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Post by georgeg on Feb 17, 2009 18:19:18 GMT 1
Information not needed now, I have found the name of the old homestead near nibon, AND another one which I did not know existed AND.. a few names of the auld ruins..
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Post by georgeg on Feb 18, 2009 23:27:21 GMT 1
Does anyone have any information on Little Canada at johnny manns loch.. they were mining for something to help us in WW2 but I can't find it on the various threads, I also kind of remember there was a poem about them.. any help at all would be great.. its for Shetlopedia who are doing an article about nibon and gunnister... and hopefully the gunnister man.. Thanks.. geordie..
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Post by allen on Feb 19, 2009 18:29:40 GMT 1
George, Johnny Man's loch was the camp for the WW2 Canadian miners tunnelling at Clothister Hill Mine see description below. I'll pm you the photos and the poem Allen
At Clothister Hill there is a bed of graphite-schist associated with an epigenetic deposit of magnetite. The orebody consists of very pure massive magnetite (iron content 60-70%) with an exceptionally low phosphorus content (0.5%) enclosed in a skarn consisting of garnet, hornblende, pyroxene and epidote. The Geological Survey discovered the orebody in 1933 and the first adit mine was opened by the Scottish Home Department during investigations between 1941 and 1943 with a view to exploit the deposit. This lenticular deposit was found to be about 53m long and 3m wide with a north-south trend and a steep westerly dip. The estimated volume of the orebody was 4000 cubic metres giving a possible 20,000 tons of ore. Between 1953 and 1957 Deering Shetland Mining Ltd., a subsidiary of Deering Products Ltd of Canada, extracted ore by adit and opencast methods. The ore was for use in the manufacture of heavy mud for a coal flotation process and between 6,000 and 10,000 tons of ore was obtained at an extraction rate of 300-400 tons of crushed rock per month.
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Post by georgeg on Feb 19, 2009 19:34:01 GMT 1
Allen. Many many thanks for that information.. I did get your PM and have replied to it by email.. george..
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Post by maree on Feb 27, 2009 22:18:10 GMT 1
I've just noticed your post about Johnnie Mann's Loch George. Glad to see that Allen has replied to you and I'll just add that Allen has info on this as part of the geology tour on the northmavine.com homepage............so you didn't dream that you'd seen something on here about the story!! With regard to the Gunnister Man, I've found some good info via Google in the past but I didn't save any of it The Northmavine History Group is in the process of installing an interpretation board near the site where the Gunnister Man was found and intend to mark the exact spot with a local stone. Planning permission for the board has been granted and hopefully it will be in place in the next couple of months
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Post by georgeg on Mar 17, 2009 22:22:58 GMT 1
This is what i've found out about the settlement in the hills south of the road end at nibon.. The settlement was called Meenas Pund.. It lies to the east of Wilson's Noup.. It has a water mill, a laxigird [Salmon Trap] and an Otter trap.. The Laxigird and Water Mill.. The Otter Trap.. Looking north from Meenas Pund.. and down to the sea is Bledawick.. it was another settlement, given up because the sea salt kept ruining the crops.. Moving further north we come to the ruin of Valerness.. its situated on the left side of the track leading to the Salmon farm.. Moving further north we come to Snobule ruin [ the last tennent was called Sandison ] Across the voe lies Saeter O Enisfirth, the ex home of the brother and sisters who used to live there.. This is some of the other ruins, unfortunatly no names.. This is probably an old grave marker.. it was only a short distance from one of the ruins.. This is the only occupied croft on the Nibon side of Gunnister Voe.. it is Gunnister.. many thanks to the crofter who helped me gather this information..
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Post by benjiesmum on Mar 21, 2009 8:08:48 GMT 1
Lovely walking country. II think it's sad though to see so many crofts in ruins. I know the reason many left their crofts - I often come across ruins like this around where I live - more than I thought too. The windows always look like sad eyes.....
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Post by georgeg on Mar 21, 2009 13:01:36 GMT 1
Hi.Benji. I agree they do look sad and forlone, but interesting too, it makes you wonder just how hard it would be to live there, i've started an album of old ruins, but not for this forum, as going by all the replies, i don't think anyone is interested, the place where i found the strange rock, it was in a stream behind an old ruin, i had targeted the ruin as one i wanted to photograph, it was just as i wandered up the stream when i came across the rock, it was shimmering in the stream..
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Post by allen on Mar 21, 2009 14:47:42 GMT 1
Will you be putting your ruins album on your web-site? they are certainly interesting, as is the people who once lived in them Ian Tait at the museum is the man to ask about Shetland croft and other ruins and their features - I understand he has a book in press at the moment on the subject
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Post by georgeg on Mar 21, 2009 15:04:57 GMT 1
Hi.Allen. I have just recently started the album, I may put them in my website, but not for a wee while yet, not until i gather more information about them and their history.. my website mainly draws in people from all over England a few in Canada and USA.. but not too sure if they would find ruins as interesting as me..
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Post by allen on Mar 21, 2009 16:01:29 GMT 1
Hi George, How do you go about targeting your ruins? Do you know about the availability of old maps on line at the National Library of Scotland at www.nls.uk/maps/index.htmlThe six inch to the mile are here and zoomable/panable www.nls.uk/maps/os/6inch/shetland.html Usef ul for croft names Northmaven is from about sheet nos XIV to about XXIX
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Post by georgeg on Mar 21, 2009 16:56:32 GMT 1
Allen. Many thanks for the link. I used it a short time ago, and found out the old name of the ruin at Graven.. its Stenswall, just beneath Moorfield, which i've just found out.. it was a School for boys and girls.. dated about 1878..
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Post by georgeg on Jun 18, 2009 20:32:31 GMT 1
This is the new sign erected.. its about the Gunnister Man.. Allen I have not done anything yet about the ruins of Shetland.. but here are three photos I took today at Nibon.. Sign.. Ruins..
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Post by maree on Jun 21, 2009 11:19:03 GMT 1
The colours and clarity of your photos of the ruins are fab george Thanks for the stories......fascinating stuff and we look forward to seeing more in the future
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Post by georgeg on Jul 29, 2009 13:56:01 GMT 1
I've just found out the surname of the folk who lived in saeter of ennisfirth.. it is
Bigland..
george.
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