MineArchiveShaw Beck Gill Mine
| Location | Arkengarthdale, Yorkshire — 54.4160, -1.9840 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Lead |
| Type | Metal |
| Worked | No reliable opening date has yet been located; part of Arkengarthdale's lead-mining industry, extensively worked from the 18th century.–No reliable closure date has yet been located; the dale's population fell sharply after the mining industry's 1883 collapse. |
| Maximum depth | No reliable depth figure has yet been located. |
| Status | Researched |
Overview
A lead level in the valley of Shaw Beck, one of a dense cluster of workings across Arkengarthdale that made the dale one of Yorkshire's most productive lead-mining districts before the industry's collapse in the late 19th century.
History
Shaw Beck Gill Mine, a lead level marked on historical maps in the valley of Shaw Beck, is documented among Arkengarthdale's cluster of lead workings by the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group, alongside neighbouring sites at Booze, Slei Gill, Punchard Gill, Whaw, Wetshaw and Fell End. Lead was worked in Arkengarthdale from at least medieval times, with extensive mining recorded across the dale by 1521, and reached its peak during the 19th century, when the dale's mines were among the most productive in Yorkshire and supported a far larger population than lives there today. The collapse of CB Mining in 1883 prompted most of the dale's remaining miners to move on in search of other work; by 1891 Arkengarthdale's population had fallen to 761.
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.
- Shaw Beck Gill Mine, a lead level marked on historical maps in the valley of Shaw Beck, is documented among Arkengarthdale's cluster of lead workings, alongside neighbouring sites at Booze, Slei Gill, Punchard Gill, Whaw, Wetshaw and Fell End. 1
- Arkengarthdale's lead mining reached its peak during the 19th century; the collapse of CB Mining in 1883 prompted most of the dale's remaining miners to move on, and by 1891 the dale's population had fallen to 761. 2
Photographs & further reading
This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.
The Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group's own index of the dale's lead mines, including Shaw Beck Gill.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Lead Mines and Works — SWAAG — Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group
- (secondary) Arkengarthdale: History of Yorkshire Dales valley known for lead mining — Yorkshire Post
Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026