Iron

Britain's most industrially important metal (Fe), mined chiefly as haematite in Cumbria and as ironstone in the Forest of Dean and the Weald, and the raw material that underpinned the Industrial Revolution and, later, the steel industry.

Historical usage

Iron working in Britain has prehistoric origins, with the Forest of Dean's shallow surface workings ("scowles") exploited by the Romans and Wealden ironstone worked from the Iron Age onward, both areas chosen for their combination of ore and abundant charcoal-producing woodland. Large-scale mechanised mining developed in west Cumbria from the 19th century, where exceptionally rich and pure haematite deposits around Frizington, Cleator Moor and Egremont fed the region's own steelworks; Florence Mine at Egremont, kept open by its own workforce after British Steel withdrew, was the last deep iron ore mine working in England before it finally closed.

How it worked

Cumbrian haematite was reached by deep shaft mining much like other metal ores, while Wealden and Forest of Dean ironstone was often worked from shallow pits or surface "scowles" close to outcrop. Ore was crushed and roasted (calcined) to drive off moisture and impurities before being smelted with coke or charcoal in a blast furnace to produce pig iron.

Why it was used

Iron's combination of strength, workability and (once alloyed as steel) hardness made it the structural material of the Industrial Revolution — rails, ships, machinery, bridges and buildings — while Cumbria's unusually pure, low-phosphorus haematite was particularly prized for producing high-grade steel by the Bessemer process.

Value over time

British iron ore was never a nationally priced commodity in the way tin or copper were — value came instead from grade and proximity to fuel and furnaces. Cumbrian haematite commanded a premium for its purity and low phosphorus content, ideal for Bessemer steelmaking, but from the mid-20th century the calculus shifted decisively: cheaper, richer imported ore (60-70% iron against home ore's 24-30%) undercut domestic mining, and Britain's home iron ore industry wound down through the 1960s-80s.

Hazards & challenges

Haematite dust causes siderosis, a generally benign pneumoconiosis in which iron oxide particles accumulate in the lungs without the severe scarring associated with silicosis — but iron miners were commonly exposed to silica-bearing rock alongside the ore itself, producing the more serious combined condition siderosilicosis, and mortality studies have linked heavy iron-dust exposure to increased lung cancer risk.

Risks & limitations

British iron ore is generally low-grade compared with deposits developed elsewhere in the 20th century — UK ores typically ran at 24-30% iron content against 60-70% for the imported ores that came to dominate from the 1960s — and once cheap, high-grade ore could be shipped in from Sweden, Australia and elsewhere, domestic mining could not compete.

Regional variation

West Cumbria (haematite, the richest British deposits) is the standout region; the Forest of Dean and the Weald represent much older, shallower workings tied to Britain's earliest iron industry.

Images

Mines associated with this term

Included only where MineArchive's own research gives a reasonable evidential basis — not every mine where this might plausibly apply.

• Clearwell Caves — Gloucestershire (well documented example)
  Mined for iron ore and ochre for over 4,500 years, still worked today by Forest of Dean Free Miners.
• Dalmellington Iron Works — East Ayrshire (well documented example)
  Exploited local ironstone and coal on an industrial scale from 1847, running fourteen blast furnaces at its peak.
• Florence Mine — Cumbria (well documented example)
  The last deep working iron ore mine in England, kept going by its own workforce after British Steel withdrew.
• Hodbarrow Mine — Cumbria (well documented example)
  One of the richest and largest haematite iron mines in the world, worked beneath the Irish Sea behind two artificial sea barriers.
• Rosedale Ironstone Mines — North Yorkshire (well documented example)
  A remote North York Moors ironstone field whose output was hauled out over one of Britain's most dramatic mineral railways.

Sources

1. (primary) Haematite deposits of Cumbria — BGS Earthwise
2. (primary) Respiratory diseases in iron ore miners and millers — PMC / NIH
3. (secondary) Iron and Ironstone — National Association of Mining History Organisations
4. (secondary) Mining — Forest of Dean Local History Society

Record created: 22 August 2026 · Last researched: 22 August 2026