Historical mining in chalk – utilising temporal and spatial research for identifying and assessing occurrence, scale, duration, physical form and extent, and resultant geo-hazard: example of Reading, southern England

Previously largely overlooked, instances of chalk mine collapses over the last few years have raised the occurrence of this historical extraction to the fore. Now, increasingly, the geo-hazard, both to existing settlement, infrastructure and future re-developments is becoming evident, set against the increasing push for brownfield usage, and urban in-filling. With the bulk of chalk mining having occurred on the contemporary fringes of settlements, now long built-over, these constitute perhaps the most urban-centric mining hazard, after coal, in the UK. Yet, whilst on-site, geotechnical works might be the means to physically locate and delimit mine workings, the role of historical awareness remains less well-appreciated. Addressing such shortcoming, this paper draws upon the experiences of a thesis in which the chalk-mining history for Reading, Southern England, was comprehensively reconstructed. It outlines how mining was inherently ephemeral, rendering historical research as the essential means of identifying past occurrence. Following from this, the research challenges are discussed, mining predominately occurring before sources typically relied upon, demanding instead alternative medium. When coupled with knowledge of this particularly unique mining, Reading exemplifies how bespoke studies can identify where activity occurred, or anticipated, as well as affording key insight on mine workings themselves. Ultimately, it demonstrates the complimentary relationship between ‘desk’ research and site works, and by this, successful methodology that can be adopted where studying, investigating or assessing hazard posed by historical mining in chalk.