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Report - - Clay Mine Entrance, Sheffield, December 2017 | Mines and Quarries | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Clay Mine Entrance, Sheffield, December 2017

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tarkovsky

SWC
Regular User
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I first visited this old mine a few years ago, but having not yet worked out how to take photos in dark places my pics were crap, frankly.... More recently I’ve spent a bit of time searching for other mine entrances in various woodland across Sheffield with varied success, so I retuned for a quick revisit of this place to get some better photos. Not far into the tunnel you reach a collapsed section, so it barely constitutes an ‘explore’ (unless you have more of a death wish than me), but its worth a look. A few years ago, the whole of Loxley Valley was full of derelict places: Loxley Chapel (now burnt down), Kenyons Precision Grindings (now converted to flats), Bradfield Water Works (now a bigger mess), Dysons (just above the valley, now demolished). This pretty much leaves Hepworth Refractory down in the bottom of the valley, which has some pretty fancy new mobile CCTV and pretty responsive security, considering it is essentially an empty shell. This small clay mine behind the site was one of a number of local mines linked to the brick factory.

Some history

During the 1800s the Loxley Valley became an important producer of refractory bricks for the expanding Sheffield steel industry. The bricks were used to line the furnaces and were made from ganister, a sort of sandstone and from fireclay from the Stannington pot clay seam which was prevalent in the Loxley area. Many ganister and fireclay mines existed in the area supplying the local firms of Siddons Bros. (Ganister), Thomas Wragg & Sons (Old Wheel Brick Works) and Thomas Marshall and Co. (Storrs Bridge Brick Works) and later Hepworths, which sprang up in the district and produced the bricks. Refractory production ceased in the area in the 1990s. Wraggs and Marshalls along with Dysons at nearby Stannington, specialised in manufacturing fireclay based casting pit refractory holloware for the steel industry worldwide. Carblox, part of the Marshall group, shared the Storrs Bridge Works site manufacturing carbon blocks for use in hearths in blast furnaces.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxley,_South_Yorkshire

Some pics of the surrounding buildings from my original visit sometime in 2013.

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And here’s the mine in December 2017 - it’s been covered in graffiti over the last few years, but inside the mine remains the same.

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After a small section of newer brickwork there’s a small archway into the older bricked section.

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A small amount of water covers the tracks that lead further into the mine.

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And although it’s tempting, I’m not in any hurry to go any further.

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Back...

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And out...​
 

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HughieD

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Superb stuff @tarkovsky You've really nailed low-light photography over the last few months. Really enjoyed that report and yes - spot on with your summary of the Loxely Valley these days.
 

The Kwan

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Looks nice and the History of the area is fascinating but a shame it has mostly gone, good pictures:thumb
 

Calamity Jane

i see beauty in the unloved, places & things
Regular User
Lovely photos. I find curved brickwork so fascinating. Ive still not got to grips with low light, and not using a flash. Never quite understand why flash is not used.? I have a rough idea how to light paint, but not sure what shutter speed to use and other settings. I do now have a P7 lens, so maybe I wont need to learn, but id like to improve my photos big time.

Great set as always :D
 

tarkovsky

SWC
Regular User
Lovely photos. I find curved brickwork so fascinating. Ive still not got to grips with low light, and not using a flash. Never quite understand why flash is not used.? I have a rough idea how to light paint, but not sure what shutter speed to use and other settings. I do now have a P7 lens, so maybe I wont need to learn, but id like to improve my photos big time.

Great set as always :D

Thanks CJ. There’s a lot of cool curved brickwork underground in Sheff!

As for flash vs light painting, lots of different reasons. On a basic level sometimes you would need a massive flash to light a big space, whereas light painting on long exposure lets you in effect slow down the lighting process and cover more of the shot in light over a longer period of time. You also get a different kind of lighting with painting vs flash (tho it depends on the flash and the torch). Flash is also from one fixed point, whereas with light painting you can get the light into the areas which would otherwise be shadow with a fixed point flash.

As for shutter speed and aperture it’s just a matter of trial and error and practice. Put the camera in manual and just play! It’s frustrating as anything when you’re getting it wrong but it’s a good way of learning.

Sorry, that was a longer reply than I intended!
 

Calamity Jane

i see beauty in the unloved, places & things
Regular User
Thanks CJ. There’s a lot of cool curved brickwork underground in Sheff!

As for flash vs light painting, lots of different reasons. On a basic level sometimes you would need a massive flash to light a big space, whereas light painting on long exposure lets you in effect slow down the lighting process and cover more of the shot in light over a longer period of time. You also get a different kind of lighting with painting vs flash (tho it depends on the flash and the torch). Flash is also from one fixed point, whereas with light painting you can get the light into the areas which would otherwise be shadow with a fixed point flash.

As for shutter speed and aperture it’s just a matter of trial and error and practice. Put the camera in manual and just play! It’s frustrating as anything when you’re getting it wrong but it’s a good way of learning.

Sorry, that was a longer reply than I intended!


No its a cool answer. Ive been playing and got a nice clear shot of the very dark woods next to my house the other night. No flash, just set a speed, waved my lens around and hey, what do you know, a very clear picture of a cool tree, high up, but still clear :) so yep I see the benefits now. Youve explained that perfectly . Thanks tarkovsky :D
 

Morrisey

28DL Regular User
Regular User
I too have had a look in here and like you, took one look at that collapse and thought no, not today.

If you live local would be worth doing some work to see if it was possible to shore that roof up - cos there’s every chance that the workings behind that collapse will be pretty substantial. ⚒
 

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