Photographs of the lead mining village of Gunnerside and surrounding farmland in Swaledale, the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Two tiny fragments of galena (lead sulphide) found within a quartz vein in the spoil heaps of Bunton Level Lead Mine at Gunnerside Gill in Swaledale, North Yorkshire.
N.B. It is illegal to remove minerals from UK National Parks and SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) without permission.
Fields, barns and the village of Gunnerside in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Fields, walls and barns near Gunnerside in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Gunnerside Smithy, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
The smithy was established in 1795, and the present owner Stephen Calvert, is the sixth generation of blacksmiths in the Calvert family to work here. The Old Smithy Museum houses an interesting collection of artifacts from the smithy. Open 11am till 5pm, Easter until the end of October. Closed on Mondays.
The former Gunnerside Literary Institute, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Opened in the late 1860s as the Literary Institute, one of several throughout Swaledale to promote reading and education among the lead miners and farmers. The building is now used as the village hall.
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Gunnerside, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Built in 1866 to replace a 1789 chapel on the same site.
Gunnerside New Bridge, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
New Bridge at Gunnerside, spanning the River Swale was built in the 1830s to relieve unemployment caused by depression in the lead-.mining industry.
Early 19th century cottages in the Swaledale village of Gunnerside, North Yorkshire.
The dramatic lead mining landscape of Gunnerside Gill in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
The Old Gang dressing floor for the Sir Francis Mine in Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Bouse bays and wheel pit at the Old Gang dressing floor of Sir Francis Lead Mine in Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
The bouse (or ore) was often hand-sorted by boys and women. Rock containing no ore was thrown onto the spoil heaps and any pure galena (lead ore) was crushed into small pieces. Initially this was done by hand using a large flat hammer, but later by a water-powered crusher in the wheel pit. Finally the pea-sized lumps of ore were sieved and sent to a smelt mill.
Bouse teams at the Sir Francis lead mine dressing floor, Gunnerside, Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
The eleven stone bunkers above the dressing floor of Sir Francis Mine were used by gangs of miners to store their accumulation of bouse (ore) prior to it being taken to the dressing floor for processing.
Sir Francis Mine Level of 1864 beside Gunnerside Beck, Gunnerside, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
The old cast iron air receiver stands on the site of the engine house beside the lead mine entrance.
Office and mineshop of the AD Lead Mining Company beside Gunnerside Beck in Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
The enormous spoil heaps and ruinous remains of the bouse teams and wheel pit of the Dolly Lead Level on the west bank of Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Bunton Level Lead Mine, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
The remains of the row of bouse teams are in the foreground.
The wheel pit of Bunton / Bunting Mine dressing floor, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
The wheel pit housed a 7.4m diameter overshot wheel which powered a pair of crushers the break up the ore.
Entrance adit to Bunton Level Lead Mine, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Surrender Bridge signposted up through the wild west landscape of Bunton Hush, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, North Yorkshire.
HUSH: "A gully or ravine excavated at least in part by use of a controlled torrent of water, to reveal or exploit a vein of lead or other mineral ore." Historic England.
Bunton Hush, Gunnerside Gill in Swaledale, North Yorkshire.
HUSH: "A gully or ravine excavated at least in part by use of a controlled torrent of water, to reveal or exploit a vein of lead or other mineral ore." Historic England.
The rich tapestry of Gunnerside Gill: Bunton Level and Bunton Rush from the western side of the gill in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Blakethwaite Smelt Mill, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
This mill was built around 1820 to deal with the galena from the Lowanthwaite and Blakethwaite mines. Here the ore pellets were heated and the molten lead poured into moulds to make ingots of pure metal. The iron pillars that supported the furnace arches are still visible, as are sections of the long flue that ran up the hillside to carry away the poisonous fumes from the hot ore. The limekiln in front of the cliff face provided mortar for the building of the mill.
Peat Store, Blakethwaite Smelt Mill, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Peat, cut from the moors and dried in this open-sided storehouse, was used to fuel the furnaces of the smelt mill.
he Peat Store, Blakethwaite Smelt Mill, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire. Peat, cut from the moors and dried in this open-sided storehouse, was used to fuel the furnaces of the smelt mill.
Lime kiln, Blakethwaite Smelt Mill, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
An early 19th century kiln, built to provide mortar for the building of the mill.
Waterfall and the remains of the Blakethwaite Mine Dressing Floor, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale, North Yorkshire.
North Hush, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Gunnerside Gill is criss-crossed by a series of large lead-bearing seams which have been mined since at least the 15th century. Early miners developed the process of hushing to expose these veins of lead. To create a hush, a dam was built at the top of an area to be cleared. When sufficient rainwater had collected behind the dam, it was broken, sending the water gushing down the hillside, scouring away the soil and revealing seams of lead which could then be easily worked from the surface. When the gill had been fully hushed, means of horizontal tunnelling had to be developed to gain access to the deeper veins.
North Hush Gunnerside Gill in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Friarfold Hush and Bunton Hush make up the backdrop.
Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus.
Kestrel sitting on a fellside rock at the top of Botcher Gill Nook, Gunnerside Gill in Swaledale.
Red grouse grit tray beside the track at Botcher Gill Gate, Gunnerside in the Yorkshire Dales.
Grouse ingest grit to break down their food before digestion. When the shooting season ends, the grit is coated with a chemical to kill any worms in the gut. If left untreated, the worms can kill the bird.
Office and workshop of the AD Lead Mining Company, Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire. Sir Francis Level adit and the air compressor can be seen to the right.
Spoil heaps from the Old Gang Lead Mines on Melbecks Moor, Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire.
Thomas and Foster stone breaker from the Old Gand Lead Mine on Melbecks Moor, Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire. NY 948 014