NAMHO 2008
EDINBURGH
Wanlockhead
History
of the Lochnell Mine
The
Lochnell Mine consists of workings in the southern half of the Cove
Vein at Wanlockhead. Its entrance lies
some 30 metres north of the Wanlock Burn and 160 metres west of The Museum of
Scottish Lead Mining. The
portal is the entrance to Williamson's Drift which is now used as the show mine
for visitors. A Drift is a horizontal
tunnel which usually penetrated deep into the hillside. In the early days of lead mining
these tunnels were dug out by hand using basic equipment such as
picks and chisels as well as small amounts of gunpowder to blow out
parts of the rock. The Drifts were
usually named after mining engineers (such as the above
mentioned Williamson's Drift) or
other important figures within the village.
The
origin of the Lochnell mine goes back to the early years of the Quaker
Company (whose full title was The Governor & Company for
Smelting Lead with Pit Coal') which held leases on the galena veins at
Wanlockhead from 1710 to 1756. Shortly
after 1710, this Company made trials in several veins where they crossed the Wanlock
Burn, including the south end of the Cove vein, which had a
proven length of 1,010 metres.
Two
trial levels or tunnels were driven on the vein by the Quaker Company,
one from the side of the burn, called Williamson's Drift, and another 46 metres
higher in the Dod Hill, called the High Drift. When no galena was discovered
in the vein after driving these tunnels some distance, both
trials were abandoned.
Messrs.
Crawford & Company, who succeeded to the Quaker Company's
lease between 1756 and 1842, re-opened the trial drifts in 1757
but abandoned them in 1759 because of poor ventilation. This is referred to in the mining records in
August 1758: -
"Williamson's
Drift on the south end of the Cove vein was laid in the 30th
July last for want of air. The price was
£5 per
fathom (6 ft.). The
small progress made was owing to the miners not having air to enable
them to work. In place of six pickmen
employed formerly, only two pickmen could work
The Beam Engine at Wanlockhead - below
is a capped 60ft shaft into Lochnell Mine
Last updated 2nd Feb 2008