Ubley Rake

Overview

An open lead working in the historic Charterhouse lead field on Mendip, one of a pair of major rakes worked since Roman times, whose 19th-century operators built settling ponds and a reservoir here to rework the district's lead-rich slag.

History

Ubley Rake, alongside the neighbouring Blackmoor Rake, anchors the historic Charterhouse lead field on Mendip, a district mined on and off since Roman times. The Mendip Hills Mining Company began production in 1844, sinking shafts in the Ubley Rakes area over the following three years. In 1849 the company leased the slag-rich ground around the Ubley and Blackmoor area of the valley specifically to rework it: the old slag yielded up to 57% lead, prompting the construction of settling ponds, three dressing floors, a smelter and a large reservoir. Numerous ponds still visible in the landscape today were created as part of this processing infrastructure, sited on the poorly-draining Avon Group shales that underlie the valley. By 1853 the operation employed over 300 people, producing tens of tons of lead a month. Around 1861 the works passed to the Cornish smelting firm of Treffry and Co, who continued lead smelting until 1878, when falling lead prices ended it; dressing and buddling of remaining ore continued until the site was finally abandoned in 1885.

Workings

An open rake, over 100 metres long and up to 10 metres deep, worked both for its original ore and, from 1849, for its lead-rich slag, processed through settling ponds built on the valley's poorly-draining Avon Group shales.

Closure

Smelting ended in 1878 as lead prices fell; dressing and buddling continued until final abandonment in 1885.

What remains

The open rake survives as a prominent landscape feature, with numerous settling ponds from the Victorian reprocessing operation still visible nearby.

The open rake itself and numerous settling ponds from the Victorian reprocessing operation.

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 Mendip Hills Mining Company began production in 1844, sinking shafts in the Ubley Rakes area, before leasing the slag-rich ground around Ubley and Blackmoor in 1849 -- slag yielding up to 57% lead -- prompting the construction of settling ponds, three dressing floors, a smelter and a reservoir. ¹
• Numerous settling ponds, part of the Victorian processing infrastructure, were built on the valley's poorly-draining Avon Group shales and remain visible in the landscape today. ²
• Around 1861 the works passed to the Cornish smelting firm Treffry and Co, who continued smelting until 1878; dressing and buddling of remaining ore continued until final abandonment in 1885. ¹

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Charterhouse or Mendip Mines Lead Works — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Charterhouse ore field on Mendip — The Moving Dragon Writes

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