My first report, which initially thought would be a first, 'cept its not. It is in fact a continuation from mstarmatt Rainbow tools report and Another Dave's Stone Lane factory report
There was once a whole heap load of industrial wreckage in this part of the Shirebrook Valley. Throughout the late 1990's most of it was cleared away or buried.
Access
The site is only accessable by foot now, either down the hill from Woodhouse, or along Stone Lane from the nature reserve car park at the other end of Stone Lane. Finding the site is, to say the least, very difficult!
The date of my last visit (and photos) was (as above) 2009. I tried find this a few weeks back and failed miserably! Yet when I was a kid I could find this place blind fold! Other than the sheer difficulty of finding it, the only other challenges in gaining access to the site are masses of undergrowth.
HistoryI have strong reason to believe this is part of an air raid shelter built during WW2 for the workers of the Birley East Pit. Reason I 'believe' is because of a 'local' book* published in the early 1990s which details Birley East Pit. I still have the book 'somewhere safe' so can not find it at the mo, but I do recall it describing the embankment above the colliery as being 'a rats nest' of air raid shelters.
* 'The Book' - History of Birley East Colliery, by A Rowles
Location
53.353295N 1.366205W - vaguely! VERY!
Southern facing entrance - A bit overgrown!
Closer it becomes a litle more obvious
Inside - concrete with metal reinforcements
The floor is mostly mud/earth with the occaisional bit of rubble. The far end is heaped up (nearly to ceiling height) with more earth/rubble, as there is a vertical access shaft. There was once a metal ladder, but this disappeared some time in the mid-1980s.
The top of the vertical shaft
Sometime in 2009 a heavy metal lid was placed in top. This being the last time I found this place, I have no ideas if the lid is still in place.
IF this is an air raid shelter, I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg....
Imagine that that ceiling is way above head height, so that personel can get in quickly with ease. The real floor will be a good few feet below present. With the 'rats nest' in mind, it wouldnt surprise me if there were further tunnels off this one below the present floor level. But to find that out would take a large amount of shovel work!
Meanwhile, back along the embankment.... The shelter originally posted by Mstarmatt, the vertical shaft if blocked by a large boulder. It was pushed in there by 'bigger boys' in approximately 1985!!
The pit, Birley East, IIRC was approximately 70metres deep. It was filled in in the early 1990s. Some elder Sheffield residents may recall the Classic cinema in Fitzalan Square. The rubble from the Classic was used to fill in the Birley East shafts.
Two markers sit now above the shafts. The present ground level is now a few metres higher than it used to be a few years back.
No.1 shaft, dug downward
No.2 shaft, dug upward
IIRC the pit was ventilated by means of an engine blowing air down one of the shafts.
There was once a whole heap load of industrial wreckage in this part of the Shirebrook Valley. Throughout the late 1990's most of it was cleared away or buried.
Access
The site is only accessable by foot now, either down the hill from Woodhouse, or along Stone Lane from the nature reserve car park at the other end of Stone Lane. Finding the site is, to say the least, very difficult!
The date of my last visit (and photos) was (as above) 2009. I tried find this a few weeks back and failed miserably! Yet when I was a kid I could find this place blind fold! Other than the sheer difficulty of finding it, the only other challenges in gaining access to the site are masses of undergrowth.
HistoryI have strong reason to believe this is part of an air raid shelter built during WW2 for the workers of the Birley East Pit. Reason I 'believe' is because of a 'local' book* published in the early 1990s which details Birley East Pit. I still have the book 'somewhere safe' so can not find it at the mo, but I do recall it describing the embankment above the colliery as being 'a rats nest' of air raid shelters.
* 'The Book' - History of Birley East Colliery, by A Rowles
Location
53.353295N 1.366205W - vaguely! VERY!
Southern facing entrance - A bit overgrown!
Closer it becomes a litle more obvious
Inside - concrete with metal reinforcements
The floor is mostly mud/earth with the occaisional bit of rubble. The far end is heaped up (nearly to ceiling height) with more earth/rubble, as there is a vertical access shaft. There was once a metal ladder, but this disappeared some time in the mid-1980s.
The top of the vertical shaft
Sometime in 2009 a heavy metal lid was placed in top. This being the last time I found this place, I have no ideas if the lid is still in place.
IF this is an air raid shelter, I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg....
Imagine that that ceiling is way above head height, so that personel can get in quickly with ease. The real floor will be a good few feet below present. With the 'rats nest' in mind, it wouldnt surprise me if there were further tunnels off this one below the present floor level. But to find that out would take a large amount of shovel work!
Meanwhile, back along the embankment.... The shelter originally posted by Mstarmatt, the vertical shaft if blocked by a large boulder. It was pushed in there by 'bigger boys' in approximately 1985!!
The pit, Birley East, IIRC was approximately 70metres deep. It was filled in in the early 1990s. Some elder Sheffield residents may recall the Classic cinema in Fitzalan Square. The rubble from the Classic was used to fill in the Birley East shafts.
Two markers sit now above the shafts. The present ground level is now a few metres higher than it used to be a few years back.
No.1 shaft, dug downward
No.2 shaft, dug upward
IIRC the pit was ventilated by means of an engine blowing air down one of the shafts.