Higher Pitts Mine

Overview

A small Mendip mine worked for iron and manganese since the 17th century, briefly revived as a commercial venture in 1890-93, and now known chiefly as the type locality for the minerals chloroxiphite and diaboleite.

History

Higher Pitts Mine, near Priddy in the Mendip Hills, was worked on a small scale for iron and manganese from as early as the 17th century. It saw a brief commercial revival in 1890, when the Somerset Manganese and Iron Ore Co. was formed to work the site for iron, manganese, lead and copper under manager Willcox; the venture met with little success and the company closed the mine within a few years -- sources differ on whether work actually ceased in 1891 or the company's closure came in 1893. The mine's real significance lies in its mineralogy rather than its production: it is the type locality for the rare minerals chloroxiphite and diaboleite, and has also produced some of the largest known crystals of hydrocerussite and crednerite. The last physical traces of mining were removed from the site in 1992.

Workings

Small-scale working from the 17th century; briefly worked commercially 1890-93 by the Somerset Manganese and Iron Ore Co. for iron, manganese, lead and copper.

Closure

Sources disagree on the exact end of the 1890s commercial revival -- either 1891 (when work reportedly ceased under manager Willcox) or 1893 (when the Somerset Manganese and Iron Ore Co. is said to have closed the mine); the last physical traces of mining were cleared from the site in 1992.

What remains

The last vestiges of mining were removed from the site in 1992; it remains notable chiefly as a mineralogical type locality.

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 Somerset Manganese and Iron Ore Co. was formed in 1890 to work Higher Pitts Mine, under manager Willcox, but closed within a few years -- sources differ on whether work ceased in 1891 or the company closed the mine in 1893. (disputed) ¹
• Higher Pitts Mine is the type locality for the minerals chloroxiphite and diaboleite, and has produced some of the largest known crystals of hydrocerussite and crednerite. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Higher Pitts Mine, Priddy, Mendip, Somerset — Mindat
2. (secondary) The Higher Pitts mine, Mendip Hills, Somerset, England — Mineralogical Record (via Free Library)

Record created: 1 September 2026 · Last researched: 1 September 2026