Blea Tarn Mine

Overview

A short-lived Eskdale haematite mine behind Beckfoot, opened by Whitehaven Iron Mines in 1871 on the Blea Tarn Lode and given up within a few years when the vein narrowed. Its adits and trials on the valley side, surveyed for the National Trust in 2012, record a single, unsuccessful phase of work.

History

Blea Tarn Mine was a short-lived haematite mine on the steep south-facing side of Eskdale behind Beckfoot station, working a vein called the Blea Tarn Lode that runs roughly north to south. It was opened in 1871 by Whitehaven Iron Mines Ltd, which had sub-let the Eskdale ground from the London ironmaster Faithful Cookson and was reopening Bangarth at the same time, in the years when demand for steel made Cumbrian haematite worth seeking. The company drove adits at six or seven levels up the hillside, but the vein narrowed as the workings went in and little ore was found; some ore was raised, but by 1877 the company was in voluntary liquidation and its mines were being worked by a receiver. The National Trust's survey of 2012 found a simple, single-phase mine: small adit cuttings with slumped entrances, trials and open cuts on at least five levels, a large drainage adit at the foot of the mine, and spoil tipped downslope, with no ancillary buildings. The workings sit among the older features of the valley side, a zigzag peat track retained in places by drystone walling, peat huts, small quarries and sheep shelters, and a covered reservoir was later built on the site.

Geology

The Blea Tarn Lode, a haematite vein running roughly north-south in the Eskdale granite.

Geological setting: Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

Adits, trials and open cuttings at six or seven levels up the valley side, with a large drainage adit at the base; no engine or ancillary buildings.

Closure

The vein narrowed as the workings went into the hill and little ore was found; by 1877 Whitehaven Iron Mines was in voluntary liquidation and its mines were worked by a receiver.

What remains

Surveyed in 2012: adit cuttings with slumped entrances, trials and open cuts on at least five levels, a drainage adit and spoil, beside an old peat track; a covered reservoir was later built on the site.

Adit cuttings and upcast banks, trial excavations, open cuttings, a large drainage adit and downslope spoil tips.

Related mines

• Ban Garth Mine — Both worked by Whitehaven Iron Mines Ltd from 1871, and surveyed together for the National Trust in 2012.
• Nab Gill Mine — Worked by the same Whitehaven Iron Mines Ltd in the 1870s.

Nearby mines

• Nab Gill Mine — 1.0 km NE
• Ban Garth Mine — 1.4 km W
• Gill Force Mine — 1.4 km SE
• Cove Quarries, Coniston — 11.3 km E
• Coniston Copper Mines — 12.3 km E

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

People

• Faithful Cookson · lessee, from 1871 — Sub-let the Eskdale ground to Whitehaven Iron Mines Ltd in 1871.

Recorded claims

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

• Whitehaven Iron Mines Ltd, sub-letting from Faithful Cookson from 1871, began work at Blea Tarn mine, where it established seven levels; the mine reflects a single phase of development from 1871 that proved unsuccessful in finding extensive ore. ¹
• Blea Tarn mine was established on the Blea Tarn Lode, which lies on an approximately north-south alignment. ¹
• In the 1870s some ore was raised on a new vein called Blea Tarn, behind Beckfoot station on the railway; by 1877 the mining company was in voluntary liquidation and worked by a receiver. ²
• Adits or trial excavations are cut into the hillside at six levels, with no ancillary buildings; only two adits have partly open entrances, and a large drainage adit lies at the base of the mine, which was post-dated by a covered reservoir. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Bangarth and Blea Tarn Iron Mines, Eskdale, Cumbria: Archaeological Survey Report (Oxford Archaeology North for the National Trust, 2012) — Oxford Archaeology North
2. (secondary) Boot Iron Mines, Eskdale — Northern Mine Research Society (Albyn Austin)

Record created: 18 September 2026 · Last researched: 19 September 2026