Mortar mill at Big Pit being conserved.
Every colliery had one of these. The ash produced from steam boilers on site was mixed with lime in the mortar mill and used for building and brickwork -no concrete needed. At Big Pit the lime came fromthe local quarry at Garnddyrus.
The mortar mill was in use at Big Pit until the 1950s, but was buried when it fell into disuse. Our conservation experts have excavated and restored this feature - once a vital part of the colliery.