West Stonesdale Mine

Overview

A short-lived lead mine built in 1850 on Startindale Gill to reach the western end of the Blakethwaite vein already being worked further east in Gunnerside valley, notable for a rare hydraulic engine and abandoned within eleven years when the vein proved barren.

History

West Stonesdale Mine was built from 1850 specifically to access the western end of the Blakethwaite vein, which was already being worked profitably further east in the neighbouring Gunnerside valley. Because the ore here was too deeply buried for direct vertical working, the mine adopted a down-and-across strategy: a 90-yard shaft was sunk on the west bank of Startindale Gill, with a tunnel driven north from its foot to intercept the vein at depth. An adit was also driven on the opposite bank of the gill, connected to the shaft workings by a stone bridge and causeway. The mine's engine house held a hydraulic engine -- powered by water pressure rather than steam, a genuine rarity in the north of England at the time -- which drove the winding gear, pumped water from the workings, and supplied ventilation, all from a single power source. Despite this investment and extensive lateral exploration, the Blakethwaite vein itself proved barren at this western extremity, though some ore was found along the way; the mine was abandoned in 1861, only eleven years after it began, and was never reworked.

Workings

A 90-yard shaft on the west bank of Startindale Gill with a tunnel driven north at its foot, and a separate adit on the opposite bank linked to the shaft workings by a stone bridge and causeway; a hydraulic engine in the mine's engine house powered winding, pumping and ventilation together.

Closure

Abandoned in 1861, only eleven years after work began, once extensive underground exploration confirmed the Blakethwaite vein was barren at this western end; never reworked.

What remains

The former engine house survives in poor structural condition -- sections of the sandstone building are sliding down the hillside at different rates, leaving its walls buckled and bulging -- alongside a flooded shaft (partly covered with asbestos sheeting) with submerged pipework, winding-rope pulley remnants, a terraced dressing floor with the barely recognisable pit of an ore crusher wheel, a spoil tip, and the remains of the concave bridge that once spanned the gill.

A structurally unstable former engine house, a flooded shaft, a terraced dressing floor, an ore crusher wheel pit, a spoil tip, and the ruined stone bridge across Startindale 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.

• The mine's engine house held a hydraulic engine, powered by water pressure rather than steam -- a genuine rarity in the north of England at the time -- which drove the winding gear, pumped water from the workings, and supplied ventilation. ¹
• West Stonesdale was built from 1850 specifically to reach the western end of the Blakethwaite vein already being worked in the Gunnerside valley; the vein proved barren here despite extensive exploration, and the mine was abandoned in 1861. ¹
• The former engine house is now structurally unstable, with sections sliding down the hillside at different rates and its sandstone walls visibly buckled and bulging; the shaft is flooded, and a ruined bridge, thought to have carried sandstone from the nearby Frith Quarry, once spanned the valley beside the site. ²

Sources

1. (primary) West Stonesdale lead mine and ore works, Muker — Historic England (Scheduled Monument 1015407)
2. (observational) Mines 23 - Swaledale Lead Mines 8 - Western End — 28DaysLater Urban Exploring Forums

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