The Honister Slate Mine in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

is the last working slate mine in England. Quarrying for Westmorland green slate has been taking place in the area since 1728. Apart from the mining it is also a popular tourist attraction in the Lake District National Park.

History

Opencast quarrying had been carried out at Honister since the late 17th century. But as capacity increased, the site's underground workings were extensively expanded.

19th century

By 1870 Honister's underground workings stretched under Honister Crag with intermediate workings on the opposite side of the valley at Yew Crags. Smaller-scale underground workings on Dubbs Moor, together with a small opencast quarry. Packhorse teams had been used to remove the finished slate on sleds from mines. This involved bringing the loads down steep paths that traversed the cliffs to the top of

Honister Pass Honister Pass is a mountain pass in the English Lake District. It is located on the B5289 road, linking Seatoller, in the valley of Borrowdale, to Gatesgarth at the southern end of Buttermere. The pass reaches an altitude of , making it ...

(The Hause). Dubbs mine was known for its 'smaller metal' (metal being the terminology for slate), in that smaller pieces of slate (thus smaller slates) were obtainable due to the geology; but this did give rise to some instability. In 1879 the mine's new owners - who also leased and operated other quarries in

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' ...

- installed self-acting inclines to serve both the Honister and Yew Crags mines. Despite the cost to build these feats of engineering, the financial outlay proved correct as they improved efficiency in the mines. For instance the Dubbs Quarry incline allowed slate to be pulled up and then down into the valley to The Hause. Although by mid-1920s, aerial ropeways now served the Honister and Yew Crags Mines, the external Yew Crags incline proved to be so efficient it remained in use until the late 1960s. A petrol-driven narrow-gauge locomotive was used to make the connection between the Hause/slate works and the incline and short aerial ropeway. A bridge carried the railway over the Seatoller-Buttermere road. The bridge was scrapped in the early 1970s. By 1891 production had reached 3,000 tons a year and more than 100 men were employed in the mines.

20th century

The mines reverted to care and maintenance for a while due to labour shortages in

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. However it did not take long for production to recommence after the cessation of hostilities. By 1926, following a change of management and a new Resident Director, Robin Hoare, the mine's fortunes began to improve with significantly increased production. Considerable modifications were undertaken throughout the quarries, such as the works at The Hause being electrified with two Ruston 4-cylinder diesel generators. The 'new' Kimberley Mine was started from the Road End Level, with a substantial long internal electrically powered incline. Work also began to complete a proposal (that had first been made in the mid-1890s) to drive a level through to the Dubbs Quarries. About of level was completed before the project was shelved in favour of further developing the more significant workings under Honister Crag. In 1932, Dubbs Quarry ceased production largely due to the difficulties and slowness of transporting finished slate. Despite an enforced closure from 1943 to 1945 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

production continued through the 1950s and 1960s although Yew Crag mine closed in 1966 due to difficult roof conditions.

Closure

In 1981, after fifteen years of poor management, all the quarries of the Buttermere & Westmorland Green Slate Co.Ltd. were acquired by B.R. Moore and his father, R.D.Moore. The pair introduced a programme of improvement and a large amount of capital investment was undertaken. This included the installation of rail-borne EIM-Co Rockershovels, battery locomotives, improved rolling stock and increased specialist underground mechanisation and systems (the Moores were helped by their General Manager, Jim Peart, of Weardale mining - previously manager of the Burtree Pasture, Rookhope, and Stanhope Burn lead and fluorspar mines). It was the first use of such equipment in any underground Lake District quarry (the quarries had operated surface diesel locos from about 1930 to the late 1950s). In 1985 the Moore family sold the company and its quarries to

Alfred McAlpine Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in Hooton, Cheshire. It was a major road builder, and constructed over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll (as part of the CAMBBA consortium). It was listed on the ...

plc which also owned

Penrhyn Quarry The Penrhyn quarry is a slate quarry located near Bethesda, North Wales. At the end of the nineteenth century it was the world's largest slate quarry; the main pit is nearly long and deep, and it was worked by nearly 3,000 quarrymen. It has ...

in Bethesda, North

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. McAlpine used an earlier planning permission to open a new opencast (on the Dubbs side of Honister Crag), on the Honister Vein some from the Hopper Opencast (Kimberley Vein); which was then infilled with waste from the new workings. In 1989 McAlpine ceased operations at all the quarries. Only care and maintenance was undertaken.

Reopening & resurgence

In 1997 the mine was reopened by local businessman, Mark Weir, who redeveloped the mining side - producing small quantities of roofing slate - and who also turned the site into a tourist attraction. A

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

industrial railway is used to assist in the slate extraction process. Attractions around the mine complex include a visitor centre, underground tours of the workings, and England's first

via ferrata A via ferrata ( Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except ...

, where participants use a safety harness to scale a cliff path. This attraction proved to be very popular and in 2011 was awarded winner of “Best Tourism Experience in The Lake District" by Cumbria Tourism. Using the original Miners track up the steep outer incline of

Fleetwith Pike Fleetwith Pike is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria which reaches a height of 648 metres (2,126 feet). The fell is a well-known feature of the area as it casts an imposing presence over Buttermere and the ...

, the via ferrata is both physically and mentally challenging.

Zip wire

Honister Mine featured in the 2011 BBC television programme ''Tales from the National Park''. It followed owner Mark Weir, and his attempt to open a

zip wire A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bo ...

from the top of

to the mine below. Weir died in a helicopter crash in March 2011 (during the making of the programme). He had been trying to obtain

planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...

for the proposed zip wire. His business was also facing a prosecution on the part of

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

in respect of damage to plant-life at a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The damage was caused by an unapproved extension which Weir had made to the via ferrata. A 2012 planning application for the zip wire was refused by the Park Authority on the grounds of impact, despite support from explorer and Lake District resident Sir

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

and notable business and tourism organisations. Permission was granted for the long zip wire in 2018.

References

Sources

* John Adams ''Mines of the Lake District'', Dalesman, 1995, * Ian Tyler ''Honister - The History of a Lakeland slate mine''

External links

Honister Slate Mine

Lake District Walks - Honister
{{coord, 54, 30, 38, N, 3, 11, 46, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Slate mines in England Buildings and structures in Cumbria 2 ft gauge railways in England Tourist attractions in Cumbria Industrial railways in England Surface mines in England Mines in Cumbria Railway inclines in the United Kingdom