Report - Balsham Chalk Mine - Cambs- Aug 19

[Bikin Glynn]

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Underground site? barely to be honest I think this was an open cast quarry where they had a bit of a dapple with going into the hillside.

Just a tiny mine so just a tiny report, Im struggling to find any history on this one but believe it may of been started around 1909 though there was numerous chalk quarries in the area.

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The "mine" basically consists of 4 drives into the chalk face that go back about 75ft, one has a nice vertical shaft, that is precariously covered with some bits of tin.

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The rest have been used to store general crap & the obligatory asbestos sheets!

Thanks for looking​

 

[Mikeymutt]

Still a nice little place with some nice bits left around.

 

[Down and beyond]

It’s a very unique site because of its area , people often wonder if it’s just a myth when they hear a chalk mine in Cambridgeshire !! I believe it probably originally dates back extremely old as lots of places use to have local quarries for building work in the old days instead of making the horses drag stone up from other areas for example browns folly not saying that’s the case here just a example , we have a local out crop inbetween higham- stanwick ! I wonder if you knew that !:

 

[Bikin Glynn]

It’s a very unique site because of its area , people often wonder if it’s just a myth when they hear a chalk mine in Cambridgeshire !! I believe it probably originally dates back extremely old as lots of places use to have local quarries for building work in the old days instead of making the horses drag stone up from other areas for example browns folly not saying that’s the case here just a example , we have a local out crop inbetween higham- stanwick ! I wonder if you knew that !:

No I had no idea but dosent surprise me, its like the ironstone quarry at easton on the hill, prob half a mile from collyweston slate mines.
Searching for info about this I just kept coming up with Hinton chalk pits which it appears is a much larger chalk workings near Cambs

 

[Down and beyond]

Still a nice little place with some nice bits left around.

Was both the holes open when you was their mate in the roofs like air shafts ?

 

[Calamity Jane]

Nice back cat. Very photogenic

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Nice back cat. Very photogenic

Thanks Jane, I only have about 120 more to go lol