Treacle mining

Treacle mining is the fictitious mining of treacle (similar to molasses) in a raw form similar to coal. The subject purports to be serious but is an attempt to test credulity. Thick black treacle makes the deception plausible. The topic has been a joke in British humour since the mid-19th century.

One possible origin of the joke is from 1853 when 8,000 British Army soldiers were camped on Chobham Common. The camp included storehouses containing barrels. When the soldiers left for the Crimean War and the site was dismantled, they buried barrels to avoid having to remove them. Some of the barrels contained treacle and Chobham villagers who discovered and removed them were called "treacle miners" as a joke. Local folklore about treacle mining was extended back into history back to Roman Britain.

Another explanation is that "treacle" meant 'a medicine', derived from the appearance of the Greek derivative 'theriacal' meaning medicinal (Greek theriake "curative", "antidote"), so the various healing wells around Britain were called "treacle wells". Treacle later came to mean a sticky syrup after the popularity of a honey-based drug called "Venice treacle", and the continued use of the old form in the treacle wells led to the joke.

In Devon, on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, UK, the remains of mines that produced micaceous hematite, used as pounce to dust early ink to prevent smearing, are known locally as "Treacle Mines" since they show a glistening black residue that looks like treacle.

The village of Sabden in Lancashire cultivated a considerable body of folklore about local treacle mining in the 1930s. The local newspaper helped foster the myth, publishing numerous stories about the fictional mines.

The paper mills around Maidstone in Kent were known as "The Tovil Treacle Mines" by locals, after the area where one of the mills owned by Albert E. Reed was situated. The company helped the myth with a float in Maidstone carnival with a "treacle mine" theme. One suggested source of to the story in this area is a rumour that the paper industry was threatened during the Second World War because there was no imported timber. Fermentation of straw was tried, creating a sticky goo. There were attempts to make paper from other than rags in the 19th century and an early commercial success was achieved by Samuel Hook and his son, Charles Townsend Hook, using straw at Upper Tovil Mill in the 1850s. The road next to Upper Tovil Mill became known, and was later named, as Straw Mill Hill. To produce pulp, the straw was cooked in hot alkali. After separation of the fibre, the remaining liquid looked like black treacle. Upper Tovil Mill closed in the 1980s and the site was used for a housing estate.

...
Wikipedia