Pike Law Mines

Newbiggin, County Durham, England

Pike Law Mines or the Pike Law hushes refers to a group of opencast cuttings, hushes, and mines that historically exploited lead ore veins.

 

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Mindat lists 13 minerals from the site, including the classics – calcite, fluorite, and galena.

The site was worked since well before 1753, when it was taken over by the London Lead Company. The site was nearly exhausted by 1852. Mining ceased entirely in 1891.

Extraction appears to have been purely for lead, with some limestone dumps still containing fluorite.

Pike Law is a scheduled monument, being one of the best preserved lead mining landscapes in the northern Pennines. The preservation of the hushes and water management system especially makes it quite interesting historically.

Hushes are perhaps a term you aren’t familiar with – hushing essentially uses a flood or torrent of water to remove topsoil and remove mineral veins.

It was widely used since the 1st century BC, when Pliny the Elder wrote about it. It was used historically when explosives became expensive or scarce.

 

 

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