Ironstone Quarrying at 'The Cut', Southend in Mumbles by Ian Prothero

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Ironstone Quarrying. 'The Cut,' Southend to Limeslade, Mumbles

Introduction

This short paper is written as a retired professional geologist with a strong interest in history. The aim is not to be too technical and hopefully spark an interest in local geology. For a broader geological background of Mumbles please refer to the article: ‘Geology and Quarrying in Mumbles’ on the ‘A History of Mumbles’ website a.. Technical terms highlighted in bold are explained in the glossary at the end or can be looked up independently. The internet is a rich source.

Location.

The Cut is a geological fault line running roughly north to south from the cliff line close to the Knab Rock car park Grid Reference (GR): SS625875 to the beach at Limeslade: SS625871. At the north end of the fault it is visible as a scrub-filled gully linked by a broad swathe of short grass on the flat part of the hill to the cutting terminating at the southern end in Limeslade. At the head of the beach is a superb expression of a fault and shows the iron banding in all its rust-coloured glory along with some beautiful recrystallisation of the Carboniferous limestone rocks that make up much of Mumbles geology.

Finding information on exploitation of The Cut in books, old and new, has been challenging (see references below) hopefully this article will consolidate knowledge of Mumbles industrial past.

There is evidence of Roman presence in Oystermouth and Mumbles Hill, iron was almost certainly exploited and processed. The declivity was commercially mined in Victorian times but most certainly from the late 18th Century (C), hand in hand with limestone quarrying of Mumbles.

After falling into disuse, it was backfilled with rubble during the construction of the sewage plant within Mumbles Hill in the 1920s to 30s.  The hill was used for an anti-aircraft battery and a 6-inch coastal battery   during World War Two. It is now a quiet and peaceful Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) becoming increasing overrun by vegetation.

The processes of rock formation are quite complex (and to me very interesting) so forgive the author if you consider this:

1)    too technical

2)    not technical enough

3)    boring

A Brief Geological history of Gower

This is a tough one – how to condense 350 million years (Ma) ago into comprehensible language in a few paragraphs – here goes …

As many know continental plates are constantly shifting around the surface of our globe, Continents have collided and broken apart as they hurtled around the globe (at about 25mm, i.e. ~1 inch a year), oceans opened and closed. These events have occurred (and still occur) over billions of years.

During the early part of the Carboniferous Period (~359Ma – 299Ma) what are now the British Isles were close to the equator with warm, tropical shallow seas, similar to the Bahamas today. The calcium carbonate (CaCO3) seas had abundant living creatures such as sea lilies (echinoids), shell fish and other exotic beasties. Layers of rock including the fossil remains were deposited as layers on the sea bed building up to form limestone.

The sea was sandwiched between two continental plates. These two massive areas of land had been drifting closer together propelled by the mechanics of plate tectonics. As the continents closed together sea levels dropped and terrestrial sediments were laid down (~310Ma) – rich tropical forests of giant tree like club mosses developed (an environment similar to today’s Amazon Basin or Everglades of Florida) forming the rich coal deposits of the South Wales Coalfield.

The two continents crunched together during the Variscan Orogeny (~300 - 290Ma) forming a supercontinent – Pangea. This was the start of the Permian Period during this time of hot, desert conditions no sediments were deposited in our part of South Wales. The Carboniferous sediments were buried below the earth’s surface where the pressure and heat allowed folding and faulting of the rocks.

Continued earth movements brought these folded rocks to the surface and once again hundreds of metres of sediments were deposited on top during the Triassic Period (~252 – 201Ma). The terrestrial environment was a hot, sandy desert (comparable with the present-day red deserts of Australia) and, most importantly for us, iron-rich and red. Perhaps frustratingly, there is very little evidence of these rocks left on Gower as time and environment have weathered them away (silty red traces can be found in caves and fissures around Gower but are clearly seen as you drive into Barry from the west.

