Cumbrian Minerals, Barrow in Furness (2026)

24/08/2026

HMS Rorqual – Built at Barrow 🇬🇧

HMS Rorqual was a Royal Navy submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, highlighting the town's long and important connection with submarine construction.

HMS Rorqual (N74) was launched in 1936 and was one of six Grampus-class minelaying submarines.

She could carry up to 50 mines and became the most successful minelaying submarine of the Second World War.

Her mines alone accounted for 35,951 tons of enemy shipping destroyed.

She also attacked enemy vessels with torpedoes and gunfire and made dangerous supply runs to besieged Malta, carrying fuel, ammunition and other vital supplies.

From June 1941 to December 1943 she was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Lennox Napier, who became a highly successful submarine commander.

Remarkably, Rorqual was the only one of the six Grampus-class submarines to survive the war.

And the Barrow connection didn't end there. A second HMS Rorqual (S02), a Porpoise-class submarine, was also built at Barrow and launched in 1956, continuing the town's submarine-building story into the Cold War.

Sankey Family Photography Collection Image No S14 (c) Cumbria Archives.

24/08/2026

Holmescales Quarry – Stone, Industry and the Cumbrian Landscape ⛏️🪨😁

Holmescales Quarry, near Old Hutton and Gatebeck in south Cumbria, is a fascinating example of how a small local quarrying tradition developed into an important source of modern roadstone.

The history of quarrying here goes back at least to the 19th century.

Old Hutton with Holmescales was largely an agricultural township, but records specifically note small-scale quarrying at Holmescales.

Stone would have been useful locally for walls, buildings, roads and other everyday needs.
The geology is an important part of the story.

Holmescales exposes Silurian rocks, including Kirkby Moor flags, with the quarry providing an interesting geological section containing folds, fractures and faults.

As Britain's road network expanded during the 20th century, the importance of Holmescales changed.

The quarry became a source of high-specification roadstone rather than simply material for local use.

One of its most important qualities is its high Polished Stone Value, or PSV.

Holmescales has been recorded with a PSV of 62, putting it firmly within the category of high-specification roadstone.

In simple terms, this means the stone is resistant to polishing and can retain good skid resistance under traffic, making it valuable for demanding road surfaces.

The quarry also became part of the wider consolidation of Britain's aggregates industry.

Bardon Aggregates and later Aggregate Industries were associated with its operation as quarrying became increasingly mechanised and industrialised.

The way the stone is extracted has changed enormously. Earlier quarry workers relied on hand tools, wedges, drilling, blasting and simple transport methods.

Modern quarrying uses powerful machinery, drilling equipment, crushing and screening plant to turn blasted rock into carefully graded aggregate.

By the late 20th century and early 21st century, Holmescales was subject to increasingly detailed planning controls.

A planning case for the site in the late 1990s and early 2000s dealt with the determination of new conditions for mineral working, reflecting the tighter environmental and operational controls applied to modern quarries.

The quarry's story has continued into more recent planning policy. Holmescales has been identified as an Area of Search for possible future high-specification roadstone extraction, showing that the stone beneath the site is still regarded as a valuable mineral resource.

At the same time, modern planning has to balance mineral extraction with local roads, communities and the surrounding landscape.

A recent assessment recorded the quarry as mothballed, with limited remaining reserves and restrictions on HGV movements because of the capacity of the local road network.

Holmescales is therefore more than just another working quarry.

It represents a much older tradition of extracting stone from the Cumbrian landscape, while also showing how quarrying has adapted to the demands of modern Britain.

It is a reminder that Cumbria's industrial history isn't only about the famous iron, coal, copper and lead mines. Quarrying has played an important role too.

From modest local stone workings to a recognised source of high-specification roadstone, Holmescales Quarry provides a fascinating example of the changing face of South Cumbrian industry. 😁

23/08/2026

Park Mine- A Forgotten Giant of Furness
⛏️🪨😁

Park Mine was one of the great iron ore mines of the Furness district, located around the Askam-in-Furness and Dalton-in-Furness area.

The mine became important during the 19th-century Furness iron boom, when rich deposits of haematite were being discovered and worked on an enormous scale.

The ore was exceptionally valuable because it was high in iron and low in impurities, making it ideal for ironmaking.

Unlike the narrow mineral veins found in many northern mines, Furness haematite occurred in huge, irregular bodies known as “sops.” Park Mine was built around one of these enormous deposits.

One of its most important workings was Burlington Pit, while the wider complex included the California Pits, Plunger Pit, Paddy Pit, Garden Pit and Quarry Pit.

Mining these huge ore bodies required a distinctive and dangerous method known as top slicing.

Miners worked through the deposit in horizontal layers, supporting the roof with enormous quantities of timber.

Once a section had been worked, the supports were removed and the ground above was deliberately allowed to collapse.

