Nentsberry Haggs Mine

Overview

A Nent Force Level-connected lead, zinc and witherite mine on Alston Moor, one of the last mines in the district still working after the First World War and, under Vieille Montagne, still receiving ore from new workings as late as the Second World War.

History

Nentsberry Haggs worked numerous veins for lead, zinc and the barium mineral witherite, its portal gated on the north side of the Nenthead-Alston road just west of Nentsberry Bridge. The mine sits directly on the course of the Nent Force Level, the drainage canal begun by John Smeaton in 1776: some three miles from its Alston entrance, the level meets Nentsberry Haggs Shaft via a dramatic 160-foot step before continuing in more normal proportions onward to Brewery Shaft at Nenthead. Many of the veins worked from the Haggs level in fact lie over the county boundary in Northumberland, reachable via Wellhope Shaft. By 1921, in the difficult years after the First World War, Nentsberry Haggs was one of only a handful of mines still active in the district, alongside a brief resumption at Brownley Hill. Ore dressing was moved from the larger Rampgill Mill to a smaller facility at Nentsberry itself, for convenience to the Haggs mine entrance. When Wellhope Shaft came into production in 1929, its ore too was brought out underground via the Nentsberry Haggs entrance to this smaller dressing mill. The operation was by this period controlled by the Belgian firm Vieille Montagne, with management passing later to Anglo-Austral Mines and then Rampgill Mill Limited. Mining continued in a reduced form into the Second World War: between 1942 and 1945 a flotation plant processed tailings from Nentsberry together with a small output from the neighbouring Rotherhope mine.

Workings

Numerous lead, zinc and witherite veins reached via the Nentsberry Haggs entrance and Wellhope Shaft, the latter serving veins across the county boundary in Northumberland. The mine sits on the course of the Nent Force Level, meeting Nentsberry Haggs Shaft via an unusual 160-foot vertical step in the level.

What remains

The mine portal survives, gated, beside the former mine shop buildings at Nentsberry; the Nent Force Level itself has since collapsed at this point, and the Cumbrian side of the wider drainage system is now reachable only via Brownley Hill Mine.

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 mine lies on the course of the Nent Force Level, meeting Nentsberry Haggs Shaft roughly three miles from the level's Alston entrance via a 160-foot vertical step. ¹
• By 1921 Nentsberry Haggs was one of only a few mines still active in the district, alongside a brief resumption at Brownley Hill. ¹
• When Wellhope Shaft began producing ore in 1929, it was brought out via the Nentsberry Haggs entrance to a dressing mill at Nentsberry; the operation was controlled by Vieille Montagne, later passing to Anglo-Austral Mines and then Rampgill Mill Limited. ¹
• Between 1942 and 1945 a flotation plant processed tailings from Nentsberry together with a small output from the neighbouring Rotherhope mine. ¹
• The mine's underground workings are documented in surviving mine plans held via the BGS mine plans catalogue, credited to the Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Wright's Bus Garage - VM Zinc Mill — Alston Moor Historical Society
2. (primary) NENTSBERRY HAGGS MINE NENTHEAD CUMBRIA (BGS mine plan catalogue) — British Geological Survey / Cumbrian Amenity Trust Historical Mining Society

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