Stanhopeburn Mine

Overview

A Weardale mine along Crawleyside Bank worked for lead from around 1830 to 1875, then reopened in 1906 for fluorspar and worked on and off through the 20th century until Swiss Aluminium UK closed it shortly before that company's 1982 demise.

History

Stanhopeburn Mine lies along Crawleyside Bank at the eastern end of the Red Vein, which runs the length of Rookhopeburn to the west, near Stanhope in Weardale. It was worked for lead from around 1830 to 1875, first by the London Lead Company and later by the Beaumont Company, which took the lease in 1866 and drove the Shield Hurst Level westwards until it met strong mineralisation, mostly in and above the Great Limestone; the lead ore proved poor, but the drivage discovered a large body of rich fluorspar-bearing ground that held no interest for a company focused on lead. That fluorspar was what brought the mine back to life: it was reopened in 1906 by the Weardale Lead Co. specifically to work it, and saw a succession of owners through the 20th century, remaining quite active in the 1970s under Swiss Aluminium UK before that company closed it shortly before its own 1982 collapse. The mine has been idle since. Fluorspar Limited took over the semi-derelict mine in 1941, when fluorspar was made a strategic mineral, and installed a modern treatment plant; the company's operations were the subject of a prize-winning article in 1953.

Geology

The eastern end of the Red Vein, which runs the length of Rookhopeburn to the west; worked for lead and, from 1906, for fluorspar.

Workings

Worked the Red Vein via the Shield Hurst Level, driven westward by the Beaumont Company from 1866; later fluorspar working from 1906 onward exploited ground the original lead drivage had discovered but not valued.

Closure

Lead working ended around 1875; the mine was reopened in 1906 for fluorspar and worked intermittently until Swiss Aluminium UK closed it shortly before that company's 1982 collapse.

What remains

Derelict but substantial: the mine office, winding house, workshop with crane gantry, the tramway's stone bridge over the burn and the locomotive charging shed survive, the main adit backfilled; the old blacksmith's shop by the adit was restored by a new private owner in 2024, and a public footpath runs through the site.

Mine office, winding house, workshop, tramway bridge, locomotive charging shed and the restored blacksmith's shop, with the backfilled adit.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The Beaumont Company took the Stanhopeburn lease in 1866 and drove the Shield Hurst Level west, discovering fluorspar-bearing ground of no interest to a lead-focused operator. ¹
• Stanhopeburn was reopened in 1906 by the Weardale Lead Co. for fluorspar, remaining active under Swiss Aluminium UK in the 1970s before closing shortly before that company's 1982 collapse. ²
• J. K. Almond's prize-winning article of 1953 described operations at Stanhopeburn under Fluorspar Limited, which took over the semi-derelict mine in 1941 when fluorspar was made a strategic mineral and the old dumps were nearly exhausted, and installed an up-to-date treatment plant. ³
• A visit of May 2021 found the mine office in poor repair, the winding house with its rope hole, a stone bridge carrying the main tramway over the burn, the locomotive charging shed beside the adit, a workshop with a crane gantry, buffer stops and wooden bridges missing their planks, and the main adit backfilled, a public footpath running through the site. ⁴
• Swiss Aluminium UK converted the old blacksmith's shop by the adit into a locomotive shed and charging station for its battery locomotives; a new private owner of the site had the building thoroughly restored by 2024, visible from the public footpaths along the tramway. ⁵
• The British Geological Survey holds plans of Stanhopeburn Mine with a vertical section (MP18478, from Durham Archive, fluorspar, zinc and lead), further plans and sections (MP18481, MP18486, MP18908-17), and a section on the line of the Red Vein through Stanhopeburn, Stotfieldburn and Groverake (MP18694). ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Stanhopeburn Mine, Stanhope, County Durham — Buddlepit Mine Database (NMRS-sourced)
2. (secondary) Stanhopeburn Mine — Mine Explorer Society
3. (primary) A Fluorspar Producer in County Durham, by J. K. Almond (Mine and Quarry Engineering, April 1953; Durham Mining Museum transcription) — Durham Mining Museum
4. (observational) Stanhopeburn Fluorite Mine, May 2021 (28DaysLater) — 28DaysLater
5. (secondary) Stanhopeburn blacksmith shop restoration (Beamish Transport Online, 9 October 2024) — Beamish Transport Online
6. (primary) Stanhopeburn Mine plans MP18478 and others (BGS mine plans catalogue) — British Geological Survey

Record created: 1 September 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026