Bentyfield Mine

Overview

A 19th-century lead mine on Alston Moor, worked partly by the London Lead Company and partly by the Alston Moor Mining Company, linked by tramway to the neighbouring Whitesike mine, together forming a core surviving example of a mid-19th-century nucleated North Pennine lead-mining complex.

History

Lead had been mined on Alston Moor since medieval times, but the industry expanded massively during the 19th century. Bentyfield mine, on the east side of Garrigill Burn, was worked partly by the London Lead Company and partly by the Alston Moor Mining Company, and was linked by tramway to the neighbouring Whitesike mine on the opposite bank, the two being worked in close association with each other. Bentyfield Mine alone yielded 4,868 tons of lead concentrate between 1848 and 1882, within a combined Whitesike-and-Bentyfield total of 12,000 tons across the same 34 years. The monument today includes the core surviving remains of both mines and their associated ore works: mine entrances, pits for a water wheel that drove the crushing mill, bouse teams used to store unprocessed ore, dressing floors where ore was processed, and massive spoil tips. An 1839 plan of the mine survives in the Cumbria Amenity Trust's collection at the British Geological Survey, showing the two companies' separate horse levels, Greengill Hush and the whimsey shaft.

Geology

Lead of the Alston Moor orefield, worked in close association with Whitesike mine across Garrigill Burn; the vein is not named on the record.

Workings

Worked in close association with Whitesike mine across Garrigill Burn, linked by tramway, with shared ore-dressing infrastructure including a water-wheel-driven crushing mill, bouse teams and dressing floors.

Closure

Unknown.

What remains

Designated a Scheduled Monument together with Whitesike mine; mine entrances, water wheel pits, bouse teams, dressing floors, spoil tips and a surviving explosives store are among the features recorded on the ground.

Mine entrances, a water wheel pit, bouse teams, dressing floors, extensive spoil tips and a surviving explosives store, shared with the adjoining Whitesike mine site.

Related mines

• Whitesike Mine — Linked by tramway and worked in close association, with shared ore-dressing infrastructure; jointly designated a single Scheduled Monument.

Recorded claims

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

• Bentyfield mine was worked partly by the London Lead Company and partly by the Alston Moor Mining Company, and was linked by tramway to the neighbouring Whitesike mine, the two being worked in close association with each other. ¹
• Bentyfield Mine alone yielded 4,868 tons of lead concentrate between 1848 and 1882, within a combined Whitesike-and-Bentyfield total of 12,000 tons across the same period. ¹
• The monument includes the core surviving remains of a pair of 19th-century nucleated lead mines with their associated ore works, including a surviving explosives store at Bentyfield itself. ^1,2
• An 1839 plan of Bentyfield lead mine, from the Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society's collection and held by the British Geological Survey, shows the Bentyfield Company's horse level and the London Lead Company's horse level, Greengill Hush and the whimsey shaft. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Whitesike and Bentyfield lead mines and ore works, Alston Moor - list entry 1015832 — Historic England
2. (primary) Whitesike and Bentyfield Lead Mines, 20 Years of Heritage at Risk — Historic England
3. (primary) PLAN OF BENTYFIELD LEAD MINE 1839 (Cumbrian Amenity Trust Historical Mining Society mine plans CT160, BGS mine plans catalogue) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026