Description and History of Site:-
Remains of lead smelt mill and associated structures. Mill approximately 11m by 18.5m with a maximum standing height of 7.5m at the apex of the east wall. Flue, approximately 1.1m high by 1.3m wide, survives in places and can be traced north of the mill to a condenser house and on to the north-west to the low remains of a chimney on the crag above. Also a relatively well preserved peat store to the south. There is a well preserved contemporary limekiln to the north.
Built around 1820 to replace the Lownathwaite Mill to the south. Probably went out of use in 1878 when smelting transferred to Surrender Mill. Was still marked on the OS 6 inch maps of 1854 and 1891, but shown as disused by 1910.

The monument includes the structural, earthwork and buried remains of the
Blakethwaite Smelt Mill and dressing floors. The monument, falling within two
areas of protection, lies in the upper reaches of Gunnerside Gill,
approximately 5.6km north of Gunnerside village, within an area of unenclosed
grouse moorland.
The east end of the Blakethwaite mine sett was being worked in 1710 and was
recorded as part of the Surrender Grant in the late 1790s. By 1806 the leases
were split and the Blakethwaite mine was leased separately until its decline
in the later 19th century. The Blakethwaite Level, the principal adit of the
19th century mines, was begun in 1812 by Chippendale and Co.. Around 1818,
Robert Clark took over the lease and, after an initial slump in the price of
lead, production figures averaged 383 tons of lead per year. The output
figures encouraged the company to build a dressing floor near the Blakethwaite
Level entrance and a smeltmill. The smeltmill began operations in 1821 and
worked, intermittently in later years, until 1878, though it continued to be
maintained until the end of the century.
The smeltmill complex lies in the first area of protection, within a small
confined area of partly made up ground at the confluence of Blind Gill and
Blakethwaite Gill. The mill itself measures approximately 11m by 18.5m with a
maximum standing height of 7.5m at the apex of the east wall. Though the
internal arrangement of the mill is now mostly obscured by rubble, it is known
to have included a bellows house which contained a 5.5m diameter waterwheel, a
furnace room containing the hearths, a room containing a calcining furnace,
and an office or store room. Archaeological remains associated with these
structures are believed to survive beneath the rubble. The cast iron pillar
supports for the arches above the hearths survive in situ. The flue, which
branched into two some 4m to the north of the mill, is difficult to
distinguish near to the mill but enough survives to allow it to be traced to a
building 12m to the north that would have housed the condenser. The flue
continues a further 200m to the north west (including a vertical climb of
c.45m) up to the low remains of a chimney on the limestone crag above. The
flue survives intact on the crag and measures approximately 1.1m high by 1.35m
wide. The remains of at least four other buildings, which would have
originally served as smithy, office, joiners' shop and stores, are visible to
the north and west. The peat store for the smeltmill is located on the east
side of the beck and was connected to the mill via a stone-built footbridge.
The peat store, which is aligned north-south and measures 42m by 6.6m, has
solid south and east walls, a main entrance in the north wall, and an arcaded
west wall.
The site also has a well preserved limekiln built to provide mortar during
the construction of the complex. The kiln, which stands to the north east of
the smeltmill against a steep limestone outcrop, is built of coursed, squared
sandstone blocks and has a draw hole in the south east side. It is also the
only building within the complex which remains substantially intact.
The dressing floors are within the second area of protection and are situated
on the east side of the Blakethwaite Gill, 300m NNE of the Blakethwaite Smelt
Mill, and immediately south of the Blakethwaite Level entrance. They lie on a
relatively flat, at least partly artificial terrace and include two discrete
areas enclosed by low walls. Little is known about the dressing floor though
it is recorded that a waterpowered crushing mill was in operation here by
1861. The upstream area contains numerous revetment walls and large areas of
dressing waste. The waste is graded across the site and provides evidence for
the different stages in ore processing at each location.
The lower walled area is partly paved, though much of the floor of this
enclosure is now beneath water. The remains of a former bridge can be seen
midway along the retained west side of the floors. This originally led to a
terraced trackway on the opposite bank which connected the dressing floor with
the smelt mill downstream. The scheduling also includes the remains of a three
roomed building to the south east of the dressing floors which served as a
smithy and office/stores. The building, which was partly built into the
hillslope, measures 20m by 6m and stands up to 4m high at its two storey
southern end.

Further Reading and References:-
Raistrick A, The Lead Industry of Wensleydale and Swaledale, Vol 2 The Smelting Mills, 1975, p93
Gill, M C, 'British Mining No.45' in Yorkshire Smelting Mills. Part 1: The Northern Dales, (1992), 111-150
Dennison, E, Gunnerside Gill Phase II: Archaeological Survey, (1995), 23-29Gill, M C, Gunnerside Gill: Historical Survey, (1995), 42-45Raistrick, A, The Lead Industry of Swaledale and Wensleydale: The Mines, (1975), 57Gill, M C, 'British Mining No.45' in Yorkshire Smelting Mills. Part 1: The Northern Dales, (1992), 111-150

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Key Words :- lead smelt mill

Address :- Melbecks, Reeth, North Yorkshire
Grid Ref :- NY 9369 0178
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.411432 , Long -2.098728
Local Authority :- Richmondshire District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - North Riding
Site Status :- Scheduled Ancient Monument SAM
Historic England List No - 1015857,
Site Condition :- Site derelict - some buildings remaining
Site Dates :- c1820 - 1878
Record Date :- 18 March 2016

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © John Suter