Monument record 7980/2 - Bell Pits West of Hough Hole Farm

<1> Historic England & Archaeological Research Services, 2017, Cheshire National Mapping Programme and Lidar Mapping Project: Sampling the Peak Fringe, Cheshire Plain and Mersey Valley, 1599754 (Digital Archive). SCH8172.

Extensive post medieval coal mining centred at approximately SJ 944 758 on the eastern slopes of Kerridge Hill is visible as earthworks on vertical aerial photography and lidar imagery. Though some of the features are obscured by tree cover on the latest 2011 vertical aerial photography, the remainder appear to be extant.

The majority of the coal mining is visible as large groups (centred at SJ 9448 7573 and SJ 9442 7620) or smaller clusters (SJ 9445 7531 and SJ 9428 7661) of mine shafts and associated mounds and spoil heaps. Associated trackways cross the eastern slopes, providing access to the site and linking some of the mounds (see 2-4).

<2> National Remote Sensing Centre Ltd, 1992-3, National Remote Sensing Centre County Survey (1992-1993), SJ97NW, 31/10/1992 (Aerial Photograph). SCH5297.

<3> Environment Agency, 2003-2020, Environment Agency LiDAR Surveys, SJ9475, 19-22/04/2006 (Digital Archive). SCH7819.

<4> Next Perspectives, 2011, Aerial Photography for Great Britain, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery (2011), SJ9476, 08/04/2011 (Aerial Photograph). SCH8291.

<5> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Edwards R, 01/08/2017 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

Area of pits and spoil heaps visible as earthworks to the west the site of Hough Hole Farm (see 6). Some of the pits appear to be bell pits and form part of the wider coal mining area referred to in (1).

<6> Bluesky International Ltd, 2010, 2010 Bluesky Survey (Aerial Photograph). SCH5444.

<7> Higham N J, 1984-9, Professor Nick Higham's Aerial Photographs, 1988/2/2/3 (Aerial Photograph). SCH7659.