Head-frame

Definition

Indicate an assembly of Madrier S and beams which support a wall, part of construction. It is the structure carrying a temporary scaffolding, laid out in order to carry out work of recovery in underpinning.

Particular case: the head-frame of mine

In mining industry, it is also the structure which is used for killing and going up the minors, as well as the ore, via a lift shaft. That it is out of wood, metal or concrete, the head-frame always fulfills the same function: it supports the serrated rollers over which pass the winding ropes which, driven by the machinery, plunge to the right of the well to retain the cage. Essential component of an underground mining, the head-frame is the building by far most visible and highest with the Terrils and, in fact, more symbolic system. This is why its function goes beyond the bond between " the jour" and " the fond": by the diversity of its architecture (no head-frame not being identical to another), it underlines the characteristic of the mining landscape, but also makes it possible to identify the mining company which raised it. In the north of France, the head-frames of the coal basin were sometimes indicated by the " term; Belfry " , because of their form pointing out the municipal towers of the Flemish cities. In Belgium, one also finds the denomination " beautiful fleur" or " frame with molettes" , while in France the rest term is also employed.

Beyond this diversity, the shape of the head-frames revêt nevertheless repetitive forms, primarily according to the site of the winding engine: when this one is located on the ground (in a dedicated building or the same hall as the head-frame), the tower of the rest will rise up to the level of the serrated rollers and will be pressed on strong oblique jambs in order to as well as counter the forces of traction of the cable of the cages within the well; when the manufacturer chooses to place the machine at the top of the rest, this last will generally take the shape of a steel or concrete tower (bordering the 60 meters).

The head-frames are closely associated in France with the extraction of the coal. In spite of the closing of the almost totality of the fields in France (except in particular for the salt and slate layers), of many head-frames and even classified historic buildings were preserved, like historical symbols of the Industrial revolution and the economic development of whole areas (coal in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the the Moselle, but also Potasse in the Département of Haut-Rhin).

Gallery

Here some examples of head-frames built during the 20th century in the Basin of the the Ruhr (Germany):

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