GREETWELL IRONSTONE QUARRIES & MINES: A SHORT HISTORY.

(including Monks Abbey Quarries & Mines)

(This document is abstracted from sections of the Newsletter of the Lincolnshire Area of the Narrow Gauge Railway Society in 1999, and is based [with much appreciation] on the work of the late Eric Tonks and the author's own recollections).

Map of site. Current Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 map

Younger readers, and those who are new to the area, may not be aware that Lincoln, as well as having a distinguished engineering history, was also home to one of the longest lived ironstone mining operations in the UK. Present day appearances as you travel along Outer Circle Road, and through the Allenby Road trading estates, would not suggest this, but those of us who can remember when Outer Circle Road was unlined with car showrooms may recall a fine red painted girder bridge with concrete abutments. In a cutting thirty feet below Wilson's Bridge, for this was its name, was a 2' 6" gauge (and that's a gauge to conjure with) tramway which served the remoter workings of the Greetwell Ironstone Mines. (The bridge was roughly where the rear exit to Tesco's is now).

Greetwell Ironstone Mines was one of the longest lived in the history of ironstone mining, being in continuous operation for over sixty years, shifting over 5 million tons of ore, although the appearance of the works when I was young, didn't suggest this, as most of the ore was obtained by underground mining. It was a conservative system: the equipment hardly changed during its existence and horse traction was employed long after all other ironstone tramways of consequence had changed to mechanical motive power; steam and diesel locomotives were tried, the former was a failure and was quickly discarded, whilst the diesel was only used for a short time when the ironstone was practically exhausted. Eric Tonks tells us that the first reference to workings at 'Greetwell' gives 1873 as the date of opening, but this may refer to 'Monks Abbey Quarry and Mine' a few hundred yards to the west. (This is the site of the present hospital extension and allotments; the site worked in the late 19th century, with a 2' 6" horse worked tramway). 1878 seems a more likely date for the commencement of work. The workings started by Greetwell Hollow, and development was rapid. The site was of importance as it coincided with the opening of the ironworks in the Frodingham-Scunthorpe area. Frodingham iron ore alone was not suitable for the furnace but could be satisfactorily mixed with ore from the Northampton Sand formation. Greetwell was the northernmost occurrence of this type of ore, the output going to Frodingham. The close presence of the M.S.& L.R. at the foot of the hill helped this.

The workings were served by an extensive system of tramways that ran from a tipping stage astride a standard gauge siding from the main line. A metal chute at the side of the stage enabled the ore to be discharged into standard gauge wagons from the side tipping tubs.

From the tipping dock by the M.S.& L.R. siding the main line of the tramway ran northwards, passing beneath the Lincoln - Fiskerton road by a brick-lined bridge and then, as the high ground closed in on either hand, took a roughly N.N.W. course along the floor of Greetwell Hollow, finally turning westwards and passing under Outer Circle Road by Wilson's Bridge. Like many ironstone workings not all of the system was worked at all times and Wilson's Bridge was not built until about 1925. (Outer Circle Road first appears on the 1930 O.S. map). By 1886 some 20 acres were being exploited as overcast working near to the road, but mining dates from 1878. Maps dated 1904 show a considerably extended tramway system with the main line running up Greetwell Hollow to a terminus within a hundred yards of Wragby Road. From this line short temporary branches doubtless continued the development of Greetwell quarry whilst a long parallel branch served Wilson's quarry, started in 1888 and lying to the east of Outer Circle Road. From one quarry face an adit was driven, climbing at about 1 in 70 to Wilson's Mine. This was the largest of the Greetwell mines and covered an area of about a quarter of a square mile, on both sides of Outer Circle Road. Mining was by the 'pillar and stall' method, and when the area was exhausted the pillars were robbed, resulting in the surface falling. (Some records refer to this as 'Willson's Mine'). The quarry at Wragby Road seems to have been worked, probably intermittently, between 1900 and 1926. A branch was laid along the floor of the valley parallel to Wragby Road, but on the 'town side' of 'Outer Circle Road', this served 'Corporation Quarry from about 1922 to 1931. An adit also went south into Wilson's Mine, being used from 1923 until 1934. To the east of the main tramway were numerous other workings. On both sides of the Lincoln - Fiskerton road were 'Grundy's No.1 and No.2 Mines' and also 'Grundy's Quarry'. These closed before 1930. Also along this side was the 'East Drift' mine, producing ore of uncertain quality. A short working life ended about 1930. The area was then quarried for limestone. Further along was the 'Long Harry' mine; this was longer lasting, certainly until 1933 and probably for some time after. The final mine, 'Rudgard's', named after the farmer occupying the land hereabouts, was further up the now narrowing Hollow, and mining took place over a large area towards Wragby Road. It was worked from the turn of the century until about 1938. Spiked 2' 6" gauge track of fairly light section was used (a source says 3' 0" gauge, but this was almost certainly a misprint for 30").

