Folklore: Treacle mines

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: Jack Campin
Date: 28 Nov 08 - 07:21 PM

Re the Gilead quote: "Treacle Bibles" are worth a lot of money.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: Penny S.
Date: 29 Nov 08 - 06:15 AM

That underground link would be the one that runs all the way to the tunnels under Dover Castle, would it? And the bottomless well at Buckland near Strood?

Penny

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: greg stephens
Date: 29 Nov 08 - 06:26 AM

Things are in a very sad way in the Duddon valley in Cumbria, and the Ulpha treacle mines have laid off all undergound workers; a skeleton management staff are keping the pumps going to stop the mines filling with water, and we are all praying for an upturn in the economy. Christmas is coming, and children need presents, so if anyone would like to contribute to the Distressed Treacle Miners' Fund, please send a cheque made out to me: I will make sure the money gets to someone who can make good use of it.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,Chislehurst caveman pete.
Date: 29 Nov 08 - 10:15 PM

Faversham and crayford mines. Anyone ever been down em.go to ADITNOW.CO.UK
IF NOT .Google type in Knockholt chalk mine. go to south east and Caveman pete.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,Jeremy Babcock
Date: 17 Dec 08 - 04:05 PM

The Maidstone Boro' Council are considering spending some money on turning the Tovil Treacles Mines area into a big tourist attraction. I guess it should be preserved for posterity...rather than turned into more new houses.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: Musket
Date: 18 Dec 08 - 10:55 AM

Les Barker refers to treacle mines in his "Curse of the hound of the Baskervilles."

Just thought I would add something.

Never mined treacle myself. Coal, yes, many years ago, but if there was treacle down there, I would just have taken bread down, and save a fortune on black pudding.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,RyanD
Date: 29 Dec 08 - 04:18 AM

This is becoming more and more interesting! I've only heard about Treacle Mining this morning after watching 'The Treacle People'.

Noticing on the credits that the story was based on the Dewhurst Family I Googled it.

Can't believe that the children's tale was true!!

I haven't seen on this page any mention of 'Boggarts' - the creatures that lurked in the mines. Whats the story there?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,morrison
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 11:54 AM

When I was a lad I often heard about the mines at rusper,I even went up there to look for them,what a dissapointment to find it was a myth.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,andy mackay
Date: 05 Mar 09 - 07:17 AM

Where I grew up, just down the road from Knotty Ash everyone knew about the Jam Buttie mines made famous by buck toothed, cash hording comedian Ken Dodd, although the only time I ever saw a diddy man was @ the 1973 Christmas panto @ the Empire Lime Street, I did see Ken Dodd knocking about from time to time. One time as a callow youth I was in my car with several cahorts, when I was halted @ a pedestrian crossing, and the pedestrian was none other than the previously mentioned celebrity, with a stack of newly collected dry cleaning over his shoulder. Our reaction was to lean out of the windows and give the poor guy copious amounts of stick, IE where's the diddy men ken etc etc, looking back it wasn't a nice thing to do but then that's what teenage lads are like

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,treacle people
Date: 05 Mar 09 - 12:52 PM

aye they the made a programme on Channnel four a few wee years ago about them

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,Gavin Atkin
Date: 07 Apr 09 - 06:32 AM

Quite a lot of people in Frittenden say they have a treacle mine in their gardens. But the grand-daddy of them all may be in a friend's garden....

During the course of the festival I learned that the lake at the back of my friend's house was dug by navvies who had just finished working on a local railway line. Because my garden in a nearby village is on the same clay I can say with certainty that it would have been hard, heavy work. This lake, I should say, extends to quite a few acres.

Any way it seems that when plastered with yellow and greay clay at the end of the day they would repair to the pub for a pint, and the locals would josh them about working in the treacle mine.

So there Gadaffi... another legend for your collection. You should ask our mutual friend about it when you get a chance.

Gav

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 08 Apr 09 - 02:42 AM

And of course there is now Treacle Mine Road in Wincanton ...

Kitty

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,Gadaffi
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 07:34 AM

Whilst I was in St. Thomas's Hospital earlier this year, I shared a ward with Bill Wickham who actually was the director of the Tovil Treacle Mine Co. Ltd.! He is now 88 years old, has a couple of dodgy knees, and was there for a heart bypass operation like myself!

He told me how A.E. Reed & Co Paper Mill put out a float every year at the Maidstone Carnival and invariably won. In the late 1950s they themed it around the treacle mine stories - there is a photo in the Kent Messenger for their float in 1956.

