Thornhill's lead level, 500m north of Kiplings Cottage

Reasons for Designation

Approximately 10,000 lead industry sites are estimated to survive in England, spanning nearly three millennia of mining history from the later Bronze Age (c.1000 BC) until the present day, though before the Roman period it is likely to have been on a small scale. Two hundred and fifty one lead industry sites, representing approximately 2.5% of the estimated national archaeological resource for the industry, have been identified as being of national importance. This selection of nationally important monuments, compiled and assessed through a comprehensive survey of the lead industry, is designed to represent the industry's chronological depth, technological breadth and regional diversity.



The mid-18th century Thornhill's level represents a late use of a relatively primitive manual mining technology at a time when gun powder was commonplace within the industry. In addition, tool marks on walls of the entrance illustrate the methods employed in driving the level, and surviving evidence of this nature is now very rare within the industry.

Details

The monument is situated 500m north of Kiplings Cottage, and includes the remains of an 18th century lead level. Thornhill's (also known as Hammond or Jackass) level is thought to date to the mid-18th century. In around 1790 a property dispute noted the driving of Thornhill's level by the previous lessee Mr Thornhill. This places the date of construction of the level to around 1740. Thornhill's level, which is driven into a coarse gritstone crag situated on the east bank of the Sandy Beck, takes the form of a narrow rock-cut slit. The entrance measures 1.5m high by 0.6m wide and has a coffin-shaped outline internally. The survival of tool marks at the entrance and characteristic herring-bone tool marks on the walls of the interior indicate that the level was entirely hand dug and thus represents a late use of relatively primitive mining technology at a time when the use of gunpowder in mining was commonplace. The level continues to emanate water and is accessible.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

30932

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Raistrick, A, Lead Mining in the Mid Pennines, (1973), 26-7,34
Raistrick, A, Jennings, B, A History of Lead Mining in the Pennines, (1983), 7
Dickinson, J M, Gill, M C, British Mining No.21 in The Greenhow Mining Field: An Historical Survey, (1983)

End of official list entry

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