Low Slitt Lead Mine, Weardale

This is what’s left of the Low Slitt Lead Mine, once one of the biggest mines in the North Pennines. The mine had a long history, with lead ore extraction going on as early as two centuries before it really took off in the early 1700s, thanks to the efforts of the Sir William Blackett Lead Company. At its peak, over 100 men worked here, carving out a level in the hillside and digging a deep shaft to reach the ore. They managed to extract around 100,000 tons of lead before the mine shut down in 1878, largely due to competition from cheaper imported lead.

But there’s more to the story than just numbers and dates. The place would have been a hive of activity back then, filled with the sounds of hydraulic hammers pounding away at the ore and the smell of the teams of sturdy Galloway ponies as they await their load of ore. Once washed to carry away the waste, the lead ore was loaded onto the backs of these ponies—each carrying two hundredweight (cwt)—and driven over the steep hills to Rookhope’s smelting mill, with barking dogs keeping the pace. From Rookhope, the refined lead ingots made their way to Blaydon in carts.