# Surrender Smelt Mill, Swaledale, May 2015



## HughieD (May 29, 2015)

This was a bit of a bonus explore as I stumbled across this place rather than visiting it by design. And a very nice and relaxed explore it was too. The place in question is Surrender Lead Smelting Mill, Swaledale. The Surrender Mining Company demolished the Low Mill which dated from around 1680 and the New Mill built in 1685 as a slag mill. Both mills stood near the site of the present mill and had become increasingly dilapidated. Building a replacement mill to modernise the Surrender Mining companies smelting operations started in September 1839 when a new lease stipulated that the lessees (SMC) should build a new mill and flue within two years. It was subsequently completed in 1841 and mill accounts for that year state that 54 tons of lead and no slag were smelted. 

The first flue ended at a chimney approximately 480 metres from the mill. However in 1854, it was extended to 750 metres. An old OS map from 1854 shows another chimney 200 metres behind the mill which may have been a condenser. The new mill's life was short-lived. When the AD Mining Company, a major customer of the mill, begun selling its ore to other smelters in 1879, the mill struggled to cope and closed the following year in 1880. On closure its peat supply was taken to the Old Gang Mill up-stream from the mill. The owners continued to maintain the mill, but in September 1902 the roof timbers, slates, doors and floor boards were all sold-off. In 1909 the Stang & Cleasby Lead Mine paid £50 for the mill’s 14 foot diameter wooden water wheel.

Since then the mill has slowly crumbled away. On the 13th February 1973 it was awarded Grade: II listed status.

On with the pictures.

Along the old track the mill appears:



img9368 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Now all that remains are the shell of the old mill:


img9395 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9369 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9386 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Although they remain standing strong:


img9372 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9385 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9389 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9392 by HughieDW, on Flickr

A few clues give hint of the ruin's previous use:


img9374 by HughieDW, on Flickr

It had a double flue running from the two furnace rooms either side of the wheel room:


img9382 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Not too sure what these pile of stones where:


img9387 by HughieDW, on Flickr

But this was the wall of the old peat store use to fuel the mills two furnaces:


img9388 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9394 by HughieDW, on Flickr


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## krela (May 29, 2015)

You're finding some good'uns at the minute, nice one! I like that first shot showing how it sits in the landscape.


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## HughieD (May 29, 2015)

Cheers mate. Yeah....fruitful little short break in the Dales it was!


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## smiler (May 29, 2015)

You found a little gem Hughie, I enjoyed looking, Thanks


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## HughieD (May 30, 2015)

smiler said:


> You found a little gem Hughie, I enjoyed looking, Thanks


Cheers fella. If I'd been in the know at the time (battery was flat on my phone so no Google Earth) I'd have realised there was even more if I walked a mile up stream, including shafts to tin mines!


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## caiman (May 30, 2015)

HughieD said:


> Cheers fella. If I'd been in the know at the time (battery was flat on my phone so no Google Earth) I'd have realised there was even more if I walked a mile up stream, including shafts to tin mines!



No tin mines outside Cornwall and Devon so those will be lead mines.


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## HughieD (May 30, 2015)

caiman said:


> No tin mines outside Cornwall and Devon so those will be lead mines.


Ooops. ..right you are!


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## flyboys90 (May 31, 2015)

Belting shots of a bygone industry, thanks for the tour.


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## UrbanX (Jun 1, 2015)

I can never imagine working somewhere with a view like that! 
Excellent stuff, thanks for sharing


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