Blackmoor Rake

Overview

An open lead working in the historic Charterhouse lead field on Mendip, part of a district worked since Roman times, whose 19th-century industrial slag-processing phase employed over 300 people at its peak before closing for good in 1885.

History

Blackmoor Rake is one of the open lead workings -- alongside the neighbouring Ubley Rake -- that gave its name to the wider Charterhouse lead field on Mendip, worked on and off since Roman times. The Mendip Hills Mining Company began production in 1844, sinking shafts in the neighbouring Ubley Rakes area over the following three years. In 1849 the company leased the slag-rich ground around the Blackmoor and Ubley area of the Charterhouse valley specifically to rework it: the old slag yielded up to 57% lead, prompting the construction of settling ponds, three dressing floors, a smelter and a large reservoir. By 1853 the operation employed over 300 people, producing tens of tons of lead a month. Around 1861 the works passed to the Cornish smelting firm of Treffry and Co, who continued lead smelting until 1878, when falling lead prices ended it; dressing and buddling of remaining ore continued until the site was finally abandoned in 1885.

Workings

An open rake, over 100 metres long and up to 10 metres deep, worked both for its original ore and, from 1849, for its lead-rich slag, processed through settling ponds, three dressing floors and a smelter fed by a purpose-built reservoir.

Closure

Smelting ended in 1878 as lead prices fell; dressing and buddling continued until final abandonment in 1885.

What remains

The open rake survives as a prominent landscape feature within the Blackmoor Heritage Reserve, alongside the settling ponds created by the Victorian reprocessing operation.

The open rake itself, settling ponds, and the site of the former dressing floors and smelter.

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.

• The Mendip Hills Mining Company began production in 1844, sinking shafts in the Ubley Rakes area, before leasing the slag-rich ground around Blackmoor and Ubley in 1849 -- slag yielding up to 57% lead -- prompting the construction of settling ponds, three dressing floors, a smelter and a reservoir. ^1,2
• By 1853 the operation employed over 300 people, producing tens of tons of lead a month. ²
• Around 1861 the works passed to the Cornish smelting firm Treffry and Co, who continued smelting until 1878; dressing and buddling of remaining ore continued until final abandonment in 1885. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Blackmoor, Charterhouse - Historic environment services — South West Heritage Trust
2. (secondary) Charterhouse or Mendip Mines Lead Works — Northern Mine Research Society

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