Keld Heads lead smelt mill and mine complex

Keld Heads lead smelt mill and mine complex is a ruined industrial site near Preston under Scar in Richmondshire, in the Yorkshire Dales area of northern England. It is what remains of a lead mine and smelting works that once ranked among the most productive in Wensleydale, and today it is protected as a scheduled monument.

What is Keld Heads?

Keld Heads was a working lead mine with its own smelt mill, where ore was turned into metal on the spot. The complex lies on the slopes above the River Ure valley, close to the village of Preston under Scar. Lead mining in Wensleydale and neighbouring Swaledale reaches back very far, possibly to Roman times, but it grew into a major industry from the sixteenth century onwards. Keld Heads took part in that story, with mining at the site recorded as early as the twelfth century.

How did the smelt mill work?

For a long time ore from the mine had to be carried elsewhere for smelting, to an older mill near Preston. In the nineteenth century a dedicated smelt mill was built at Keld Heads itself, so the whole process could take place in one place. Accounts differ on the exact date: some place it around 1840 with an extension in the mid-1850s, others give 1851. Silver was also refined here, as lead ore often carries a small amount of it.

Smelting produced poisonous fumes, and local farmers complained about the effect on their land and animals. The answer was a very long flue running up the hillside, extended to roughly 2.1 miles (about 3.4 km), which carried the fumes away and eventually joined the flue system of the Cobscar smelt mill. Long flues like this were typical of Pennine lead works, and they also let valuable lead condense inside the channel, where it could be scraped out and recovered.

A modern mine for its day

At its height the mine employed around 250 men and boys, working underground or on the dressing floors, where the ore was crushed and washed. Later in the century the owners installed up-to-date equipment, and Keld Heads came to be regarded as one of the most advanced lead mines in the country.

Why did it close?

The decline was brought about by falling lead prices and by water. Flooding in the lower levels pushed up the cost of pumping, and the smelt mill stopped work in the 1880s. The whole complex closed around 1888. Some of the buildings were afterwards reused by a nearby quarry, and the chimney served a coal-fired plant that generated electricity.

What can you see today?

The site is a scheduled monument, and the main buildings and the peat store are also grade II listed. The peat store is a reminder that early smelting used peat as fuel before coal became common. Expect stone ruins, remains of the mill, and traces of the flue line in the landscape rather than a polished visitor attraction. The surrounding countryside of Wensleydale is the real draw, so the site fits well into a walk or a drive through the Dales.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Keld Heads? Near Preston under Scar, Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, at roughly 54.3155 N, 1.8820 W.

When did the mine close? The smelt mill stopped in the 1880s and the whole complex closed around 1888.

What was mined here? Lead ore, which was smelted on site, with some silver refined as well.

Is it protected? Yes. It is a scheduled monument, and several of its buildings are grade II listed.

Why was the flue so long? To carry toxic smelting fumes away from nearby farmland after farmers complained, and to recover lead that condensed inside.