Slei Gill Mine

Overview

A lead-mining area in the gill overlooked by the hamlets of Langthwaite and Booze in Arkengarthdale, worked across several named veins and levels, whose remains have twice been exposed and reburied by flash flooding in recent years.

History

Lead mining in Arkengarthdale is recorded from before the Norman Conquest, and Slei Gill -- overlooked by Langthwaite and, on its steep hillside, the hamlet of Booze, where many of the gill's miners lived -- was one of the dale's principal working areas. Several distinct veins were worked here, including Fell End, Wellington, Blucher and Scatter Scar alongside Tanner's Rake, worked through a mixture of bell pits, hushing and driven levels with names including Scotts Level, Doctor, Procter, Sun Gutter and Tanner Rake, alongside the separate Booze Wood workings. The mine, though not itself a scheduled site, is considered archaeologically important within the wider Arkengarthdale lead field. Lead working declined along with the rest of the Yorkshire field at the end of the 19th century. In 2019 the gill was struck by flash flooding twice in the same year: the first flood tore away ground cover and exposed old mine workings that had never been formally recorded, but a second flood later that same year buried the newly-exposed areas again before archaeologists could complete a full survey.

Workings

Worked through bell pits, hushing and driven levels across several named veins (Fell End, Wellington, Blucher, Scatter Scar, Tanner's Rake), with named level entrances including Scotts Level, Doctor, Procter, Sun Gutter and Tanner Rake.

What remains

Twice disturbed by flash flooding in 2019, which first exposed and then reburied previously-unrecorded sections of the workings.

Bell pits, hush gullies and level entrances scattered along the gill.

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.

• Slei Gill's lead veins included Fell End, Wellington, Blucher, Scatter Scar and Tanner's Rake, worked through bell pits, hushing and driven levels including Scotts Level, Doctor, Procter, Sun Gutter and Tanner Rake. ¹
• Flash flooding struck Slei Gill twice in 2019: the first flood exposed previously-unrecorded mine workings, and a second flood later the same year buried the newly-exposed areas again before a full archaeological survey could be completed. 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) Lead mining in Arkengarthdale — Yorkshire Dales National Park
2. (secondary) Slei Gill and the Floods — Upper Wharfedale Field Society
3. (observational) Slei Gill, Arkengarthdale — Geograph Britain and Ireland (Katy Walters)

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