West
Pastures Mine, accesses the West Pasture Vein, which is regarded as a
continuation of the Red Vein. The mine was worked via a level driven in the
West Pasture Quarry.
A precise date for the level is not know but the
Beaumont Company was working it for lead between 1866 and 1879 and it may also
be possible that the London Lead Company had started work on it beforehand. It
was also worked for iron ore by the Weardale Iron Company and more recently in
the 1970's for fluorspar.
It seems that the mine never produced any
large amounts of ore and this reflects in its relatively short drive in of just
over 560m. Most of the flat workings are in the middle flat horizon of the
Great Limestone and are extensively back filled with a network of
passages.
The mine follows pretty much an easterly drive to the forehead
with the horse level running underneath the flats. The first section consists
of stope workings, which then give way to the flat workings.
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