Brandelhow Mine

Overview

Brandelhow, on the lower slopes of Catbells above Derwentwater, was one of several mines worked by Elizabethan German miners around the lake from the 1560s — and, three centuries later, gave its shoreline an entirely different kind of fame as the very first land the National Trust ever bought.

History

Brandelhow was one of a cluster of mines — alongside Stoneycroft, Barrow and Thornthwaite — worked around Derwentwater from the 1560s, when Elizabeth I's government brought in German miners, valued as the leading mining experts of the age, to prospect and extract silver, lead, copper and graphite (plumbago) from the fells above the lake. Mining at Brandelhow continued intermittently into the 20th century, working the same broad mineralised ground as the neighbouring Force Crag, Goldscope and Barrow workings recorded together on later mine plans. Its 20th-century closure brought a very different kind of significance to the site: in 1902 the National Trust, prompted by its co-founder Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, raised £6,500 by public subscription in just five months to buy 108 acres of the Brandelhow estate on the shore below Catbells — the Trust's first ever land purchase. The opening ceremony on 6 October 1902 was performed by Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, making it also the first National Trust property ever opened by a member of the Royal Family.

Geology

The mine worked lead-, copper-, silver- and graphite-bearing veins within the Skiddaw Group and associated intrusions of the northern Lake District, a hydrothermal orefield also worked at the neighbouring Force Crag and Goldscope mines.

Geological setting: Hydrothermal Deposits (well documented example), Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

Detailed underground workings at Brandelhow are not well documented, but surviving mine plans record it alongside Barrow, Dalehead, Force Crag, Goldscope and Thornthwaite as part of one broader mineral survey of the district.

Closure

Mining had ceased by the early 20th century; the exact final closure date has not been located.

What remains

Spoil heaps from the historic workings remain visible above Brandelhow Bay on the lower slopes of Catbells.

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.

• German miners worked Brandelhow alongside Stoneycroft, Barrow and Thornthwaite from the 1560s, extracting silver, lead, copper and graphite from the fells above Derwentwater. ^1,2
• In 1902 the National Trust raised £6,500 by public subscription in five months to buy 108 acres of the Brandelhow estate — its first ever land purchase — opened on 6 October 1902 by Princess Louise, the first National Trust property ever opened by a member of the Royal Family. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) Above Derwent — Cumbria County History Trust
2. (secondary) Cumbrian Copper Sites — Industrial History of Cumbria
3. (secondary) First Steps, First Property - The History of the National Trust — The History of the National Trust
4. (primary) Brandelhow Barrow Dalehead Forcecrag Goldscope Plumbago Thornthwaite (BGS Mine Plans Catalogue) — British Geological Survey / The Coal Authority

Record created: 22 August 2026 · Last researched: 22 August 2026