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.

The mine stands where Lover Gill meets Cliff Beck below the Buttertubs Pass. Its remains are those of intensive working: the entrance to the level, spoil heaps, bouse teams for storing ore and a ruined mine shop, with a stone-walled structure in the ravine above that was probably hushed or worked opencast. Three lead bale smelting sites lie at the lower end of the ravine above the mine, circular patches kept bare by lead in the slag, evidence of smelting on the hill long before the company's day.

Geology

The workings lie in the Underset Limestone and Main Limestone series of the Yoredale succession; the ravine above the mine cuts through faulted Main Limestone.

Workings

Unknown.

Closure

No closing date for the mine itself is recorded; the last of the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale mines shut in 1912.

What remains

The level mouth, spoil heaps, bouse teams and a ruined mine shop survive on open access land at the foot of the gill, with the hushed ravine and the bale sites above them.

The entrance to the level, spoil heaps, bouse teams and a ruined mine shop at the junction of Lover Gill with Cliff Beck; a stone-walled structure in the ravine above; three bale smelting sites marked by slag at the lower end of the ravine.

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
• At the junction of Lover Gill with Cliff Beck, at SD 878 963 and about 410 metres up, the remains of intensive lead mining include the entrance to the level, spoil heaps, bouse teams and a ruined mine shop, with a further stone-walled structure in the ravine above, which was probably hushed or worked opencast. ³
• Three conjoined lead bale smelting sites lie above the mine at the lower end of the ravine, at SD 879 963 and 450 metres, marked by circular patches of slag kept bare by lead contamination. ³
• The workings lie in the Underset Limestone and Main Limestone series, the ravine above cutting through faulted Main Limestone. ³
• The mines of Lord Wharton near Oxnop and Lover Gill near the Buttertubs were worked by the Company of Mine Adventurers of England, which from about 1730 also developed the mines west of Keld. ^1,4

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Lead Mines and Works — SWAAG — Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group
2. (secondary) Lead Mining in Swaledale — Yorkshire Dales National Park
3. (secondary) SWAAG database: mining-related records (Mining 1) — Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group (SWAAG)
4. (secondary) Lead mining in the 18th and 19th centuries (Yorkshire Dales History) — Yorkshire Dales History

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026