Hidden Teesside

Mines were originally ventilated by having a furnace at the bottom of the shaft to draw air through the mine, with the associated fire risk.

Two types of fanhouses seem to be used across most of Cleveland (they often seem to be the only remaining buildings)

The Guibal is earlier and uses a lower speed, large diameter fan to pull the air from the mine up through the chimney.

The Sirocco is a later centrifugal fan, invented by Samuel Davidson , with narrow
blades curved forward, mounted at the periphery of a braced, open drum. It
is a high-speed, small-diameter fan.

Skelton mine was located above what is now Waterfall Farm near Guisborough, a very busy area for mines being only a short distance from Skelton Park, Spa Wood,  Tocketts, South Skelton and Aysdalegate.

The void where the fan stood is accessable through a very tight squeeze on the eastern wall, or by scaling the western wall.

The top of the filled shaft is visible as a ring of bricks just to the south of the fan house.

A few building foundations remain around what is now a dirt bike track.The most complete building is the partly submerged Sirocco fanhouse which still bears its 1919 building date.

A short distance behind the fan house is a crack in the ground just big enough for a person to fit through. This gives access to the drift mine

Exploration further than here would be extremely dangerous due to rotting supports and chiefly lack of oxygen due to no ventilation

The mine extends all the way over to the mines are Roseberry Topping, with remains of another drift and powder house being visible at Summerhill

Exact location removed to discourage casual visitors.