The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
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Blue John Mine
Armed with only a hammer and chisel Cyril Harrison sets to work extracting Derbyshire's famous Blue John stone - a prize rumoured to have been treasured since Roman times.
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Overview
The Treak Cliff outside Castleton in Derbyshire is the only site in Europe where Blue John is mined. The decorative fluorspar can be worked into jewellery or bowls and, as miner Cyril Harrison shows ATV Today's Barri Haynes, it's hard physical work that requires an expert eye. Luckily the Harrison family has been in sole charge of Treak Cavern since 1945 so Barri is in a safe pair of expert hands.
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