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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.

News 1966 7 mins

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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.