Over hundreds of millions of years these rocks were buried, squashed - not too much and not too little - and injected with hydrothermal fluids through weaker joints and faults. This essentially cooked the limestone and iron bearing sediments dissolving the calcium carbonate and iron and other metals such as lead and silver into a mineral rich soup which, as it cooled, it crystallised along the joints as CaCO3 crystals also depositing haematite, an iron-rich mineral ore.

It is not important to distinguish between ironstone and haematite and the terms for the purpose of this paper, the terms can be interchanged. In geological terms haematite (literally Greek for ‘blood-red stone’) from The Cut is the residue of metamorphic activity as the rocks were subjected to high temperatures and pressure below the Earth’s surface. It is this material that led to ironstone quarrying in Mumbles.

Over hundreds of millions of years uplift and erosion exposed the rocks at the earth’s surface exposing the West Glamorgan landscape we know today limestone, Coal Measures (Clyne Valley) and most important for this article – The Cut!  Well done, time for a cold flannel and a cup of tea!

Haematite Quarrying at The Cut

The Romans were smart operators and were in Mumbles. There is irrefutable evidence of their presence, including mosaic tesserae under All Saints Church, indicating a building of some status. It is difficult to believe that the rich veins of iron, lead and possibly other metals were not known about and exploited.

An archaeological dig was carried out in 2017 on a midden on top of Mumbles Hill by Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (GAGT) and Mumbles Development Trust (MDT), a sherd of 3rdC Roman pottery and an iron nail were discovered b.. Artefacts from the lead and silver mine at Brandy Cove are other indicators. There is much evidence of Roman metal mining and working around Wales c..

Commercial mining / quarrying certainly occurred from the mid-1840s to the end of the 19th century.

David Hughes, landlord of the Ship Aground pub owned the mine from ~1845. Ever enterprising he also built a pub on the top of Mumbles Hill – Somerset House - providing refreshment for quarry workers and other visitors. It was used as a billet for officers stationed at the defensive batteries during WW2. It is now known as Mumbles Hill House.

Fig 3. above is a very rare and beautiful photograph that I have not seen anywhere before. It is pre-infill and probably post 1900 as there are no signs of mining activity. The box, front left, is possibly the camera case giving some idea of scale. At the rear appear to be two reinforcing bars across and diagonal to the chasm.

Matthew Beynon, an iron ore miner was involved from 1845, the Libbys managed the mine from the early 1850s.

Brian E. Davies (2021) writes ‘Pugh was censured by the coroner in 1852 at an inquest at the Ship and Castle Hotel (until recently the Conservative Club, now apartments) into the death of Timothy O’Connor who was killed at the Iron Mine by rocks falling from a bucket’

Norman L. Thomas wrote of small-scale mining of limonite, another form of iron ore, being exploited in Newton. The Glamorgan Sheet XXXII d. (surveyed 1877, published 1883) shows a couple of potential sites, what appear to be narrow gashes at the south side of the very top of Newton Road and along the gardens of Newton Villas (just visible in the top left corner of Fig 1 above), the latter is along the trend of fault line that runs down to Langland.

Harold Libby, onetime mayor of Swansea and well-known resident of Mumbles wrote in his autobiography 5. that his great uncle came to Mumbles to open iron ore cuttings in Mumbles Hill. It appears that the family managed the mine and had a forge behind the Ship and Castle pub. Harold’s grandfather was brought in from Truro, subsequently his family migrated landing at Briton Ferry – part of the lively trade moving people and goods across the Bristol Channel.

The ore, Harry writes, went by boat from both Southend and Limeslade thence to Swansea and up to iron works in the Swansea Valley, it was also shipped to Briton Ferry. However, by 1899 the ore was exhausted, ironstone quarrying in Mumbles came to an end. 

The marvellous Fig 5. shows The Cut towards the end of its quarried life, of note are the relatively denuded slopes – limestone extraction continued, note the barque on the foreshore. Of interest is the yacht in the foreground – did it collide with the moored boat?