For much of the time motive power was provided by horses whose stables lay close to the line at its southern end where also were offices and workshops for wagon repair, etc. Wagons were of a simple wooden type, rectangular in section, 4' 5" x 3' 2" x 2' 0", and fitted with dumb buffers. It cannot be said that the owners did not try to mechanise: in 1911 they purchased an unusual looking 0-4-0T from Andrew Barclay (1246/11). Numbered '1', presumably in expectation of further locomotives she had a front tank and no cab. She had outside cylinders (6"x10") and driving wheels of 1'10" diameter. She was not a great success being, presumably too heavy for the lightly laid track. Unable to work underground she was restricted to working between the adits and tipping stage. Advertised for sale in 'Contract Journal' of 22nd March, 1916, she disappears from the scene. In August 1934 a 16hp R&H diesel (170374/34) was obtained, possibly with the intention of working in Wilsons' Mine, but by then much of the workable ore had been obtained and she lasted less than a year, being sent to the new mines at Nettleton (some wagons appear to have been sent there at the same time). [This locomotive later (1961) went to the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway as No.3 'Raven', and in 1974 was sold to W Free, Frampton-on-Severn, where she lay rusting in a barn for a number of years. By 1989 she was in John Quentins collection in Herefordshire, in a dismantled state].

The importance of Greetwell began to decline in the 1920s and 30s. A large proportion of the workable stone had been got, and that lying to the east was of poorer quality. Despite the short haul to Scunthorpe extraction costs were higher than in the more modern quarries in the south of the county. At Greetwell operating methods had hardly changed at all since the quarry opened in the 1870s and horses were still being used in the 1930s, at a time when all other ironstone quarries of any consequence had become mechanised in the winning and transportation of the ore.

As the supply of ore began to fail quarrying for limestone and a small amount of ore continued, but by 1939 this had ceased completely. 'Plans of abandoned mines' deposited with the Health & Safety executive are dated 29th September 1937 for Wilson's Mine and 9th July 1938 for Grundy's, East Drift, Long Harry and Rudgard's mines.The property was then sold to Lincoln Stone Quarries who introduced a reconditioned R&H 10hp diesel locomotive (174534/36) (ex-Winmalen and Hausman). Production of limestone was stepped up, mainly for aerodrome runways, and occasionally pillars of ironstone were encountered, the ore being sent to Scunthorpe. About 1944 the owners changed to lorry haulage, and the locomotive disappeared from the scene. After a period of idleness the tramway was dismantled, although some portions in the vicinity of Greetwell Road seem to have survived until the 1960s, whilst forlorn heaps of rotting wagons and rusting ironwork could be found amongst the bushes. These remained until claimed by a scrap metal drive and most were removed, although it is believed that a few still remain. In 1963 the tipping dock remained and the last of the buildings, the stables were being dismantled. The course of the tramway to the Greetwell Road bridge was clear, although choked with bushes, and part of the site was levelled as part of the Allenby Road trading estate. One of the tubs transferred to Nettleton was rescued by Neville Birch in 1966, and was later transferred to the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, where it stands next to a R&H locomotive: it is the only known narrow gauge ironstone wagon in a museum.

We conclude our story of Greetwell by looking at what was visible on the ground, albeit a number of years ago. In the middle of the Allenby Road trading estate there is a little field and a trace of the railway embankment on ironstone soil is observable. Greetwell Hollow Farm is now marked only by a boundary wall along Greetwell Road. North of the road, in Greetwell Hollow itself, there are a number of remains. The tramway tunnel is collapsed but the site can be identified and the course of the tramway is marked by a hedge and a bush-lined embankment. Long time residents of Lincoln will know the changes that have taken place over the years in the Outer Circle Road area over recent years: very few traces may be found. The present day quarries of Butterley Aggregates have been prosecuted on a far more massive scale than their predecessors and all traces of Long Harry and East Drift mines have gone; occasionally the operators have come across the old workings with pit props and bits of rail, often to the discomfort of the machines involved. In 1984 the approach to Rudgards Mine was still to be seen; although the adit had been filled in, a little had fallen away: enough to enable the curious to peer inside. Writing in 1991 Eric Tonks said that 'Greetwell Hollow itself, though altered and scarred by the continual quarrying operations of a century, is still an attractive spot, away from the industrial surroundings, and one can imagine the little trains trundling down at a leisurely pace behind a horse, a bit of history that lasted sixty years'.

A map of the site is attached. Current Ordnance 1:50,000 map

Grid References (All SK unless noted):

Source: Tonks

Lincolnshire Mines in 1896 List of Mines in Great Britain ... 1908 List of Mines in Great Britain ... 1918

National Register of Archives Geological Conservation Review Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

(Illustrations to follow)

© Tim Hudson & sources 2006 onwards