Over many years, this created vast underground workings and caused the surface above to subside into large depressions.

The amount of timber required was enormous. Timber was essential for supporting the workings and formed a crucial part of the mining system.

Transport was equally important. The Furness Railway helped move iron ore from the mines towards the growing industrial centre of Barrow-in-Furness, where the ore fed the expanding iron and steel industry.

Park Mine was therefore part of a much bigger transformation. The wealth generated by Furness haematite helped turn Barrow from a small rural settlement into a major industrial and steel-making town.

When mining eventually declined and pumping stopped, groundwater flooded some of the old workings and surface depressions.

The resulting ponds around Park and Roanhead remain visible reminders of what once lay beneath the countryside.

Park Mine eventually closed in the early 1920s, bringing an end to one of Furness's important iron-mining operations.

Today, little of the original mine survives above ground.

But beneath the quiet landscape around Askam and Dalton was once a vast network of workings producing enormous quantities of iron ore.

Park Mine was a forgotten giant and another piece of the mining history that helped build Furness.

Have you ever visited the sites mentioned or have family history or photo's you want to share? 😁

Photo from NWE Mail

23/08/2026

Here's a quick recap 😁

22/08/2026

Fresh delivery of milk to the Nestlé factory 😁

Unsure of date

22/08/2026

The Sandscale Mining Company – A Forgotten Iron Mine of South Cumbria ⛏️🪨😁

When we think about the great iron mines of Furness, names such as Hodbarrow, Park and Roanhead often come to mind.

But scattered between them were smaller companies that played their own part in the industrial story of South Cumbria.

One of these was the Sandscale Mining Company.

The company was established in 1877, with the lease for mining at Sandscale being granted by the landowner Thomas Woodburne.

The venture was associated with businessmen already involved in the Furness iron industry, and contemporary sources confirm that the Sandscale Mining Company was operating its own tramways and iron-ore workings by the 1880s.

The workings included Sandscale No. 1 Pit, situated in the Sandscale area near Roanhead.

The orebody here was relatively shallow compared with some of the deeper Furness mines, but the ore was described as highly siliceous and not particularly good quality.

Exploratory workings were driven for more than 150 metres from the bottom of the No. 1 shaft, but no further significant deposits were discovered.

Life around the mine also left its mark on the landscape.

Sandscale Cottages were built in 1882 for the mine captains, providing accommodation for some of those responsible for managing the workings.

In 1893, the Sandscale workings passed into the hands of Kennedy Brothers, one of the important iron-mining families of Furness.

The Kennedys continued working the mine, including working the remaining ore around the Peggy Pit ground.

Mining finally came to an end around 1905, but that wasn't quite the end of Sandscale's industrial story.

The pumps at Sandscale No. 2 were kept running after mining had ceased because they were needed to help keep the nearby Roanhead workings free from water.

The original steam pumping equipment was eventually replaced by an electric pump in 1928.

By 1937, the old headgear had been removed and the shaft covered.

Today, Sandscale is better known for its dunes, wildlife and Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve.

It is easy to overlook the fact that beneath and around this peaceful landscape was once a working iron-mining district, complete with shafts, engines, tramways, miners' cottages and pumping machinery.

The Sandscale Mining Company may never have reached the scale of Hodbarrow or Park, but it is another reminder of just how extensively iron ore mining shaped the landscape of south Cumbria.

Have you ever visited any of the sites mentioned? 😁

Photo from Peter Rivington

20/08/2026

Lowfield No. 4 Pit – The Slant-Shaft Iron Mine of Lindal ⛏️🪨 😁

Deep beneath the fields around Lindal-in-Furness was the Lowfield No. 4 Pit, one of the many iron ore mines that helped make Furness an important centre of the British iron industry.

The mine was worked from 1864, initially by the Parkside Mining Company.

In 1892, Harrison, Ainslie & Co. took over the workings and began a major programme of improvements.

One of its most unusual features was its main shaft, which was sunk at an angle of around 43 degrees, rather than vertically.

By the early 20th century the mine had become a substantial undertaking, working high-grade red haematite beneath the Pennington Estate.

Water was a constant problem for the Furness mines, and Lowfield was no exception.

A major pumping system was installed, and in 1907 the mine was electrified, helping modernise its pumping and underground operations.

By 1910, Lowfield No. 4 employed around 182 people, including 116 underground workers and 66 on the surface.

The workings themselves extended a considerable distance beneath the surrounding countryside, forming part of the extensive network of underground iron workings that characterised the Lindal area.

Mining methods such as top slicing could dramatically alter the landscape.

Ore was removed in layers and the ground above was deliberately allowed to collapse into the old workings, leaving depressions and craters across the fields.

The mine was also part of a much larger industrial system. The nearby Furness Railway provided an essential means of transporting iron ore from the Furness mining district to the region's ironworks and ports.

