Brownley Hill Mine

Overview

Brownley Hill, one of the extensive network of mines beneath Alston Moor, was worked first for lead and silver from the early 1700s, then, once high-grade lead ore ran short, for zinc — its underground workings still passable today all the way through to the neighbouring Nentsberry Haggs mine.

History

Brownley Hill Mine was first worked for lead, with silver also recovered, from the early 1700s, initially via surface shafts sunk on the Brownley Hill Vein; the mine passed through various ownerships over the following two centuries, including a period under the London Lead Company. As high-grade lead ore became scarce, the Vieille Montagne Zinc Company took over the lease in 1914 and shifted the mine's focus to zinc ore, working it under that name until 1936. The mine was last worked in 1966. Brownley Hill is also a locality of real mineralogical significance: the rare mineral alstonite was first discovered here in the 1830s, and the mine has since produced notable specimens of galena, fluorite, millerite, sphalerite and rarer supergene minerals.

Geology

The mine worked the Brownley Hill Vein, part of the northern Pennine orefield's hydrothermal, non-magmatic mineralised system, yielding lead and silver in its earlier working and zinc ore in its later phase under Vieille Montagne.

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

Workings

The mine was developed from two main levels, the Bloomsberry Horse Level (also known as Brownley Hill Low Level) and Brownley Hill High Level; many of its workings cross the county boundary into Northumberland and remain connected underground to the neighbouring Nentsberry Haggs mine.

Closure

The mine was last worked in 1966, after more than two and a half centuries of intermittent working under a succession of owners.

What remains

The entrance to the High Level, in Gudham Gill, survives, along with the Low Level entrance further down the gill toward the River Nent.

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 rare mineral alstonite was first discovered at Brownley Hill in the 1830s; the mine has also produced notable specimens of galena, fluorite, millerite and sphalerite. ¹
• The Vieille Montagne Zinc Company took over the lease in 1914, shifting the mine's focus to zinc ore, and worked it under that name until 1936; the mine was last worked in 1966. ^2,1

Photographs & further reading

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

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Brownley Hill Mine (Bloomsberry Horse Level), Nenthead, Alston Moor — Mindat
2. (secondary) Brownley Hill Mine — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Brownley Hill Mine mine plan — British Geological Survey / Geological Survey of Great Britain

Record created: 24 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 August 2026