Mining investigation in Whitehaven Cumbria

In September 2024 IDG were commissioned by Story Homes to carry out an investigation to assess risks from shallow mining at their residential development in Whitehaven. Previous preliminary investigations had established the presence of two shallow coal seams which had been locally worked within west Cumbria. Furthermore, Coal Authority records and mine abandonment plans dating from the 18th Century indicated the presence of two mine shafts sunk to deep workings which were indicated to have been infilled during the mid 19th Century.

The investigation comprised rotary boreholes to prove ground conditions and trenching to establish the exact positions of the two mine shafts.

The drilling records were used to create a detailed geological model which was of sufficient quality to conclude that there was no significant risk from shallow mine workings.

Site operations hindered the search for one of the deep shafts and it will be necessary to return at a more convenient time to resume this investigation. However Fox Pit, which is anticipated to be 110m deep, sunk circa 1700 was finally identified. The elegantly sculpted elliptical dressed sandstone liner has not been seen since the shaft was infilled circa 1840. The shaft was almost certainly backfilled by manual means and the labourer had left the pictured miners shovel upon the surface of the shaft fill materials. Presumably relieved after what was probably several months of hard graft! Fox Pit shaft was successfully located approximately 6m from the location indicated by our evaluation of abandonment plans and 14m from the Coal Authority's recorded

position.