Description and History of Site:-
A 30-inch coal seam in a shale bed between the Lower and Upper Harrogate Grits was worked by means of shafts, of which 190+ have been identified on the ground, some known to reach about 13m deep. It was sold as lime coal, fire coal and smithy coal though it was very sulphurous and not good for domestic use. Some was also converted on site into coke (qv).

The Fountains Fell Road ran from the workings northwards to join Silverdale Road and southwards to Malham Tarn - the Pennine Way takes the line of the road throughout its Fountains Fell stretch.

At the south-east corner of the workings is a sandstone slab laid flat, at SD 86561 71567, which has three sets of initials etched into it (see attached images). Its history is only partially understood but it was certainly in use in the mid 19th century. It is known to have been in use at least from 1791 to the 1870s.

Further Reading and References:-
Gill, M.C. 2008. 'Great Dales Coalfield, eastern areas'. British Mining 86, pp. 68-108.
Gill, M. C. and Squirrell, M. 2014. ' The Malham mines'. British Mining 97, pp. 53-58.

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Key Words :- coal shafts capped

Viewing the Site :- Open Access under the CRoW Act 2000

Address :- Stainforth, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24
Grid Ref :- SD 8670 7215
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.145005 , Long -2.205098
Local Authority :- Craven District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Earthworks only
Site Dates :- unknown - unknown
Record Date :- 30 January 2018

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © David Johnson