Section of Raygill Mine
From British Mining No.33 © MC Gill
An anticline brings limestone to the surface near Lothersdale and a strong vein of barytes was found during quarrying.
In 1855 a level was driven into it from the roadside and an incline driven from the level down the vein.
Well over 35,000 tons of barytes were produced of the next twenty years.
The workings were pumped by a Cornish engine, but all traces of this once important mine have been obliterated by quarrying and subsequent landscaping
See: Gill, M.C. The Yorkshire and Lancashire Lead Mines: A Study of Lead Mining in the South Craven and Rossendale Districts (British Mining No.33, 1987)
Return to previous page