1919 Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 sheet showing The Conduit Colliery and West Chasewater. But what’s going on with the red patch? Image donated by Bruce Littley.
1938 Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map of the same are – with some interesting annotations. Note that in common with most of the 1938 epoch, railways are not drafted, but were present. Again, what’s with the annotations in pencil? Image kindly supplied by Bruce Littley.
This is an interesting one I’ve had cooking for a while – reader Bruce Littley has kindly sent me these scans of maps that he’s come across, and he’d like to know more about them – or at least the annotations sketched thereupon.
The maps show the west edge of Chasewater, and southern Norton Canes (the area known as Commonside), and the Conduit Colliery, detailed in this previous post.
Bruce wrote:
Bob,
I was born at 53 High Street, Norton Canes in 1941. House no longer exists, new estate built over the area and the adjoining prefab estate.
Hence my interest in the area.
I have at work, a very large, obviously working map/plan relating to the removal of the slag heap of the Coppice Colliery, and its subsequent use elsewhere alongside Chasewater.
Query, is this something that would be of interest?
Re: the recent article I have just seen on the site, reference World War 2 material at Chase Terrace.
I certainly remember wandering about the dumped material at the back of the Colliery area and the then Norton Pool as a child, prior to the age of 10yrs.
I found and saw many items that I considered ‘munitions’ in amongst loads of other materials from that conflict. I refer to it often in conversation.
Regards
Bruce.
Lots to spot here, but that’s a big mine with an impressive railhead. Note also the lost canal. An interesting comparison to the mine plot can be made, too. My eternal thanks and gratitude to Bruce for opening a new historical thread here, and for his patience while we sorted this out.
Like most spoil heaps, the ones at The Conduit pits were impressive, as the Aerofilms shot from 1946 below shows – note the lost canal snaking into the distance.
I really am interested – as is Bruce – in anything you can add here. You know the drill: comment or BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Thanks.
The waste tip at Conduit Colliery (No. 3), Norton Canes, 1946
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Lovely maps thanks to Bruce for sharing them with us, and to Bob for putting them on the Blog.
bruce,do you remember us going fishing together in the basins behind the picture house over60 years ago john keay,
I’m surprised this has not attracted more comment.
First the picture. Note the vapour rising from the spoil heap. I don’t recall this particular one, but Jerome’s Bank (aka Jeromes’s Bonk), which I think is just visible extreme top right, used to get so hot that it caught fire and the fire brigade (as it was then called) would be in attendance for days, sometimes weeks on end. It would glow in the dark.
On the second map, someone has painstakingly detailed the levels along what used to be a railway. On the 1880s mapping this is shown as an embankment only – no track. Presumably, it had been subject to subsidence, along with some surrounding land, such as Brownhills Road – there used to be signs saying something like “road liable to subsidence”. It looks like the plan was to level the track at 100 metres, but why? Was this the initial preference for Chasewater Light Railway?
The map also shows where some houses were under construction on 6 July 1955 (the beginnings of Cherry Tree Road?) and, presumably, the annotations date from about that time?
Hi ANdy
Thanks for your input. I too am surprised this hasn’t garnered more attention.
I think you’re probably right about the date.
it certainly is fascinating. I do hope others watching might spot this in due course.
Cheers
Bob
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If Bruce Littley logs on to britain frome above he will access more pictures of the conduit mount and be able to enlarge to zoom in to access houses and features up the pudding bag and otherparts of norton like houses and richardson’s farm the old post office at the bottom of the pudding bag i.e. swindell’s harry hortons etc. the mount on the picture is the conduit i.e.jerome’s you can also see miners going to work on their bikes.