# Harford Chalk Mine. Norfolk. 2012.



## Black Shuck (Jan 22, 2012)

"Norwich was mined for chalk and flints from the Middle Ages until the beginning of World War 2. The chalk was used for liming in agriculture and in building mortar. Flints were used to build the City Walls and some of Norwich's finest buildings. The Guildhall is an excellent example. Initially the chalk was excavated from an open hole but then tunnels were started from the side of the resulting pit, following the richest seams of flints. The oldest mines are closest to the centre of Norwich. As the city grew, mines were dug further out. The last to close was at Harford Hills, to the south of Norwich."

The wooded area surrounding the entrance to this mine clearly shows that it was once a chlak pit/quarry. The railway line is very close by as is the A140 road that runs from Cromer in North Norfolk to Ipswich is Suffolk.

Sadly, there are no detailed maps of the mines that lay within the City Boundary. It is known that the mines were privately owned and were dug between the 12th and 18th Century when record keeping was not thought necessary.


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## urban phantom (Jan 22, 2012)

Nice one mate looks good


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## losttom (Jan 22, 2012)

Nice one mate, looks good- i fancy a Norfolk trip soon so may have to meet up again


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## Black Shuck (Jan 22, 2012)

losttom said:


> Nice one mate, looks good- i fancy a Norfolk trip soon so may have to meet up again



Cheers Butt Monkey that would be great.


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## UrbanX (Jan 22, 2012)

Nice one, good job with the lightpainting. 
There would be no way I'd expect something like this to b under Norfolk!


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## Black Shuck (Jan 22, 2012)

UrbanX said:


> Nice one, good job with the lightpainting.
> There would be no way I'd expect something like this to b under Norfolk!



you'd be suprised x !! I had a hell of a job focussing mind.


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## kevsy21 (Jan 22, 2012)

Well captured,its hard going trying to get a good pic underground.


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## Black Shuck (Jan 22, 2012)

kevsy21 said:


> Well captured,its hard going trying to get a good pic underground.



Indeed it is Kevsy....... this watch black as the ace of spades down here and very hot. We were sweating like pigs after 2 hours.


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## TeeJF (Jan 23, 2012)

Nice one Schuck, looks like a good 'splore!


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## Em_Ux (Jan 23, 2012)

Good one BS


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## oldscrote (Jan 23, 2012)

Nice one Shucky,must admit I'd never heard of these before.Is that a tide mark running about half way up the walls?


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## Black Shuck (Jan 23, 2012)

oldscrote said:


> Nice one Shucky,must admit I'd never heard of these before.Is that a tide mark running about half way up the walls?



No it's actually a geological feature. The Chalk Seam runs above a seam of reddish brown clay underneath... the chalk is also interspaced with flint which was used as a local building material for thousands of years in Norfolk buildings. This Chalk Mine dates from the 1700's and the chalk was turned to lime to be used as a fertiliser on the land in the early 19th century. The mine itself closed in the early 30's.


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## Black Shuck (Jan 23, 2012)

Em_Ux said:


> Good one BS



Thanks Em.... Li and you would love the access to this one!!!


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## billyaldred (Jan 23, 2012)

Great pics, I was up there yesterday too got a few good pics

had fun squeezing through the tiny entrance!

going to go up there again next week when i have more time and get a few more!

Also if you need a map of the mine i would happily email you it


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## Black Shuck (Jan 24, 2012)

billyaldred said:


> Great pics, I was up there yesterday too got a few good pics
> 
> had fun squeezing through the tiny entrance!
> 
> ...



no thanks Blly boy.. already had one for ages.


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