Birkdale Common Mine

Overview

A lead mine on Birkdale Common, in the westernmost of the small dales whose becks join near Keld to form the River Swale, worked within Swaledale's wider lead-mining industry at some point between the 18th and early 20th centuries.

History

Birkdale Common Mine lies within Birkdale, the westernmost of several small dales -- alongside Great Sleddale, Little Sleddale and Whitsundale -- whose becks converge near the village of Keld to form the source of the River Swale itself. It is documented among the lead mines and works of Swaledale by the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group, within a dale whose lead mining is recorded from Roman times but reached its peak during the 18th and 19th centuries, when Swaledale's mines, together with those of neighbouring Arkengarthdale, were among the most productive in the country. The workforce reflected this scale: in 1851, Swaledale and Arkengarthdale together employed 1,124 lead miners, though by 1891 -- as cheaper imported ore and the exhaustion of the more accessible veins forced closures across the dale -- this had fallen by more than half, to 258. The last of the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale mines closed in 1912.

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.

• Birkdale Common Mine is documented among the lead mines and works of Swaledale by the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group. ¹
• Birkdale is the westernmost of several small dales -- alongside Great Sleddale, Little Sleddale and Whitsundale -- whose becks converge near Keld to form the source of the River Swale. ²
• In 1851 Swaledale and Arkengarthdale together employed 1,124 lead miners; by 1891 this had fallen by more than half, to 258, as cheaper imported ore and vein exhaustion forced closures, with the last of the dale's mines closing in 1912. ²

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (secondary) Lead Mines and Works — SWAAG — Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group
2. (secondary) Lead Mining in Swaledale — Yorkshire Dales National Park

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026