Description and History of Site:-
Situated on Greenhow Hill 4 miles west of Pateley Bridge lies the remains of the Cockhill-Sunside lead mine, along with its Chimney Shaft which acted as a chimney for a boiler house situated some 200 feet (61m) below the surface. The boiler house consisted of a chamber cut into the mineral vein of the Greenhow Rake and measured 20 feet (6m) by 30 feet (9.1m) and housed two locomotive type multi-tubular boilers and one Cornish boiler. The pumping engine was a John Fowler of Leeds with a 9 inch (228mm) cylinder and was used to drain the mine of flood water. The engine was mounted on top of one of the boilers and a donkey engine assisted it with a first lift of flood water from the 20 fathom (120 feet or 36.5m) sump level below the boiler house floor. The plunger-type pumps are said to have been about 12 inch (304mm) bore and driven from the engine by rocker gear. The smoke from the boilers was vented via a stepped flue formed from the old workings to the foot of the 100 foot (30.4m) Chimney Shaft. Water pumped out of the mine flowed down Cockhill Adit and was used to power the waterwheel of the nearby Cockhill Lead Smelting Mill (see NYK01695). Coal was taken in to the boilers by pony hauled wagon along the adit and the ore taken out the same way. The Cockhill and Sunside Mining Co worked the mine from the 1780s to 1866. The Sun Vein of lead ore was reached by 1816 and was a rich seam but due a dip in the limestone meant the seam had to be worked deeper and drained with the construction of the boiler house, Chimney Shaft, drainage sump and pumping engine. By 1838 the workings had become poorer and with the Chimney Shaft collapsing also, the engine was removed and the sump abandoned.
However in July 1859 Greenhow Rake was being reworked and the 'Mining Journal' reported that 'a small engine is being put underground to pump water from the rake vein' (Greenhow Rake). By September 1876 the drainage sump was down to the 30 fathom level (180 feet or 54.8m) below the Greenhow Rake.
The mine underwent numerous company changes and by June 1879 a new company had been formed called the Pateley Bridge Company Ltd. They worked the engine sump to the 40 fathom level (240 feet or 73m) but the company closed in 1881. Output of 40 tons (40641kg) per year over the next 6 years was reported using a few men employed directly by the mineral lords. The low output and low lead price discouraged companies from reopening the mine.
However around 1920 the Bewerley Mines Ltd reopened Cockhill Level by rebuilding the portal and clearing large amounts of sand from the crosscut. A railway track was re-laid with modern Jubilee rail. It wasn't until July 1925 the company entered the old boiler room and found the pumping equipment, boilers and gauges intact. A temporary portable boiler was sited on the surface next to Chimney Shaft's collar and a steam pipe let down the shaft to allow pumping of the engine sump to start immediately, this allowed one of the boilers to be repaired, run at 40 p.s.i. and see the Fowler engine running once again.
George Boddy of Bewerley Mines Ltd was quoted as saying 'we had a little pony to take the coal to the boilers. When the pump was working, the water came down the level a foot deep. When it was time to change shifts we yoked the pony to the wagon and rode out this way to keep dry. There were two men in the wagon and one at the back stood on the buffers. We never needed reins on the pony as it would walk away in the dark, keeping its feet between the rails. After the directors decided that it wouldn't be profitable to go on working the mine, we removed the pump and boilers copper firebox'. This would have been around 1926.

Further Reading and References:-
British Mining number 60 The Greenhow Mines, Mike Gill, NMRS 1998 pp131-142

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Key Words :- lead mine, steam engine

Address :- Greenhow, Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire
Grid Ref :- SE 10929 64188
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.073508 , Long -1.834474
Local Authority :- Harrogate Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - North Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Site cleared - no above ground remains visible
Site Dates :- 1816 - 1926
Record Date :- 5 January 2021

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Andrew Garford