When Coal Mining Was Local - An Illustrated Talk

Brian Shingler has lived at Gant's Mill since 1949 and is fascinated by the history of this former silk mill and has followed this up with research in the County Archive. There he discovered a forgotton story of one of the mill's former owners, Theophilus Percival, who in the early 1800s was well know in social and business circles and an enthusiastic entrepeneur.

On seeing others around Bath Avon and Radstock making a killing by opening up coal-mines, he thought - on the basis of very little evidence - that under the clay of South Brewham lay - if you dug deep enough - coal.

Despite the negative evaluation of William Smith who visited the site and was one of the first geologists and published the first map of the geology of the country, Theophilus pressed ahead, set up a company and got 100 local worthies to stump up £20 each, at least £1000 by today's values. With this they founded a mining company and employed a foreman and teams of miners to start digging. Over three years they went down 625 feet, but found no coal. At that point suddenly water came flooding in at such a rate that the whole enterprise had to be abandoned and all the share-holders lost almost all the money they had invested.

Told with maps and diagrams and pictures it was a fascinating account of an incident in local history which was big at the time but which, because it failed and the land was cleared up afterwards, has been almost forgotten.

Brian spoke with humour, sympathy and considerable knowledge of the people involved and of the time, illuminating the tough lives of the majority and the grand lives of the gentry - who discounted Smith because he was not one of them. It was also a time when the population doubled in a few decades and energy and transport links were in short supply.

It was also the time when a canal was planned to run from Bath to Poole to carry all the hoped for manufactured goods and coal. It would have run through Wincanton and Bruton, but because enough coal was never found it was never built.

Many questions were asked and there was an excellent turnout with everyone staying to chat afterwards over a glass of wine in the Balsam Centre.