title=Staithes, Port Mulgrave & Dales Beck |work=The Northern Echo |date=15 March 2007 |page=6|issn=2043-0442}} It was thought that the ruined jetties and buildings would be a good landing point for enemy incursions.{{cite news |last1=Bell |first1=Stuart |title=Magnificent coastal views from Staithes in A Stroll With Stu |url=https://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/news/magnificent-coastal-views-staithes-stroll-stu-1353312 |access-date=8 February 2020 |work=The Whitby Gazette |date=2 January 2020 |language=en}}

When Boulby Mine was opened in 1969, spoil for the workings there were dumped onto the drift part of Grinkle Mine, effectively burying it and damaging much of the structures that were left behind and derelict.{{cite journal |last1=Keighley |first1=Colin |title=Coate Moor Mine plus a free bonus visit |journal=The Newsletter |date=November 2018 |page=4 |publisher=Northern Mine Research Society |location=Sheffield |oclc=4067575}} In 2015, the culvert built to divert Easington Beck away from the minesite collapsed. ICL UK paid £1.5 million for the remediation of the site.{{cite news |title=Major restoration programme at Grinkle |url=https://www.miningmagazine.com/natural-resources/news/1262119/major-restoration-programme-grinkle |access-date=16 July 2020 |work=Mining Magazine |date=26 June 2015|url-access=subscription}}

Relic of Grinkle Ironstone Mine - geograph.org.uk - 1145582.jpg|Relic of Grinkle Ironstone Mine

Fan House, Grinkle Ironstone Mine - geograph.org.uk - 1140116.jpg|Fan House, Grinkle Ironstone Mine

Remains of Sirocco Fan - geograph.org.uk - 1143038.jpg|Remains of Sirocco fan

Remains of Sirocco Fan - geograph.org.uk - 1143033.jpg|Remains of Sirocco fan

Ridge lane abandoned tramway tunnel - geograph.org.uk - 1546965.jpg|Ridge Lane abandoned tunnel

Ridge lane abandoned tramway tunnel - geograph.org.uk - 1546970.jpg|Ridge Lane abandoned tunnel

Port Mulgrave mine - geograph.org.uk - 1082262.jpg|Port Mulgrave mine tunnel portal

{{reflist|group="note"}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Chapman|first=Stephen|title=Railway Memories No.18; Cleveland and Whitby|year=2007|publisher=Bellcode Books|location=Todmorden|isbn=9781871233186}}
• {{cite book|last=Hoole|first=Ken|title=Railways of the North York Moors : a pictorial history|year=1983|publisher=Dalesman Books|location=Clapham|isbn=0-85206-731-3}}
• {{cite book|last=Jeans|first=James Stephen|title=Pioneers of the Cleveland iron trade|year=1875|publisher= H G Reid|location=Middlesbrough-on-Tees|oclc=11941422}}
• {{cite report|last=Schofield|first=Peter|title=National Trust Holdings on the North Yorkshire Coast|year=2007|url=https://library.oxfordarchaeology.com/4542/1/Full_Yorks_Coast_Rep.pdf|publisher=Oxford Archaeology North|website=oxfordarchaeology.com|access-date=16 July 2020}}
• {{cite journal|editor-last=Taylor|editor-first=Wes|title=Cleveland report|date=April 1998|publisher=Peak District Mines Historical Society|journal=Newsletter|oclc=841908174}}
• {{cite book|last=Tuffs|first=Peter|title=Catalogue of Cleveland Ironstone Mines|year=1996|publisher=Tuffs|location=Guisborough|oclc=35135777}}
• {{cite book|last=Wade|first=Stephen|title=Lost to the Sea: Britain's Vanished Coastal Communities: the Yorkshire Coast & Holderness|year=2017|publisher=Pen & Sword|location=Barnsley|isbn=9781473893436}}

{{Commons category|Grinkle mine|Grinkle Mine}}

• [http://www.image-archive.org.uk/?p=56348 Image of the Dalehouse portal of the tunnel to Port Mulgrave]
• [https://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/start.cfm?id=2576 PDF showing Grinkle Mine in the ironstone region of Cleveland at NZ706108]
• [http://www.image-archive.org.uk/?cat=63 East Cleveland Image archive, with images of Grinkle Mine and Port Mulgrave]

{{Ironstone mining in Cleveland and North Yorkshire}}

Category:Mines in North Yorkshire

Category:Underground mines in England

Category:Redcar and Cleveland

Category:Ironstone Mines in North Yorkshire