Allenheads Mines

Overview

Allenheads, in the Pennines north of Weardale in Northumberland, was by the early 19th century the most important lead-mining centre in Britain — the flagship mine of the Blackett-Beaumont family — before closing in 1896.

History

Lead mining in the Allen valleys is recorded from around 1684 under the Blackett family of Newcastle; through marriage, their mining interests and estates passed to the Wentworth Blackett Beaumont line, who by the 19th century were the dominant name in the Allendale lead trade, working the mine's Poverty, Sun, Diana and Blackett veins. Fawside Level, a horse level on the firestone side, was begun in Sir William Blackett's time and completed in 1776; the Gin Hill shaft was sunk by 1793. By the early 19th century Allenheads had become the most important lead-mining centre in Britain. All lead-working activity at the site ceased in 1896. The workings were briefly revisited in the 1970s, when the British Steel Corporation reopened part of the site as Beaumont Mine to explore for fluorspar, but it proved cheaper to source fluorite elsewhere, and by 1983 pumping had stopped and the venture was abandoned.

Geology

The lead-bearing veins at Allenheads formed around 290 million years ago, when mineral-rich fluids, heated by the buried Weardale Granite, flowed through cracks in the surrounding rock and cooled to deposit lead ore, fluorite and other minerals.

Workings

Fawside Level (completed 1776) and the Gin Hill shaft (sunk by 1793) gave access to the Poverty, Sun, Diana and Blackett veins. The mine's sawmill housed an Armstrong Whitworth hydraulic engine, one of several hydraulic engines installed on site, whose drawings survive.

What remains

The old washing floor, mine shafts and surface buildings survive around the village, including listed Beaumont Mine tunnel entrances; the local economy today rests on agriculture and tourism, with an industrial heritage centre chronicling the mining industry.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• By the early 19th century, Allenheads was recognised as the most productive lead mine in the North Pennines and the most important lead-mining centre in Britain. ¹
• Fawside Level, a horse level begun in Sir William Blackett's time, was completed in 1776; the Gin Hill shaft was sunk by 1793. ¹
• All lead-working activity at Allenheads ceased in 1896, a closure that devastated the local community. ²
• The mine was briefly reopened by the British Steel Corporation in the 1970s as Beaumont Mine to explore for fluorspar, but the venture failed as it proved cheaper to source fluorite elsewhere; the site preserves an Armstrong Whitworth hydraulic engine, one of several installed in the mine's sawmill. ²

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Allenheads Lead Mining District — Geological Society of London
2. (secondary) Allenheads — Wikipedia

Record created: 20 August 2026 · Last researched: 20 August 2026