Hidden Remains of Coal Pen?
Hidden Remains of Coal Pen?
by: Hugh C-J
The overgrown mound in the background of the picture of the Oldbury Brook Spill Weir is not all earth. A glimpse of a shaped stone behind a curtain of weeds invited further examination and probing with a metal rod revealed more such stones. It appears that under the mound there is a low wall along the side of the towpath, about one foot high and 27 feet long with one opening. I look forward to having a better view after the vegetation is cleared.
The stones are on the line of the north-east wall of a 19th century coal pen shown on the c1880 OS map. The pen was used as a temporary store for coal on its way to three nearby woolen cloth mills. It appears that the surviving stones were abandoned when most were removed for another use, and I do hope they will remain in situ after the whole area is tidied up.
