Discover the historical significance of a rare surviving 17th-century alum mine in Blackburn, once visited by King James I. This Scheduled Monument offers a fascinating insight into the town's role in the historic textile industry, detailing the alum production process and the site's rich heritage. Explore the quarry faces, buried remains, and the impact of this early chemical industry.
A remarkably preserved relic of Blackburn 's past, a 17th-century alum mine , once visited by King James I , stands as a testament to the town's pivotal role in the historic textile industry. Alum, a vital chemical compound utilized primarily in textile manufacturing for fixing dyes, played a crucial part in this era. In the absence of natural deposits in Britain, alum was manufactured from specific types of shale, a prevalent rock formation.
Initially, during the medieval period, the nation relied on imports, mainly from Italy. However, the early 17th century marked a shift with the rise of domestic production, particularly in northern England. The alum mining industry quickly evolved into a significant early chemical enterprise within the UK.\The complex alum production process involved the burning of shale to generate aluminium sulfate. This substance was then converted into alum using an alkali, such as urine or potash. Despite its initial prosperity, the industry began to decline by the mid-19th century due to the emergence of innovative industrial processes. The alum works at Pleasington, now designated as a Scheduled Monument, serves as a rare, largely undisturbed example of one of the earliest inland alum works in the country. It is also the sole surviving example of an early 17th to late 18th-century alum site in northwest England. The Alum Scar Bridge, a 19th-century replacement of the original, located west of Meins Road, further highlights the importance of the alum mining industry by providing a crucial transportation route.\The history of the mine dates back to 1609, when Sir Richard Houghton, then the landowner, commissioned the German mining engineer Anthony Snyder to initiate operations. Initial production yielded a modest five to seven tons of alum by the year's end. However, the close proximity to the tanners and dyers of Bolton, Wigan, and Coppull significantly reduced transport costs, driving up demand. By 1614, Sir Richard was granted the privilege of manufacturing alum for 21 years and exporting 500 tons annually. King James I himself, during a visit to Sir Richard's Houghton Towers three years later, made a point of viewing the alum mines. The monument encompasses various quarry faces, surface remains of quarry floor working areas, test pits, roadways, spoil tips, and tip runs. Underground, the remains of steeping pits, the alum house and associated structures, and early quarry faces are believed to be preserved. While the exact date of the cessation of alum manufacture at Pleasington remains uncertain, references to workers in Blackburn parish registers in 1771 suggest production continued into the late 18th century. The primary surviving quarry, carved into the north face of Alum Crag, measures approximately 260 meters in length and 35 meters in depth, with the lower 15-20 meters containing the grey alum shale. The quarry floor is bisected by a large spoil tip, and the boggy areas on either side are believed to contain the buried remains of the calcination process and steeping pits. The alum house, where the final processing took place, is also expected to survive, along with associated buildings such as workshops, offices, and stores. Hollows on the high ground west of the main quarry indicate the location of early test pits. A smaller quarry face and working floor are located to the northwest, and a complex series of spoil tips and tip runs are found to the north of the quarries, along the slope down to Alum House Brook
Alum Mine Blackburn Textile Industry Historic Site King James I
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