Stanhopeburn blacksmith shop restoration...

Stanhopeburn blacksmith shop restoration…

A little while ago, we were contacted by the new owner of the Stanhopeburn mining site, which had closed (by then, for fluorspar extraction) in 1982.  The owner wished to restore/conserve some of the existing features of the site, and planned to start work with the restoration of the former blacksmiths shop, that had latterly been used as a storage and charging shed for battery locomotives.

History of the site

The London lead company were the first operators at Stanhopeburn, later passing the lease to Lord Carlisle.  In 1866 W. B. Lead (often referred to as the Beaumont Company) took over the lease, which included a standard gauge branch connecting it to the North Eastern Railway (formerly Stanhope & Tyne Railway) near the base of Crawleyside Incline.  The mine soon closed and the railway was lifted (c1879) but the mine was to be rejuvenated by the Weardale Lead Company in 1906.  This time it was fluorspar rather than lead that was being extracted, and to connect the mine with the NER, a 2 ft. 6 in. narrow gauge tramway was constructed, interchanging with the standard gauge at Lanehead Quarry (owned at the time by the Consett Iron Company).

The tramway was initially worked by horses, but in 1909, a Black Hawthorn locomotive (No.981 of 1889 and rebuilt by Hawthorn Leslie, possibly for work at Stanhopeburn) arrived from Groverake Mine near Rookhope, to the west.  This worked the tramway until its closure (with the mine)in 1933, the locomotive being scrapped in 1937 when the mine was taken over by two local miners, Beaston & Elliott.  Presumably they scrapped the locomotive as a means of achieving some capital for their new venture.  In 1940 the operation passed to Flourspar Ltd. and was worked through to 1964 (by then under the control of Laporte Chemicals Ltd.).

In 1971 it reopened again, this time by Ferguson Wild and Company Ltd.  Some of the workings were refurbished, before it was taken over by Swiss Aluminium UK (SAMUK).  SAMUK introduced railway operation underground (using a battery locomotive) and converted the old blacksmith shop by the adit entrance into a locomotive shed and charging station.  The operation closed again in 1982, but remains of mining equipment, including some of the rolling stock used, remained on site into the late 1990s.

The site was sold to a private owner, who has commenced restoration of some of the historic buildings associated with the mine operation.

Below: Weardale Lead Company No.1 is seen on the tramway c1914.  The locomotive previously worked on the line at Wolfcleugh.  It was covered in a previous blog post (along with its engine shed at Groverake): https://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/2020/06/ti-news-11-2020/

Below: This photo shows the tramway meandering up the valley from Lanehead Quarry, following the course of the earlier railway (waggonway) that served the mine up to 1879.

Below: The same location in 2016, accessible as a footpath and very little changed from the view above.

Below: The site of Stanhopeburn, with the blacksmith’s shop visible to the left of the view.  To the left of this was the adit entrance into the mine itself.  The tramway can be seen in the foreground, with a short rake of skip waggons being filled with fluorspar.

Below: A modern view of the area, with the blacksmith’s building visible in the centre, and the much modified loading docks to the left and right.  A number of more modern buildings were erected in connection with the SAMUK operation, quite dramatically changing the layout and appearance of the site.

Below: Take at the same time is this view of the blacksmiths shop, showing the confined entrance into the building – but still large enough to accommodate the battery locomotive and equipment within.  The adit mouth can be seen to the left.

Below: These views show the commencement of the restoration of the blacksmiths shop, under new (and present) ownership.  The brief is one of conservation and restoration and as can be seen, a very thorough job has been carried out.  The owner is tackling this work purely because of the historic nature of the site and for the good of the remaining infrastructure.  There is no plan to reinstate the railway – though it does occur to me that taking Samson there for a little visit might be fun…  The site is privately owned but well connected by public footpaths that follow the route of the tramway in this area, so the restored building is visible for those who wish to admire the work that has been carried out and observe future conservation work on the mine buildings.

Photos from the Beamish Archive, by Paul Jarman and the site owner.