Gated portal on north side of Nenthead - Alston road 150yds west of Nentsberry Bridge. The level is now collapsed and the Cumbrian workings are only accessible via Brownley Hill Mine. Many of the veins worked from this level are over the county border in Northumberland and some of these can be accessed by Wellhope shaft.

Nentsberry Haggs Horse Level, Nentsberry, Alston, Cumbria, OS Ref: NY76614503.

The earliest workings around Haggs Mine where developed before the actual horse level was driven. These consisted of levels and trials north of the horse level. One of the larger levels was the High Raise Low Level, which worked the High Raise Vein discovered in 1789 by the Brownley Hill Company. There is no reference that shows when the Haggs Horse Level was first started, but records indicate that the Nentsberry Haggs Vein was being worked in 1737, which is the course of the horse level.

By 1852 the Haggs Horse Level bearing north had reached the High Raise Vein. The vein at this time was not found to be rich and only when the mine was worked under the Nentsberry Mining Company (1895 - 1908 and later on the Lugdale Chemical Company (1908 - 1912) did richer commercially viable deposits get found. The Haggs Horse Level was also developed southwards along the Wellgill Cross Vein, ultimately joining the Brownley Hill Mine. The production of minerals up to 1912 included lead, witherite, and zinc. These where mined from the Cumbrian side of the mine.

In 1913/14 the mine passed to the Vieille Montagne Zinc Company and was worked by them until the late 1930's. Most of the mining carried out by them was over the county border in Northumberland. The Vieille Montagne Zinc Company was responsible for driving the continuation of the High Raise Vein, which led to the discovery and development of the Cox, Dupoint and Sincay Veins. Subsequently these led to the discovery of the First and Second Sun Veins and the Treloar Vein. These veins where found to intersect some of the older Beaumont workings from the Wellhope Low Level.

The ore from the Nentsberry Haggs complex was treated at the Nentsberry Mill near the level mouth. In 1925, the 127m deep Wellhope Shaft was sunk close to the intersection of the High Raise and Dupoint Veins to provide an alternative means of transport for the ore. The ore was transported from the shaft via an aerial ropeway to the Rampgill Mill, but due to technical difficulties it was never successful and was quickley abandoned.

The mines output was the greatest until 1938, after this the mine was worked sporadically by a number of different companies. Finally the last operator, the Anglo-Austral Company stopped its operations in 1953, with the mine being formally abandoned on the last day in 1958. In 1983 a trial was made on behalf of Industrial Minerals Ltd via the Wellhope Shaft. It was discovered that the horse level was not reachable due to flooding near the bottom. However the sublevels above the horse level were accessible and large un-extracted deposits of high grade lead ore where found along with the main mineral assets of zinc-witherite ores.

Access to the Nentsberry Haggs mine complex today is only via the Wellgill Cross Vein from Brownley Hill mine, and the Wellhope Shaft. The horse level is blocked some 100m in from the portal.

Mr Mike.

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