Inscriptions in mines and quarries

Quarryman

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I thought it would be a useful thing to have a topic where we can share inscriptions we have recorded in mines and quarries. Sometimes these can be hard to interpret, and by having other pairs of eyes looking at them we might be of assistance to each other. It would also be nice to simply share stuff out of interest. It would be nice not to include modern explorer stuff, unless it is of interest in its own right, recording an important discovery, for example. Not that I condone doing this but you do come across it now and again. I am particularly interested in the mutual assistance aspect. Like, does anyone else come across this sort of thing, or I am struggling to read the letters in this name and so on.

nobody should feel obliged to mention locations, although this could in itself be useful.

For no other reason than I find this open to interpretation, here is what I think is a tally from one of the Surrey mines east of Merstham.

I suggest it is a daily tally of something, over three weeks, 6 working days a week.RS0078.jpg
 
Although a simple inscription, this could well be the Holy Grail. Sorry, refuse to name location.

KC_Dunham.jpg
 
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The name of the photo gives away the inscriber, Sir Kingsley Charles Dunhan. As I have said though, I refuse to name the location, indeed I am bound by my code of honour not to do so.
 
I think this says
'Fed up to the teeth
???? 11/1/28' ?

And I think I would be if I'd been working in there.
121.jpg
 
I can certainly add underground stone quarry stuff, this has always been my favourite though . Since no one had ever claimed to of seen it , before my original post I found it interesting & surprising. 52953177616_de0f76c68a_o-compressed.jpeg

Also just to add one of the legendary ones in here also 52378608838_d47e1acfc0_o-compressed.jpeg
 
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We found this one at the top of a sump in the Northern Pennines.
Does it mean 'Don't be so curious'? Or did the sump emit a foul odour?

mtn.jpg
 
The name of the photo gives away the inscriber, Sir Kingsley Charles Dunhan. As I have said though, I refuse to name the location, indeed I am bound by my code of honour not to do so.
Excuse my ignorance, why is this chap significant?
 
He seems to have been behind the discovery that the Weardale granite pre-dated the deposition of the Carboniferous Alston Block beds. Presumably the Rookhope borehole? Conventional thinking had been that the granite had been intruded into the Carboniferous beds, with mineral emplacement during intrusion.
 
I am trying to think of an equivalent in my world. Maybe finding William Topley's name down Godstone!
 
We found this one at the top of a sump in the Northern Pennines.
Does it mean 'Don't be so curious'? Or did the sump emit a foul odour?

View attachment 808
Might not have been the SUMP emitting the odour....... A bit like me saying "you might want to stay back for a while if you are following me....."
 
The attachment is from Smallcleugh, all got lost some time later, chalk doesn't tend to last for ever anyway, some mines Whitesyke? have very impressive letter cutting by (bored?) miners.

Jim
 

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There's the numbers carved in Dunsley Springs Level (Via Gellia) at roughly regular intervals, increasing by ten each time as you go inbye. I discovered that they continued in the lower level accessible from the winze at the end and put forward the suggestion in the PDMHS newsletter that the miners were marking the distance to Great Rake, and the level was intended to cut that vein below the toadstone. It did but it was a waste of effort; said vein is pretty much barren at that horizon!

Staying in the Via Gellia, there's also the infamous inscription in Spinney Level - I don't have a photo of it, but I did come to the conclusion based on some of the wording and style of writing that it was antique obscenity...
 
There's the numbers carved in Dunsley Springs Level (Via Gellia) at roughly regular intervals, increasing by ten each time as you go inbye. I discovered that they continued in the lower level accessible from the winze at the end and put forward the suggestion in the PDMHS newsletter that the miners were marking the distance to Great Rake, and the level was intended to cut that vein below the toadstone. It did but it was a waste of effort; said vein is pretty much barren at that horizon!

Staying in the Via Gellia, there's also the infamous inscription in Spinney Level - I don't have a photo of it, but I did come to the conclusion based on some of the wording and style of writing that it was antique obscenity...
Have you worked out what unit of measurement they were using? There is a sequence of numbers along the length of the same workings those tallies are in I posted yesterday which increase by 20, starting at the remotest point and rising towards the entrance. It looks like the measurement was in poles (AKA rods or perches) the highest number is 140. This one is 80, both in chalk on the wall and soot on the roof.20220905_115306_reduced.jpg
 
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Adam, have you got a photo of the pencil graffiti in Ashford BM? I can't find my pic.

You remember the bit where someone is describing what he would like to do to Miss so-and-so....
 
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