![]() 'It does suggest they were told without much warning to collect their tools and move on, which is not surprising once the cobalt was exhausted, since each day there was a day paying wages.'Ĭlearly defined fingerprints were also found pushed into clay blobs that once held candles, along with the imprint of corduroy from a worker's clothing where he leaned against a wall The fact that this mine had been so well sealed meant its contents was uniquely preserved.Ī windlass, a piece of apparatus used to shift large weights or quantities of raw materials, was also discovered for the first time in the Alderley Edge mining network, and was still wound with rope.Ĭoghlan said: 'This was an important piece of mining equipment which we would have expected the workers to have taken with them for use at another mine. They also found clearly defined fingerprints pushed into clay blobs that once held candles, and the imprint of corduroy from a worker's clothing where he leaned against a wall.Įd Coghlan said that his club has explored many disused mines since it started its exploration, but most of them had been filled in with rubble or sand, or already broken into and gutted of artefacts. This includes leather shoes, clay pipes, a metal button from a jacket, mining machinery and inscriptions written in candle soot on the walls.Īlso uncovered was a clay bowl that had been buried in a wall, a practice that may have been followed by superstitious miners as an offering of thanks for a good source of mineral. Sadly, all practices were abandoned in July 1817 when imports from the continent resumed.Ĭavers from the Derbyshire Caving Club discovered numerous personal objects and pieces of equipment in the mine that had been discarded by workmen just before the shaft was sealed. This led to the resurgence of cobalt mining practices, and in about 1806 cobalt ore was discovered on Alderley Edge.Īt the time Alderley Edge was owned by Sir John Thomas Stanley who anticipated a boom in the cobalt market, and so leased out the rights to the extraction of cobalt ore to a Yorkshire pottery company in 1808. Its mining was short-lived in England because imports from Europe proved more plentiful, but these imports were halted during the Napoleonic War between 18. The latest mine extends 33 feet (10m) underground, and was spotted by the club thanks to a dip in the landscape that indicated a collapsed shaft seal.Įxperts believe it was was abandoned around 1810, having once being used for the extraction of cobalt.īlue cobalt oxide was used to colour pottery, glass and paper during the medieval and post-medieval periods, and could be found where copper was mined in Cornwall, Cumbria and Cheshire. Now the network of caves and passages is owned by the National Trust, but has been leased out to the Derbyshire Caving Club since the 1970s.Ĭlub members have been searching areas of mining that have been closed for centuries and reporting any finds to the National Trust, which have so far included a Bronze Age shovel and a Roman coin hoard. I learned a lot of patience and how to stay calm under a lot of pressure and stress at Cobalt.Written records and archaeological evidence suggest that mining took place in Alderley Edge in the Roman times, Bronze Age and between the 1690s and 1920s, for copper, lead and cobalt. I handle them all with kindness and respect no matter how they treat me. ![]() Although they can get a little impatient, customers do not intimidate me. The most difficult part is getting customers to understand our policies and that if we are busy they will have to wait for the next available table. The most enjoyable part of the job is meeting all different kinds of people and working in the beach environment. The night shift picks up quickly and things do get hectic, but I have no issue with fast-paced work because I can get in a system of doing things, think clearly, and run things smoothly. ![]() It was also my responsibility to escort parties to their table if I was not running the chart. I would assign each party a table in a timely manner, while also giving servers about 10 minutes between tables. Once customers start rolling in, we greet them and I would be assigned to the table chart. A typical day at work begins with opening the restaurant and making sure all of the windows/doors are clean, cleaning the gift shop and restocking it, restocking bathrooms, and by writing down the specials for the day. The managers kept everything organized and under control, but also trusted us to handle things on our own most of the time. I actually gained multiple friends that I still communicate with today. ![]() Most of the employees were from different countries, and I loved to learn more about them. It was a friendly and diverse work environment.
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