Nenthead has been home to lead mining since the mid to late 17th Century but was seriously worked when the London Lead Company set up a lease in 1704. It was then continued to be worked well into the 20th century. After talking to one of the old boys in the local museum it turns out it was only abandoned due to the problems with getting air into the lower levels.
We started our long weekend with a trip into Small cleugh. Quick trip down the adit to Wheel Flats and then the fun 40 meter crawl to the Ball room for lunch
The ball room is a big square area mined out. It was known as the ball room due to being used by the local Masonic society for a ball for the towns folk in 1901
The mines are worked by following the lead vein. They built dry stone walled tunnels over the tramming levels and then worked the stopes up stackign the deads on top of the tunnels. The ore was tipped down ore shoots onto the tramming level and then taken out
(btw some one had had a poo in the blue jumper and hung it up lol )
we came to a point where someone has been digging through a collapse and in the exploring way we crawled through. Beyond it we found a taped off are of ground which took us a few minutes to work out but you could make out the hoof prints from the mine ponies and you can still see hob nail boot prints
Next day we went for a wander into Brownley Hills. It was again an exploring trip to find things we had forgotten and places we had been told about so we went for a propper explore.
really nice formations.
Amazing lead / quartz geodes
Just to show the side of the geodes. Me and garry chilling out
some interesting traverses
and a few collapses
We then found our way into the Nentsbury Haggs level of the mine which brings you out on the main road ont he way to Nenthall. How ever with out checking the state of the collapse at the road end we turned back
We then set off through the water to see if we could find the Blue flooded shaft again but instead we ended up heading up an ore shoot which turned out to be hiding somegreat old stuff.
Almost as tho the miners had left the day before.
We called it quits at that for the day and headed out
couldnt resist
We started our long weekend with a trip into Small cleugh. Quick trip down the adit to Wheel Flats and then the fun 40 meter crawl to the Ball room for lunch
The ball room is a big square area mined out. It was known as the ball room due to being used by the local Masonic society for a ball for the towns folk in 1901
The mines are worked by following the lead vein. They built dry stone walled tunnels over the tramming levels and then worked the stopes up stackign the deads on top of the tunnels. The ore was tipped down ore shoots onto the tramming level and then taken out
(btw some one had had a poo in the blue jumper and hung it up lol )
we came to a point where someone has been digging through a collapse and in the exploring way we crawled through. Beyond it we found a taped off are of ground which took us a few minutes to work out but you could make out the hoof prints from the mine ponies and you can still see hob nail boot prints
Next day we went for a wander into Brownley Hills. It was again an exploring trip to find things we had forgotten and places we had been told about so we went for a propper explore.
really nice formations.
Amazing lead / quartz geodes
Just to show the side of the geodes. Me and garry chilling out
some interesting traverses
and a few collapses
We then found our way into the Nentsbury Haggs level of the mine which brings you out on the main road ont he way to Nenthall. How ever with out checking the state of the collapse at the road end we turned back
We then set off through the water to see if we could find the Blue flooded shaft again but instead we ended up heading up an ore shoot which turned out to be hiding somegreat old stuff.
Almost as tho the miners had left the day before.
We called it quits at that for the day and headed out
couldnt resist