Compare with the illustrations below to show how nature has reclaimed the cliff and the cut. The curved rock exposure, helpfully pointed out by the yacht’s mast below, can be seen on both photos.

The smooth top of Mumbles Hill shows no indication of mining now, it has been infilled as discussed above. It is notable that the only growth here is cropped grass, it is not known if this is relevant. As the slope breaks to the south over the crest of the hill ‘The Cut’ is physically visible again and undergrowth covers much.

The path breaks slightly to the east, the gully continues to the right going downhill with clear exposure behind the hut on the north side of Mumbles Road, Limeslade. GR SS 6255 8718

Limeslade

The limestone has been quite severely fractured and jointed. Iron stains the rock red, this is a common feature along fault lines – the hydrothermal activity here was intense with heavy mineral deposition.

Go down the steps to Limeslade beach turn left and look north, there is a fantastic exposure of the ironstone, distinctive swirling red blobs of ore set in white calcium carbonate crystals, some quite large – this indicates slow cooling of the hydrothermal fluids. Similar characteristics are seen on the west side of the bay.

Uses of The Quarried Ironstone

The ore was shipped to Swansea and Briton Ferry and smelted in the local iron foundries. The lime kiln at the north end of The Cut suggests that the ore was separated from the lime – this would reduce shipping costs. The quarried ore was carried by barrow or horse-drawn cart on to the beach at Southend or Limeslade to be loaded on barques for the journey across the bay and Bristol Channel.

Building

Decorative crystalline cock & hen. Very little quarried material was considered waste, the quarries supplied decorative stone for topping front walls. Most notable but tucked away in the ‘cock and hen’ front walls with large crystalline features and red staining to be found in the back streets of Mumbles. The author has been told that the distinctive curve and spiky coping was designed to ‘prevent teenagers sitting on the wall’ - he hasn’t tried it for comfort.

The rock from The Cut has been metamorphosed, resulting in crystallisation of the calcium carbonate and distinctive pink / red iron staining. This colouration can be seen in situ at Limeslade and bare rock surfaces around the cliffs. If you search around Mumbles walls of a certain age - with open eyes - you can see the difference between the ‘standard’ grey limestone and pink-tinged material from the ironstone quarry.

Mumbles Road Collapse 1996

I am indebted to the enterprising Colin Jones who provided some invaluable highlighting that geology is ancient and contemporary - human exploitation has consequences.

Until the late 1880s Mumbles Road extended not further than the old lifeboat house. The ‘New Road’ via ‘The Cutting’ (constructed to commemorate Queens Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887- don’t confuse with ‘The Cut’) was extended beyond Bracelet Bay to Limeslade.  In 1996 the adit collapsed creating a large hole in the Mumbles Road at Limeslade. Colin and a colleague took the opportunity to explore and survey that part of the mine. The depth of the collapse was ~9m from roadway to beach level.

Mumbles Hill:

‘The Cut’ was backfilled in part with rubble from the excavation of the huge caverns used for sewage storage (part of the Swansea Main Drainage Scheme 1931 -1936). The present-day Bracelet Bay car park is made up of spoil from the sewage works construction. 

Paul William’s fantastic photo above is a revelation. The Apple is roughly where the foremost white hut is.

Mumbles Employment:

The Cut was not necessarily worked throughout the year. The workers would have also been employed dressing the stone and working seasonally on the oyster fisheries. The quarried ironstone was carried by barrow or horse-drawn cart on to the beach piled up by men, women and children.

Regional Importance

Biodiversity and Potential Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological (Geodiversity) Site: ‘This area is part of the Local Nature Reserve, designated in 1991. Part of Gower AONB, UK’s first designated. The hill is also a potential RIGS (Regionally Important Geodiversity Site) of priority interest. The proposal states in part ‘Mumbles Hill (262700 187500) has Oxwich Head Limestone containing corals and bivalves. This area has a mineral cutting in the headland of haematite which was worked during the eighteenth [sic] century. The hematite-calcite vein was up to 1.4m wide. The trend of this vein is north -south.’ e.

