More information : (NY 365 174) Greenside Lead Mine (NAT)
(NY 3646 1751) Old Level (NAT) (1)
Full history and description including plans, sections and
photographs (2a-c).
The final level of the Greenside Mine, the Lucy Tongue situated at NY
3643 1750, was completed in 1868, necessitating a tunnel of about
1.46kms to reach the Greenside vein, and from that date all of the
ore was removed by this level. During the Second World War a shaft
was sunk to a depth of 397m, where the vein came to an end and
Skiddaw Slate was encountered, thus heralding the end of the mine,
which closed in 1962. The adit was situated close to the earlier
dressing floor and smelter associated with the Low Horse Level higher
up the hill and connected to it by an incline. Throughout the
history of the mine, new technologies in extraction and processing
were introduced; structures were demolished and rebuilt, and a number
of buildings were reused with a different function. Hydraulic power
was replaced by hydro-electric, and in the 1930s national grid
electricity was brought in, so for the first time the mines were no
longer dependant on the power raised from the tarns and streams in
the Glenridding Beck catchment area. The smelter went out of use at
the time of the First World War.
The adit was covered in scree and waste material at the time of field
examination, and its position can only be located from reference to
earlier OS maps. The surface mineworks had occupied a series of
terraces cut out of the hill slope; five of these terraces can still
be identified, but the majority of the pit head buildings with their
machinery have been systematically removed and the area landscaped.
Several of the buildings were retained and have been converted to
hostel accommodation. The water catchment system is highly complex,
and evolved throughout the life of the mine. The surface remains,
including those of the system of dams (all breached) and leats are
described in detail by authorities 2a-2c and in the archive account,
with reference to the RCHME plans (2).
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