The History of the Cleveland Mines - South Skelton Pit
South Skelton Pit, or
what remains of it, lies just outside Boosbeck village on the
road to Charltons. It is marked only by a narrow lane which led
to the old mine. As you drive along the road, nothing much
indicates the existence of the pit. The two Overmen’s houses
mark the entrance from the main road and the Mine Manager’s
house, the stables and the ‘winding house’ are also
still visible if you know where to look.
‘Van’s Pit’, as South Skelton was known by the
miners, was opened around 1870 by Thomas Vaughan, the land being
leased from the Wharton family. It was positioned right next to
the main railway line that ran from a branch line at Hutton Gate
then below the ‘rifle ranges’ in front of Guisborough
Hall, over the viaduct in Spa Wood continuing on behind what is
now the Fox & Hounds at Slapewath and on to Boosbeck Station
and beyond.
As you walk down the lane you pass private houses on your right.
Continue further and you will see the Manager’s house, a
large brick building standing alone just on your right. On your
left you will find the ‘powder house’ which is set on
the hillside. Further down to your left you come to the stables,
two buildings still in good condition today, of brick and wood
construction with a cobbled yard. Continue on and you come to a
white shed-size building, its use unknown. In front is the main
part of the pit.
Several structures still remain and are used today as farm
buildings, the biggest being the winding house for the ‘up
shaft’. The ‘down shaft’ winding house has been
demolished along with the head gear. In front of the remaining
winding house you will find one of the three capped shafts. Each
has a plaque situated on a concrete lid, two read, “Unfilled
mine shaft, depth 65 metres, diameter 5.1 metres, cover fitted
1985.” The caps have air vents through which the air can be
heard escaping.
The third shaft is almost in the village of Boosbeck, on the
playing fields near Queens Street, marked only with a small stone
and plaque which reads, “Filled mineshaft, depth 90 metres,
diameter 3.4 metres, shaft filled and capped 1986”. This
shaft had been an air and rescue shaft but was originally one of
the two main shafts to the Boosbeck Mine, known locally as
‘Stevenson’s’ or ‘Stivvie’s Pit’
which was opened in 1870 producing its first load in 1872.
The workings run under Skelton Green and Boosbeck, and after the
mines were closed down, water in the workings caused a great deal
of subsidence in Boosbeck making a large number of people
homeless. The site today has been reclaimed and is now a school.
Boosbeck Mine was incorporated into South Skelton around the turn
of the century. Nothing remains of the pit, some of the locals
didn’t know it even existed.
South Skelton Pit was taken over around 1900 by Clay Lane Iron
Co, then by Dorman Long just before 1930 until its closure in
1954 due to the import of cheaper, better ore from Australia. In
its heyday it employed a workforce of nearly 400 men and boys.
A large spoil heap next to the pits marks the site of a nature
reserve and a large pond has appeared, again due to subsidence.
The valley in which South Skelton was built was a heavily mined
area – between Guisborough and Boosbeck there were a total
of 7 pits and with a local brickworks and other related
industries, the villages of Boosbeck, Charltons and Margrove Park
were established.
If you wish to visit the pit, please remember it is private land
and permission should be sought from the owner at the old
manager’s house.
Stuart McMillan