1818 Auctioneers
Lot 1151
A rare and impressive late Victorian full sized silver mounted oak presentation spade, of local interest, the shaped and foliate moulded blade with engraved presentation inscription reading 'Presented to Harry Arnold Esq Chairman of The Hodbarrow Mining Co Ltd on The Occasion of his cutting the first sod of The Outer Sea Embankment Works April 27th 1900, Coode Son & Matthews Engineers, John Aird & Co Contractors, Cedric Vaughan, William Barratt Managing Directors. Marks for London 1899 maker Elkington & Co Ltd, the shaped socket issuing an oak stem with fluted, petal and foliate carved detail and silver mounted handle, the silver mount with embossed foliate detail and engraved initials AH, marks for Sheffield 1899, maker Sibray, Hall & Co, 90cm overall x 21cm wide , all housed on a hinged oblong fitted and plush lined oak case with inset ivory label for R & S Garrard & Co, Crown Goldsmiths and Jewellers. ivory decleration/exemption number FK6KLSAC ***The first of the Hodbarrow iron ore (red hematite) mines, located between Millom and the seashore at Hodbarrow Point in Cumberland (now Cumbria), opened in c.1850. At that time Millom was a small settlement, but it was to grow rapidly in association with the mines and iron works. By 1896, Hodbarrow Mining Co. Ltd. was employing 1,435 people, (1,117 working below ground, and 318 working on the surface) It was the largest iron mine in the world at that time. The company built a substantial seawall (the 'Hodbarrow Outer Barrier') to protect the mines from the sea. This was completed in 1905, having taken five years and almost £600,000 to build. The mines closed in 1968. The 105 hectar site of the former mine was purchased by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1986. It is now the Hodbarrow Reserve, which is now a large coastal lagoon and grasslands, and part of the part of the Duddon Estuary SSSI.
90cm x 21cm
