Lead Mining in Swaledale

The large peat house here supplied fuel to Blakethwaite lead smelt mill just across Gunnerside Beck. The smelt mill began working from 1819 although it did not reach full capacity for two more years. The peat house was probably built around 1820 by Thomas Chippendale and Company who leased the Blakethwaite Mine.

The building is approximately 42 metres long and 6.6 metres wide and probably had a heather thatch roof. It once had doorways in the gable ends while the side wall facing the beck has four surviving open arches. The peat was cut from the moorland above and slid down the hillside on a peat slide ready to be stacked under cover.

Bunton Level and the impressive hushes around it were part of the Lownathwaite mining complex in Gunnerside Gill. Lead was worked here from the late seventeenth century and the hushes are perhaps the most spectacular in the country.

At this point, the valley cuts across four major veins of lead ore. The exposed veins in the valley sides were easily exploited by open-cast working and later, by driving levels into the valley sides.

Hushing is a form of open-cast working where water is used to clear off topsoil and vegetation to expose the veins underneath. Miners would build a dam above the valley side which was fed by hand-dug channels or least.

Once enough water had collected, they would break the dam and allow the torrent of water to rush down the hillside scouring away soil and plants. The rock and hopefully, veins of lead ore, would then be exposed and could be dug out. The water which built up again behind the hush dams would then be used to help in dressing the lead ore, separating it from other minerals. It might also have been used to flush unwanted material into the stream below. Thousands of tons of debris ended up in the River Swale, permanently altering its natural flow.

Grinton smelt mill, originally known as How or Low Mill, is the best preserved of the Yorkshire Dales smelt mills.

The location of the smelt mill was specially chosen because of the easy availability of water power from Cogden Beck. The building complex was shoehorned into the narrow space, making full use of all available flat land as well as the moderately steep gradient. A dam was constructed upstream of the mill and a leat system, still visible today, led the water into the mill via a launder to turn the overshot water wheel which powered the bellows for the hearths. Some of the timber frameworks for this operation are still visible inside the building but not, alas, the waterwheel itself.

The smelt mill was integral to the process of mining lead in the Yorkshire Dales. Transporting the heavy lead ore a long distance was usually uneconomic, so many mining companies built smelt mills close to their mines. Here at Grinton, the first smelt mill was built in the early 1700s. Between 1820-22 it was rebuilt and the flue was extended up onto Sharrow Hill. Longer flues allowed lead to be reclaimed from the waste gases given off from the furnaces. Smelting here ceased in December 1895.

Unlike other lead smelt mills in the Yorkshire Dales, this building retains its roof and some of the wooden fittings inside. It survives because it was used as a sheep dip in the twentieth century. A six metre diameter waterwheel beside the north wall of the bellows room was fed by an overhead wooden trough or ‘launder’. The wheel powered a large set of bellows which blew air to the back of the three furnaces. The wheel has been scrapped, but the bellows frame and part of the launder survive.

The furnace room had two ore hearths and one slag hearth, all set into arched alcoves. The slag hearth part has been altered, and its original layout is unclear. The flue above the three hearths ran to a now demolished chimney on Sharrow Hill. Peat cut from the moors was burned in the hearths and the open-sided peat store can be seen beyond the mill.

We have placed two interpretation panels inside the building with reconstruction drawings of the mill in its final phase of use.

The site can be visited as part of our Grinton smelt mill walk route. We have also produced a video tour of the site – Find it on our Youtube channel.

Grinton smelt mill has a Miles without Stiles route.

East of Gunnerside Gill lie the Old Gang lead mines. Here, the most obvious remains are the smelt mill and peat store which were built early in the nineteenth century when the mines were operating on a large scale.

The huge peat store is a remarkable building. It was reputed to hold 3 year’s worth of fuel. It is around 119 metres long and 6.4 metres wide separated into 3 bays by two internal stone partition walls. It has stone gables and side walls formed from 36 individual stone piers. A heather-thatched roof was supported on timber trusses. Peat stores were open-sided to allow the blocks of peat to dry thoroughly before they were used as fuel in the smelt mill furnaces. A trackway leads down to the peat store from the hillside where the peat was cut. A second trackway leads from the peat store to the smelt mill.

