Sandbed Mine

Location	Driggith valley, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria — 54.7080, -3.0450 (approximate)
Commodities	Lead, Copper, Zinc
Type	Metal
Worked	Lead veins here were worked by a succession of companies from the 18th century, the focus of activity shifting from the older, adjoining Driggith mine to Sandbed as Driggith's own workings became exhausted; the Sandbeds East outcrop was discovered in 1927, though its exploitation did not begin until 1946.–No reliable single closure date has yet been located.
Maximum depth	No reliable depth figure has yet been located.
Status	Researched

Overview

A lead, zinc and copper mine in the Caldbeck Fells, working a continuation of the Roughton Gill South lode from the older, adjoining Driggith mine, whose own exhaustion shifted a succession of 18th- and 19th-century companies' attention onto Sandbed's own ground.

History

Sandbed Mine exploited a continuation of the Roughton Gill (South) lode reached from levels in the Driggith valley and from lower levels over the fell at Sandbeds itself, in the Caldbeck Fells, a lead-copper-baryte mining district in the northern Lake District worked from the arrival of German miners around 1564 through to the closure of the last barytes workings in 1966 -- a mining history spanning over 400 years. Low-temperature lead-zinc-copper veins developed within a NE-SW trending fracture system in the Eycott Volcanic Group rocks here produced ore that was predominantly galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite in a gangue of quartz and barite; the close intergrowth of galena, sphalerite and barite, especially in the deeper levels, caused persistent problems for the gravity separators used to dress ore in the Victorian workings, and was a major factor in the mine's eventual failure. A succession of mining companies worked the lead veins here from the 18th century onward, the focus of activity shifting over time from the older, adjoining Driggith mine -- itself abandoned in the early 19th century after the cost of driving deeper levels proved too much -- onto Sandbed's own ground. Driggith was reopened for barytes in 1926, and the Sandbeds East outcrop, discovered the following year in 1927, was not itself explored and brought into production until 1946.

Workings

Worked a continuation of the Roughton Gill South lode via levels in the Driggith valley and lower levels over the fell at Sandbeds; ore dressing was hampered throughout by the close intergrowth of galena, sphalerite and barite in the deeper levels.

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.

Sandbed worked a continuation of the Roughton Gill South lode reached from the older, adjoining Driggith mine; a succession of companies worked the lead veins here from the 18th century, activity shifting from Driggith -- abandoned in the early 19th century after the cost of deepening its levels proved too great -- onto Sandbed's own ground. ¹
The close intergrowth of galena, sphalerite and barite in the deeper levels caused persistent problems for Victorian gravity-separation ore-dressing and was a major cause of the mine's eventual failure; Driggith was reopened for barytes in 1926, and the Sandbeds East outcrop, discovered in 1927, was not brought into production until 1946. ²

Sources

(secondary) Driggith Mine, Caldbeck — Old Cumbria Gazetteer
(secondary) A review of the mineralisation at Driggith and Sandbed mines, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria (abstract) — ResearchGate

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