It wasn't till I was home and googled to find more information, I found an article on Bill in the Kent Messenger from last Autumn.

Oh well. Back to work after convalescence next week. It's been great fun watching YouTube features on The Treacle People and Unlucky Fried Kitten's video. Hey ho!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,Blithe Spirited One
Date: 21 Sep 09 - 12:12 PM

I had to look out those videos you mentioned (referring to the previous poster) They were indeed very interesting...and the mystery rolls on. There are a lot of unsupported claims, for sure, with regards to various Treacle Mines...but the Tovil Treacle Mines featured in the Unlucky Fried Kitten video on YouTube seem to hold a lot of water. (not literally) There are lots of intriguing little facts on this video...as it takes you through the very lane where the Treacle Mine was. I'll keep an open mind...but I'll do some more digging (not literally)

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,Blithe Spirited One
Date: 21 Sep 09 - 12:19 PM

Here's the link to the Unlucky Fried Kitten at Tovil Treacle Mines
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhNAiL0758E

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Sep 09 - 12:22 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhNAiL0758E

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 03:55 PM

You may have had this information before. Near to Cullompton in Devon is a village caLLed Butterly and as children in the 1930's and 1840's we were often told about the Butterly Treacle mines.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,Conan the Blackburnian
Date: 02 Oct 09 - 04:48 PM

The treacle mines at Tockholes were said to supply the East Lancashire Regiment Whose staple diet was Treacle & Oatcakes.Part of Preston Old Road in Blackburn was known as Treacle But Row due to the amount of empty Treacle tins in their dustbins.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: Ep' Eric
Date: 03 Oct 09 - 06:59 AM

Everyone around Brierfield knows that the only genuine "tracle" mine is the one at the foot of Pendle hill, Sabden, Lancashire and that is the proper pronunciation of it

                                           EP

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: GUEST,derek stanton ex Bluwater Folk
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 03:02 PM

Sabden Treacle Mines Raid now on you tube

the sabden treacle mines raid_0001.WMV

On the moorland tops of Gobbinland the war drums are a beating and singing the war chant.

You can't put your muck in eawr dustbin cus' eawr dustbins full

yours gradely derek stanton

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: Edthefolkie
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 04:23 PM

There was an exhaustive discussion of the Sabden treacle mines, and their potential in miniature, in the Railway Modeller magazine around 1963.

There was a suggestion about modelling a Singin' Hinny plant in the letters column shortly afterwards.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: BTNG
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 04:29 PM

Treacle mining is the fictitious mining of treacle (similar to molasses) in a raw form similar to coal. The subject purports to be serious but is an attempt to test credulity. Thick black treacle makes the deception plausible. The topic has been a joke in British humour for a century.

alot, I suppose, like the jam butty mines, near Knotty Ash

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 04:46 PM

From Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore By Elizabeth Mary Wright (Oxford University Press, 1913), page 176:

Evasive Replies to the Inquisitive

There are certain curious expressions used in the dialects as replies to children and inquisitive questioners when the person addressed does not mean to give the desired information.

For example, answers to the question What's that? are: rare overs for meddlers; lay-overs for meddlers, and crutches for lame ducks; shimshams for meddlers; a trinamanoose; a whim-wham for a mustard mill, or for a treacle-mill, a whim-wham to wind the sun up.

What are you making?
Ans. A snoffle [snout] for a duck.

What are you doing?
Ans. Muckin' ducks wi' an elsin.

What have you got in the cart there?
Ans. Only a load of post-holes.

What did that cost?
Ans. Money and fair words.

Where did that come from?
Ans. I got it from the Binsey treacle-mine (Oxf.).

What's the latest news?
Ans. The Dutch have taken Holland.

Where is he gone?
Ans. To Botn'y Baay and thefire he maay staay.

How old are you?
Ans. As owd as me tongue an owder than me teeth.

How old was So-and-So (lately deceased)?
Ans. Oh! I reckon he lived same's Tantarabobus—all the days of his life.

Why did you do that?
Ans. For fun and fancy, because Bob kissed Nancy.

What will you bring us from the Fair?
Ans. If you'll be good children, I'll bring you all a silver new-nothing to hang on your arm.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 05:44 PM

To say nothing of treacle-down economics.....works very very slowly, especially in cold weather.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Treacle mines
From: BTNG
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 05:50 PM

the there is, of course The Dormouse Treacle of the sisters who had a treacle well, and they used to draw as well, when asked by Alice what they drew, the dormouse replied..."why treacle, of course!"