The Old Gang complex also contains the remains of another older smelt mill and a large dressing floor along with levels, hushes, shallow shafts and a massive spoil heap over 500 metres long.

The site may be visited as part of our Old Gang Miles without Stiles route.

Usually, the wealthy owners of the mineral rights in the Yorkshire Dales allowed others to risk capital developing mines, preferring to take a set fee instead. Here in Gunnerside Gill, however, one of them, Sir George Denys, became heavily involved in mining as a contractor. He encouraged the first use of compressed air drills to speed up the excavation of a new level in Gunnerside Gill in 1870. This level was an unusual joint venture between two mining companies. It was a bold attempt to tap deep-lying deposits and was named after his son and heir, Francis.  Work went on until the early 1880s but the mine was never commercially successful. A waterwheel-driven compressor and air receiver were used, situated in an engine house above the mine entrance. The large cast iron air receiver is a very unusual survival as most ironwork was taken for scrap when the mines closed.

The companies each built a dressing floor where the lead ore dug from the mine was sorted and processed. The one on the east bank of the stream has a particularly fine set of stone ore storage hoppers. These were called ‘bouse teams’.

We have installed a number of lead industry interpretation panels with reconstruction drawings on them along Gunnerside Gill.

The first ore from the profitable Surrender Mines was smelted in 1797 after protracted disputes over ownership which lasted nearly 100 years. The mineral lords fought each other through the courts while their miners fought and sabotaged each other’s work on the ground. One incident involved one faction sinking a shaft which was then filled in by the other side, nearly killing the men still underground.

The present Surrender smelt mill replaced two earlier ones on the site in 1841 and is interesting for its symmetrical layout.  A huge waterwheel powered the bellows for the furnaces and its wheel pit can still be seen.

The main fuel for the hearths was peat and the remains of a fine open-sided peat storehouse can also be seen on the site. It would once have had a heather-thatched roof.

Lead produced here would have been taken by pack-horse or cart to markets in Stockton-on-Tees or to Richmond once the railway station opened. It would have had many uses including paint, water pipes, weights, roof covering, lead shot and water tanks.

The mill can be visited as part of our Old Gang and Surrender mill walk routes.

This lead mine is particularly interesting because it only operated for 11 years (1850-1861) and was then abandoned when the lead ore ran out. Because the site is remote the structures are well-preserved and give us a window into just what a mine ‘adventurer’ needed to invest in when starting up a new enterprise in the mid-nineteenth century.

The vein of lead was far underground here so access was through a deep stone-lined shaft up which both the miners, their equipment and the lead ore and waste was hauled using a hydraulic (water-powered) engine. The remains of the shaft head complex and impressive engine house built from sandstone blocks can be seen. The solid construction was needed to cope with the vibration of the engine inside.

Hydraulic engines were relatively rare in the north of England at this time and West Stonesdale must have been the envy of other local mine managers. Not only did it run the winding gear, it also pumped water out of the mine. The pipe bringing the high-pressured water supply needed to operate the engine runs into the site from the east and was carried over the beck in a stone-faced earth ramp.

West Stonesdale mine lies about 2 miles (3km) north of Keld. The Pennine Way runs close to the site but be aware, visiting this area is challenging for all but experienced and well-equipped walkers.

Safety First

You will get the most from exploring the remains of the lead mining industry in the Yorkshire Dales if you are properly equipped. Many of the sites are high up on moorland where the weather is changeable. Sunshine can turn quickly to rain and temperatures can be significantly chillier than down in the valley bottom. Some of the sites lie along rough or muddy paths so good boots are essential. If you handle pieces of lead ore, remember that lead is poisonous so wash your hands thoroughly before eating. Please be very aware that there may be open or poorly capped mine shafts lying close by. Don’t be tempted to explore away from the path and make sure dogs and children are kept well under control.

Find more information to help you plan your visit here.

Accessibility

Blakethwaite, Bunton area, Sir Francis Mine, and West Stonesdale are not accessible for all.

Grinton Smelt Mill and Old Gang have Miles without Stiles routes.