Lover Gill Mine

Overview

A lead mine near the Buttertubs in upper Swaledale, one of the sites worked from about 1730 by the nationally significant Company of Mine Adventurers of England, within a dale whose lead mining was, at its 18th- and 19th-century peak, among the most productive in the country.

History

Lover Gill was one of the mines near the Buttertubs, in upper Swaledale, worked from about 1730 by the Company of Mine Adventurers of England -- a company of national importance, rather than a purely local venture -- alongside Lord Wharton's mines near Oxnop, and the Company's other workings developed near the River Swale to the west of Keld from the same period. Lead mining had been carried on in Swaledale since Roman times, but reached its peak during the 18th and 19th centuries, when the dale's mines, together with those of neighbouring Arkengarthdale, were among the most productive in the country. By the late 19th century the industry was in decline, as cheaper imported ore and the exhaustion of the more accessible veins forced mine after mine to close; the last of the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale mines shut in 1912. Thirteen sites across the two dales are today designated Historic England Scheduled Monuments in recognition of the national importance of their surviving lead-mining remains.

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.

• Lover Gill was one of the mines near the Buttertubs worked from about 1730 by the Company of Mine Adventurers of England, a company of national importance, alongside Lord Wharton's mines near Oxnop and the Company's other workings near Keld. ¹
• Lead mining in Swaledale dates back to Roman times and reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the dale's mines were among the most productive in the country; the last of the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale mines closed in 1912. 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) Lead Mines and Works — SWAAG — Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group
2. (secondary) Lead Mining in Swaledale — Yorkshire Dales National Park

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026