UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC LIGHTING IN THE 1880S: CLAYTON MINE,ECTON, STAFFORDSHIRE

Abstract

In 2008 evidence was first identified for 1880s use of electrical lighting deep underground in Clayton Mine at Ecton; further data was gathered in 2014 when archaeological excavations were undertaken. This lighting illuminated the main chamber, where there was a steam engine for winding and pumping, and also an adjacent side chamber where there was a further engine used to produce compressed air. Both engines are documented as installed in 1883/4. In a second side chamber a stone bed remains for another small steam engine, which we now know powered a DC dynamo set on a timber floor that kept the equipment free from the puddles of water that collected on the bedrock below. All three chambers were whitewashed to make lighting more effective. Archaeological finds include a commutator brush, a mica separator from the commutator, copper wiring and pieces of drive belt. Clayton Mine was abandoned in 1889/90; hence this is a demonstrable important example with archaeological evidence for the early use of electricity.