Weardale Lead Company
Reference: D/WL 1 Catalogue Title: Weardale Lead Company Area: Catalogue Category: Business and Industry Records Description: Plans (1)
Covering Dates: 1819-1968
Catalogue Index
Use and to reveal/hide the structure of the catalogue index (requires Javascript to be enabled in your internet browser options). Click to jump directly to information at a specific level of the catalogue.
- Weardale Lead Company
- Weardale Lead Company - Plans (1) (Ref: D/WL 1/1-10)
- Coptcleugh and Sedling (Ref: D/WL 1/1/1-64)
- Slitt vein, Middlehope, Brandon Walls, Thornley Brow, Whesenhope, Northgate (Ref: D/WL 1/2/1-19)
- New Sedling (Ref: D/WL 1/3/1-18)
- Barbary (Ref: D/WL 1/4/1-99)
- Wellhope and Poppet, Longtyhead, Killhope (Ref: D/WL 1/5/1-16)
- Middlehope, Longsyke (Ref: D/WL 1/6/1-12)
- Swinhope, Greenlaws (Ref: D/WL 1/7/1-20)
- Boltsburn (Ref: D/WL 1/8/1-114)
- Lintzgarth (Ref: D/WL 1/9/1-5)
- Stotsfieldburn (Ref: D/WL 1/10/1-212)
Catalogue Description
THE WEARDALE LEAD COMPANY LTD.A Brief History
The Weardale Lead Company was formed in June 1883, taking over the mines and mineral leases in Weardale, relinquished during the previous three years by the Blackett/Beaumont family (sometimes referred to as the Beaumont Company). It thus maintains an unbroken mining tradition which dates back to 1698 when the leases were first granted to Sir William Blackett by the bishop of Durham. Until the end of the nineteenth century operations were not particularly successful due to the low price of lead. In September 1900 a new company was established under the same control, and despite fluctuating profits in the period 1902 - 1904, it achieved steady profitability until 1930. The depressed price of lead caused operations to be suspended completely in 1932. The rest of the decade saw some recovery, due mainly, however, to the production of fluorspar, which in the past had been merely a by-product. By 1941 profitable lead reserves were almost exhausted and increasingly since then lead concentrates have been produced only as an essential stage in the purification of fluorspar Imperial Chemical Industries acquired a majority interest in the Company in 1962 but disposed of their holdings to Swiss Aluminium (UK.) in 1977
The Company operates Redburn and Burtree Pasture fluorspar mines Boltsburn Dressing Plant and leases mineral rights over 45,500 acres in the Weardale area.
Catalogue Contents
For D/WL/1/1/65-93 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/1/1For D/WL/1/2/20-22 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/2/1For D/WL/1/3/19 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/3/1For D/WL/1/4/100-115 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/4/1For D/WL/1/5/17-19 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/5/1For D/WL/1/6/13-14 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/6/1For D/WL/1/7/21-23 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/7/1For D/WL/1/8/115-116 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/8/1For D/WL/1/10/213-224 see Second deposit (Acc: 1107(D))
Ref: D/WL/1/10/1