Nenthead
| Nenthead | |
  Nenthead Nenthead shown within Cumbria | |
| OS grid reference | NY785435 |
|---|---|
| Civil parish | Alston Moor (Nenthead Ward) |
| District | Eden (Alston Moor Ward) |
| Shire county | Cumbria |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ALSTON |
| Postcode district | CA9 |
| Dialling code | 01434 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Penrith and The Border |
The small village of Nenthead in the county of Cumbria is one of England's highest villages, at 1,500 feet.[citation needed] It was not built until the middle of the 18th century and was one of the earliest purpose-built industrial villages in Britain. Nenthead was a major centre for lead and silver mining in the North Pennines of Britain.
Nenthead in 1861 was a bustling village of some 2,000 people, mostly Methodist and employed by the Quaker-owned London Lead Company in the Nenthead Mines - some of the most productive in the country. The benevolent Quakers built, amongst other things, housing, a school, a reading room, public baths and a wash-house for the miners and their families. Nenthead was the first village in the UK to have electric street lighting from excess power generated by the mines. The mines were responsible for as many good things as well as bad, life expectancy was short but the children were being educated.
For many mine explorers Nenthead is a mecca as many miles of accessible mines remain. It features some of the most stunning mines in the country with several horse whims and an 80 metre engine shaft in Rampghill. The mines closed in 1961 and there is a Heritage Centre displaying their history.
thumb|Taken in October 2013. The mines centre is run by volunteers.
The economy of the village is based around tourism and it is the headquarters of a Bus & Coach operator.[1] England's most popular long distance cycle route, the C2C, passes through Nenthead.
Zinc deposits
In 2013 the Canadian mining company Minco sunk five 500m-deep boreholes in an effort to discover the extent of zinc deposits beneath Nenthead. Although test drilling could go on for several years, the company believes that the village may be sited on huge deposits of the chemical element. The zinc is 150 metres below the surface and was previously too deep to reach by old mining techniques..[2]
References
- ↑ Wright Brothers
- ↑ The Independent (Accessed Jan 12 2014) Gives details of possible zinc deposits.
External links
Media related to Nenthead at Wikimedia Commons