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Northern Mine Research Society Registered Charity 326704 |
Mining in the British Isles
Mining in the British Isles began in the Neolithic period, around 6000 years ago, when flint was mined at Grimes Graves, in Norfolk, and the South Downs. A hard stone was quarried, to make polished hand axes, around Great Langdale and Scafell in Neolithic times. An increasing number of Bronze Age copper mines have now been recognised, with radiocarbon dates of between 3300 and 3020 years ago for bone tools and charcoal from a mine at Great Orme. Larger numbers of stone hammers, or mauls, have been recovered from such sites. Tin was also been worked in Cornwall and traded over long distances.
For convenience, mining in the British Isles has been divided in to the following sections:
For convenience, mining in the British Isles has been divided in to the following sections:
| Non Ferrous | Iron | Coal |
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| Botallack Mine, Cornwall | Florence Iron Mine, Cumbria | Ackton Hall Colliery (demolished), West Yorkshire |
Onshore Oil and Gas |
Quarries |
Other Mines |
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| Kimmeridge Oil Well, Dorset | Coldstones Quarry, North Yorkshire | Boulby Potash Mine, North Yorkshire |
Yorkshire Smelt Mills |
North Pennines Smelt Mills |
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| Old Gang Smelt Mill | Nenthead Smelt Mill |
Acknowledgements of contributions to these pages and advice for potential contributors
Further details on the history of mining in the British Isles::