Moira, for those who don’t know, is just over the border from Swadlincote in Leicestershire, in a formerly concentrated coalfield. The area has much in common with Brownhills, having undergone extensive reclamation. It’s also home to the Conkers Discovery Centre. This image of the old Moira Furnace and Ashby Canal was taken by MaltaGC and is published and used under a Creative Commons licence.
Contributor and mainstay of the Brownhills Blog Andy Dennis has written to me, to point out some work he’s done on a story for another local history site. Andy has researched a mine explosion involving some of his relatives in the Moira Bath Pit in Leicestershire in 1845. It’s harrowing stuff, but fascinating.
The work features on a site I’d come across before, but not had time to study – Fionn’s Mining Site which features lots of material centred on the South Derbyshire and Leicestershire coalfields, but also stuff from wider British mining history. There’s even a useful guide to mining terms.
Andy wrote:
Hello Bob
Just to let you know I have contributed to another site about a mining disaster involving some of my ancestors’ relatives (related to the poor chaps who plummeted to the bottom of Cannock Chase No 4 shaft). The site itself focuses on mining history and may be of interest to some of your followers.
Local mines, such as Brownhills and Cannock Chase, seem to get a raw deal when it comes to internet coverage, but connecting to this site might yield information from those poor souls who have not yet discovered Brownhills Bob! I’m thinking of people whose ancestors worked hereabouts and then moved to other coalfields, for example Chesterfield area and South Wales.
Best wishes
Andy
It’s really nice to see locals working with historians from other mining areas – the more we can share and extend the breadth of knowledge, the better. I’m thinking maybe Peter Cutler may have something to add to this one…
Thanks also to Andy for the kind plug for this blog, and to Fionn for such an extensive, comprehensive and lovely site.
A well-presented, lovely site. Click on the image to visit Andy’s contribution.