Wythburn Mine (Wheal Henry; Helvellyn Mine), St. John's Castlerigg and Wythburn, Allerdale, Cumbria, England, UKi

Regional Level Types
Wythburn Mine (Wheal Henry; Helvellyn Mine)	Mine
St. John's Castlerigg and Wythburn	Civil Parish
Allerdale	District
Cumbria	County
England	Constituent Country
UK	Country

Wythburn Mine is situated in the upper part of Mines Gill on the western side of Helvellyn, the third highest mountain in England.

The mine exploited four lead veins, the Blue Vein, Old Vein (North South Vein), Eagle Crag Vein and the East West Vein.

In all six levels were driven on these veins. They were No.4 Level, the lowest level at 1300 ft. No.3 Level at 1600ft, No.2 Level at 1750 ft, No.1 Level at 1908 ft, Arnisons Level, which was named after a local miner, at 2098ft and Arnisons Top Level at 2348ft.

The mine was first worked by a group of local miners and prospectors in1835. They started work on two of the veins, Blue Rock Vein and Old Vein, which were exposed in the bedrock on the north side of the gill, opening up 2 levels, High Level (which was to become No.1 Level) and Low Level (which was later to become No.2 Level). It was hoped that the veins were going to be as rich as those on the other side of the mountain at the highly profitable Greenside Mine. However, the returns failed to meet expectations and venture soon collapsed resulting in the closure of the mine.

Then in 1837 the mine became Wheal Henry when a new company took over called the Wheal Henry Helvellyn Lead Mining Ltd., led by a Cornish man called Henry Molyneux, after whom the mine was named. They worked the mine until 1857, driving forward on both the High and Low levels and opening up a lot of new ground, including No.3 Level on the south side of the gill. After running into financial difficulties the company managed to raise more money with the promise of high returns and by the end of 1857 the company was refloated under the new name of the Henry Helvellyn Lead Mining Company Ltd. In 1859 work was started on No.4 Level on what was assumed to be a continuation of the very rich Eagle Crag vein on the eastern side of Helvellyn. Unfortunately for the company, No 3 and No 4 levels were to proving to be virtually barren and once again they found themselves in dire financial difficulties and work at the mine came to an end.

1861 saw the formation of a new company called the Wythburn Lead Mining Company and Wheal Henry became the Wythburn Mine. Soon the mine was working again with a lot of new development taking place to bring the mine up to date. A new dam and dressing plant was erected at the bottom of the gill to process the ore. An incline was built from the plant up to No 2 Level to transport the ore tubs down the steep gill to the mill, replacing the outdated method of using packhorses to transport the ore down the mountain. This self-acting incline, with a gradient of 1 in 3, was a massive feat of engineering, measuring 600 yards long, 9ft wide and 9 ft high and built out of dressed stone. A bridge was also built at the bottom of the incline so that it could ford the gill and take the ore directly to the ore bins at the dressing plant. At the top of the incline, a large winding drum house was built, just below No2 Level adit, to house the winding mechanism. This was all a massive investment for the new company, around £20,000, showing how confident they were in the mines future, and all this work was carried out in just 2 years. It was during this time that both Arnisons Level and later Arnisons Top level were started. Although some work was carried out on No3 Level it produced very little ore and was soon abandoned. It was the higher levels which were to prove the richest part of the mine as it was here that two of the veins, the Blue Rock Vein and The East West Vein intersected. The mine was opened up with a rise from No2 Level and No1 Level up to Arnisons Level. All the ore was then dropped down internally, a distance of 346ft, from the upper levels down to No 2 level, now the main drawing adit for transporting the ore down to the mill. However, despite all the work that was carried out, not enough ore was being raised to cover the costs and once again the mine failed to make a return on its investment with the company making substantial losses. In 1870 the company was in difficulty and put into liquidation. It finally closed in 1872.

Over the next eight years three more companies tried their luck with the mine, hoping to make their fortunes. The Helvellyn Mining Company (1872-1873), West Cumberland Consols Mining Company (1873 -1874) and finally in 1875 the New West Cumberland Consols Mining Company. Then in 1878 the Manchester Water Authority, who were building the Thirlmere reservoir at the bottom of the valley to supply the city of Manchester with its much needed water, bought the land and mineral rights to the mine. However, the mine continued to work in a reduced capacity for a further 4 years, recovering some good ore from the upper levels. But the low price of lead and the death of the mine captain in 1882 finally saw an end to mining at Wythburn. The dressing plant and mill were demolished by the Water Authority and the stone was reused in the construction of the reservoir so very little remains of the site today.

Despite the huge investment made by the various companies, and the amount of work put into opening up new ground, the mine was never a success and it is thought to of only produced around 1,500 tons of lead ore during its 47 year history. By the time the mine finally closed in 1882 there were 1,985 yards of levels and a total of 406ft of stopes and rises.

Mindat Articles

Storm Desmond and Wythburn mine by Paul Nicholson

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References