Lowfield finally ceased working around 1913–1914, when the operating company went into liquidation.

Not everything disappeared, however. The former Lowfield mine offices survived and were later converted into houses, providing a rare surviving reminder of the people and industry that once occupied this landscape.

Today, the spoil heaps, hollows, old railway infrastructure and surviving buildings give clues to what lies beneath the fields — a hidden world of shafts, tunnels and iron ore workings.

Another fascinating piece of the lost iron-mining landscape of Lindal-in-Furness.

Have you ever visited any of the Lindal moor iron mines?

Photo from Lindal and marton history society

19/08/2026

Sir James Bain & Co. – The Ironmaster Behind West Cumberland’s Industry ⛏️🪨😁

Sir James Bain (1817–1898) was a Scottish ironmaster who became one of the major industrial figures in Victorian West Cumberland.

Bain had already made his name in Scotland's iron industry before turning his attention south to Cumberland.

In 1863, Scottish interests acquired the struggling Harrington Ironworks, which had begun producing iron in 1857.

The business initially operated as Blair, Bain & Paterson, before becoming Bain & Co. in 1874.

Under Bain's influence, Harrington developed into a much larger and more integrated industrial complex.

The company was involved in ironmaking, coal mining, iron ore mining, limestone quarrying, brickmaking, transport and harbour operations.

The idea was simple: control as much of the industrial process as possible.

Coal from the company's collieries could fuel the blast furnaces, local iron ore supplied the raw material for ironmaking, while limestone from the Distington area was used as a flux.

The company's transport system and Harrington Harbour then helped move materials and finished products.

The Harrington collieries became particularly important.

A number of pits were developed around the district, with some workings eventually extending beneath the Irish Sea a remarkable reminder of the lengths Victorian miners went to reach West Cumberland's coal.

The expansion also transformed the surrounding communities.

Industrial housing was built for workers, including terraces around Copperas Hill, while railways and tramways connected the collieries, ironworks and harbour.

Bain's influence wasn't restricted to industry. He became a Justice of the Peace for Cumberland, and in 1891 he was elected Conservative MP for Whitehaven, although his parliamentary career lasted only about a year.

Sir James Bain died in 1898, but the industrial system he helped develop formed an important part of the wider West Cumberland iron and coal industry that later became associated with the great Workington iron and steel works.

His story shows how interconnected Victorian Cumbrian industry really was: coal, iron ore, limestone, mines, railways, harbours and blast furnaces all working together.

For anyone interested in Cumbrian mining history, Bain & Co. is a fascinating example of the industrial transformation of West Cumberland during the 19th century.

18/08/2026

Thanks for being a top engager and making it onto my weekly engagement list! 🎉 Sam Yeary, Lindsay Charters, Chris Moore, Robert Scott, John Worrall, Allen Rodgers, William Peak, Matt Lynch, Stephen Clark, Jean Fairbotham

18/08/2026

The Barrow Salt Company – When They Drilled for Coal and Found Salt ⛏️🪨😁

In 1889, exploratory drilling was taking place on Walney Island as part of the Victorian search for coal around Furness.

Instead, the drillers made an unexpected discovery salt bearing strata beneath the island.

The boring was associated with engineer John Vivian, whose exploratory work helped reveal the unexpected mineral resource beneath Walney.

The discovery eventually led to the formation of the Barrow Salt Company Ltd in 1896, with Colonel Augustus Horace Strongitharm as chairman.

Strongitharm was an important figure in Barrow's engineering and industrial development and became one of the driving forces behind the venture.

A substantial salt works was constructed on South Walney. Brine was pumped from wells near Biggar and carried through pipelines to reservoirs and filter beds before being processed in a large evaporation plant.

The scale of the works was impressive. There were 24 salt pans, reservoirs, filter beds and six large chimneys, while a timber pier was adapted to help transport the finished salt by sea.

The salt originated from Triassic salt bearing deposits, formed more than 200 million years ago when ancient evaporating waters left thick deposits of salt within the sediments beneath what is now Cumbria.

Despite the impressive works, the company struggled financially.

It faced strong competition from the established salt industry of Cheshire, where large-scale production and excellent transport connections made it difficult for the smaller Walney operation to compete.

The Barrow Salt Company was eventually wound up in July 1902.

The works were subsequently taken over, and there was a brief attempt to revive production around 1909, but the enterprise ultimately failed.

Today, almost all of the buildings have disappeared.

However, earthworks, former reservoir and filter-bed areas and traces around the old pier still provide clues to what once stood on South Walney, now part of a landscape where the old industrial site has largely been reclaimed by nature.

It's easy to think of Barrow's industrial past in terms of iron, steel, shipbuilding and engineering, but there was another mineral beneath the island that briefly attracted serious industrial investment.

They went looking for coal and found salt.

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