Blackcraig Lead Mines

Overview

Blackcraig, on Craigton Hill east of Newton Stewart in Dumfries and Galloway, was a lead-mining venture discovered by chance during military road construction in 1763 and worked in three separate bursts, a century apart, by the Craigtown Mining Company and its successors.

History

In 1763 a soldier working on the Old Military Road from Carlisle to Portpatrick discovered lead in the bedrock at Blackcraig. The Craigtown Mining Company, formed in 1758 by Cuthbert Redshaw, William Carruthers and George Clerk, immediately bought a 38-year lease and opened both East and West Blackcraig mines; East Blackcraig lay north of the military road, in what is now Kirroughtree Forest, and West Blackcraig to the south. Mining families worked as contractors, tendering each season to dig a set length of mine or extract a set weight of stone at fixed prices. Operations peaked around 1780 with 44 workers — 25 miners and 7 smelters — powering a stone-crushing mill fed by a lade carrying water from Loch Bruntis and Little Bruntis. Financial losses were recorded in 1783, and the mines closed in the 1790s; they reopened in the mid-1800s, and again very briefly in 1917 to help support the war effort. The site was designated a scheduled monument in 2023.

What remains

Around a dozen ruined cottages survive at Craigton village, along with six visible mine shafts and spoil heaps, an open main shaft, the lade that fed the crushing mill, two stone-cut adits, and a nine-compartment building used for storage or processing; the site is managed by Forestry and Land Scotland.

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.

• In 1763 a soldier working on the Old Military Road between Carlisle and Portpatrick discovered lead in the bedrock at Blackcraig, prompting the newly formed Craigtown Mining Company to buy a 38-year lease and open the East and West Blackcraig mines. ¹
• Mining families at Blackcraig worked as contractors, tendering each season to dig a set length of mine or extract a set weight of stone at fixed prices. ¹
• Operations at Blackcraig peaked around 1780 with 44 workers — 25 miners and 7 smelters — before financial losses recorded in 1783 led to closure in the 1790s; the mines reopened in the mid-1800s and again briefly in 1917 to support the war effort. ¹
• The site was designated a scheduled monument in 2023. ¹

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Following a Lead: Designating Blackcraig Lead Mines — Historic Environment Scotland

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