Consequences and Legacy of Quarrying

Much of the once denuded quarried areas of Mumbles including ‘The Cut’ have gradually become overgrown, our former industrial heritage is reclaimed by nature providing diverse habitats for flora and fauna including some invasive species such as holm oak and cotoneaster providing a green and (arguably)  pleasant cover.

Conclusion

Over the centuries a small volume of haematite was extracted from ‘The Cut’, it doesn’t appear to be hugely significant in scale. However, it was very likely to have been exploited by the Romans through to the late 19thC. It was filled in during the construction of the sewage works in the 1930s and the work of nature has resulted in the fading of a little known and understood corner of South Wales’ industrial history. It would be great if more research was carried out.

My hope is that you will walk around your own home-area with wider eyes and think of how geology has affected the history – it will have.

Acknowledgements
In 1976 several of my colleagues and I scrambled from Knab Rock to the top of The Cut under the guidance of Dr Tony Ramsay, our carbonate-geology lecturer in our first year as young geologists at Swansea University. I suspect like many who worked there before us we ended up in The Pilot. Unfortunately, I have few memories and no photos of that. It has carried me through my career and continuing interest in geology, especially limestones. Perhaps I wasn’t a very good student but I learnt a hell of a lot and still care.

Thanks to John Powell (A History of Mumbles website) for proposing this topic early (apologies for the slow gestation) he also heartily contributed photos, information and guidance. Colin Jones of Sketty freely provided personally researched and fascinating material on the road collapse at Limeslade in 1996, I hope to learn more from him and I hope his work becomes better known. Stuart Batcup and Paul Williams allowed use of Figs 3. And 16 from personal collections. Thanks also to those whose properties I photographed for the article.

Great thanks to Sue Dovey and Sian Maslin-Prothero for their pickily-perfect editing skills.

If anyone can provide more information on The Cut I would be pleased to extend and update this article.

Any mistakes and omissions are my responsibility. Little of my work is from primary sources, as ever I stand on the shoulders of others.

Online Sources :

a.    https://sites.google.com/site/ahistoryofmumbles a rich source of information on many topics

b.    http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/historic_landscape/gower/english/Gower_042.htm

c.    http://www.welshmines.org/

d      https://maps.nls.uk/view/102342559 (Glamorgan XXXII (includes: Bishopston; Oystermouth)-6

e. https://sewrigs.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/rigs-sites-of-geological-and-landscape-interest-in-city-and-county-of-swansea.pdf

f.     https://archive.swansea.gov.uk/cambrian

g.    http://lle.gov.wales/map#m=-3.99324,51.59032,12&b=europa&l=112 for the lidar image

h.    www.lidarfinder.com

i.     https://britishlibrary.georeferencer.com/maps/9be0a2f3-6523-5c2d-9b34-5c01c2f12222/view#

j.     https://www.swansea.gov.uk

k.https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=17.3&lat=51.57283&lon=-4.01218&layers=6&right=ESRIWorld

References:

1.    Gareth T George: The Geology of South Wales, A Field Guide, 2021 (3rd Edition)

2.    Minerva: The Swansea History Journal

3.    Norman L Thomas: The Mumbles-Past and Present, 1978

4.    Gerald Gabb: The Story of the Village of Mumbles, 1986

5.    Harry Libby: The Mixture Mumbles and Harry Libby, 1962

6.    Brian E. Davies: Mumbles and Gower Pubs, 2006

7.    Brian E. Davies: A-Z of Mumbles Gower, 2021

Illustrations
The majority were sourced from the OHA archives and AHoM website with thanks to Stuart Bishop, Paul Williams (Fig 15. The first time I have seen this photo), also Colin Jones (Fortes Café) and John Powell. Others, uncredited, have been lifted from the internet. Maps and Lidar are credited appropriately.

Many thanks to the copyright holders and apologies if I have trodden on any toes. If they contact me will be happy to acknowledge them in future as needed. The photographs and maps have given me a huge amount of pleasure.