East Layton Copper Mine

Overview

One of the small copper mines of the Richmond area, at East Layton near Darlington, where old workings were noted in 1754 and a new venture of 1806-12 installed a Boulton & Watt pumping engine but probably never sold any ore.

History

East Layton lies some six miles from Richmond, in the northern part of the old North Riding, and was known for its copper deposits. In 1754 it was described as a place where copper was got, with workings that were already old, very old and ancient. The mine is one of a number of small copper mines in the Richmond area, and one account has it working in the late eighteenth century.

A new venture began in August 1806, at a time when output from the great Parys Mountain mines in Anglesey was falling. It was run on the cost-book system, probably at first by William Clay, a London esquire, and from 1810 by Thomas Lumley and partners; Thomas Barber was the landowner and probably the main lessor. By April 1810 £4,284 had been spent. That year the partners ordered a 50-inch Boulton & Watt engine of 53.3 horsepower to lift water 48 fathoms, replacing the first engine, and built a new engine house in 1811. Captain William Vivian managed the mine at three guineas a week, and by April 1812 ten labourers, a smith and a carpenter were employed. The new engine was at work in December 1811, but the mine was last worked in December 1812, and on 16 March 1813 the engine and materials were sold at auction; the engine went to Cockfield Colliery near Darlington. The surviving cost book records expenditure only, and it is likely that no ore was ever sold.

Geology

Workable veins of copper ore.

Workings

A shaft drained by a steam pumping engine, replaced in 1810-11 by a 50-inch Boulton & Watt engine of 53.3 hp in a new engine house; levels were driven in 1811, one of them north from the shaft.

Closure

Last worked in December 1812; the engine and materials were auctioned on 16 March 1813.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• East Layton worked in the late eighteenth century and closed in 1812. (disputed) ²
• The venture recorded in the mine's cost book began in August 1806 and the mine was last worked in December 1812. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• In 1754 East Layton was described as a place where copper was got, with workings already old, very old and ancient. ¹
• East Layton worked in the late eighteenth century and closed in 1812. (disputed) ²
• The venture recorded in the mine's cost book began in August 1806 and the mine was last worked in December 1812. (disputed) ¹
• In 1810 Thomas Lumley and partners ordered a 50-inch Boulton & Watt pumping engine of 53.3 hp to lift water 48 fathoms. ^2,1
• The engine and mine materials were sold at auction on 16 March 1813, the engine going to Cockfield Colliery near Darlington. ¹
• East Layton was known for its copper deposits, which were mined in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) Goodchild, J. 'The East Layton Copper Mine in Yorkshire and its Cost Book', British Mining No.48 (1993), pp.31-33 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) East Layton Mine — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) East Layton — Wikipedia

Record created: 19 October 2026 · Last researched: 19 October 2026