Glen Rushen Mines

Overview

Beckwith's Mine, the westernmost of the Foxdale group of lead mines, begun in 1831 after a hay-cart driver found a lump of ore in his own wheel-track crossing Glen Rushen. Chronically plagued by flooding for its entire working life, it nonetheless raised 50,000 tons of lead ore before closing in 1879 — its leaning engine-house chimney a Manx landmark until it finally toppled in a storm in 2012.

History

According to the mine's own owner, W. Beckwith, the deposit that gave the mine its name was found by pure accident: the driver of a hay cart crossing the western flank of South Barrule, on the track through Glen Rushen, spotted a solid lump of lead ore sitting in his own wheel-track. Mining began in 1831, with miners drafted in from the nearby Foxdale mines to dig out lead from shallow surface workings — 650 tons were recovered this way before proper shaft sinking even began later that year. Flooding proved a constant, serious problem throughout the mine's working life, especially once the engine shaft went deeper: a new pumping engine was ordered from the Coalbrookdale foundry in Shropshire and installed in 1837, but by 1838, at 35 fathoms, it could no longer keep pace with the water. On the instruction of the Isle of Man Mining Company's director William Jones, a 40ft waterwheel was dismantled at the Old Foxdale mine and re-erected at Glen Rushen to take over pumping duties, freeing the steam engine for crushing and winding. Shaft sinking was nonetheless abandoned at 50 fathoms in 1840 when an exceptionally dry summer left too little water to drive the wheel, and by August 1842 the mine had flooded back up to the 30-fathom level, collapsing several levels in the process. Rather than build yet more waterwheel infrastructure, the company bought a second-hand 50-inch cylinder pumping engine from the Gwernymynydd mine in Wales that November. The Isle of Man Mining Company built a system of lades to feed water down from the valley above the mine to its waterwheels, backed by a purpose-built reservoir dam that let water be released on demand, and developed washing floors where ore was crushed in a Stamp House — its waterwheel casing still visible today — before being fed into rotary buddling pits that washed away lighter waste to leave a purer lead concentrate. Despite the mine's endless flooding troubles, working continued in some form until 1879, by which point the shaft had reached 185 fathoms; but ore below about 140 fathoms had proved barren and entirely unprofitable, and the Isle of Man Mining Company sold Beckwith's sett that year for £5,000. Total recorded production came to some 50,000 tons of lead ore, valued at around £750,000 over the mine's working life — figures that place Glen Rushen among the more substantial contributors to an island whose 19th-century mines, taken together, produced roughly a fifth of all the zinc and a twentieth of all the lead ever mined in Britain.

Geology

Beckwith's worked lead-zinc mineralisation on the same broad system of veins as the wider Foxdale group, hosted in the Manx Group of Ordovician slates and greywackes that form the island's central upland spine — the same rock sequence exploited by the Isle of Man's other major lead-mining district, and one of the reasons Foxdale and its outlying setts like Beckwith's became, by value, the most productive mining district on the island.

Workings

A deep shaft mine ultimately reaching 185 fathoms, pumped in succession by a Coalbrookdale steam engine, a 40ft waterwheel relocated from Old Foxdale, and finally a second-hand 50-inch Cornish engine bought from Wales, fed by purpose-built lades and a storage reservoir dammed above the workings. Surface plant included a Stamp House for crushing ore, driven by its own waterwheel, and rotary buddling pits for washing the crushed ore to a clean concentrate.

Closure

Ore below about 140 fathoms proved barren, and the Isle of Man Mining Company sold Beckwith's sett in 1879 for £5,000 after total production of around 50,000 tons of lead ore worth some £750,000.

What remains

The surface remains at Beckwith's are well preserved for a Manx mine site, comprising the Stamp House and its waterwheel casing, wash floors, engine house and engine shaft, and a former mine office. The capped engine shaft partially collapsed in 1996 and was safely consolidated with a concrete cap by the Laxey Mines Research Group. The site's famous leaning chimney, a Manx landmark for around 150 years, finally toppled in strong winds in April 2012; only the lower half of the chimney survives today.

The Stamp House and its waterwheel casing, wash floors, the engine house and capped engine shaft, the surviving lower half of the former leaning chimney, and a mine office building all survive as part of the Manx Mining Trail.

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.

The mine shafts are capped but the site includes unstable ruined structures — this entry describes history and general location only, not an access guide; official signage on site warns that mineshafts are dangerous.

Recorded claims

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

• The deposit was found in 1831 when a hay-cart driver crossing Glen Rushen spotted a lump of lead ore in his own wheel-track; Foxdale miners recovered 650 tons from shallow surface workings before proper shaft sinking began later that year. ¹
• A Coalbrookdale steam engine (1837) proved unable to keep pace with flooding by 1838; a 40ft waterwheel relocated from Old Foxdale took over pumping from 1840, but shaft sinking was abandoned that year in a drought, and by 1842 the mine had flooded to the 30-fathom level before a second-hand 50-inch engine was bought from Wales. ¹
• The mine reached 185 fathoms and produced around 50,000 tons of lead ore worth roughly £750,000 before the Isle of Man Mining Company sold the sett in 1879 for £5,000, ore below about 140 fathoms having proved barren. ¹
• The mine's leaning engine-house chimney stood as a landmark for around 150 years before strong winds toppled its upper half in April 2012; the capped engine shaft, which had partially collapsed in 1996, was safely consolidated by the Laxey Mines Research Group. ¹
• 19th-century Isle of Man mines together produced around 20% of all the zinc and 5% of all the lead ever recorded as mined in British history. ¹
• The Isle of Man Mining Company, which operated Beckwith's, was registered as a limited company in 1853 with £70,000 capital and went on to operate the wider Foxdale mines group until the whole concern ceased operations in July 1911. ²

Sources

1. (primary) Beckwith's Mine — Manx Mining Trail interpretation board — Isle of Man Government (DEFA) / Laxey Mines Research Group
2. (secondary) Isle of Man Mining Company — Wikipedia

Record created: 26 August 2026 · Last researched: 26 August 2026