Lindal Moor Electric Power Station

The photos and text on this page were supplied by Roy Mason from an original collection belonging to the current owner of the power station site at Mascalles. Click on the PDF icon to see the original text. TIP: Please click on each photo to see a larger version.

(270k)

Miners versus Water

Water is the deep ore miners' great enemy. Lindal miners worked in wet ground. Even the driest summer might mean working knee-deep in some underground stream, while every winter saw the danger of unemployment as the mines flooded in the wet weather.

Lindal Cote Mines saw the first steam pumping engine in the district installed in 1840. In 1855 a tunnel, 100 feet below the level of the mines, was driven over one mile to Urswick Tarn, enabling the water to drain freely away in an ambitious attempt to end water troubles.

As Lindal Cote and the Lindal Moor Mines followed the ore downwards, pumps again became necessary. In 1897 the three main mines were given completely new steam pumps of the most modern design which solved the problem for several years.

1904 saw the closure of the major pits in the Lindal Moor area, Lowfield, Bercune, and Diamond Pits due to flooding beyond the capacity of the 1897 new steam pumps. In 1906 a determined effort began to beat the water.

In 1907 power was supplied to the new electric pumps and 21 million gallons a day were pumped into Urswick Tarn to empty the mines. Afterwards 11 million gallons a day were pumped out to keep the mines dry for working. But by 1914 the high cost and poor ore reserves closed the mines.

[Go to Heritage]   [Go to History]   [Go to Lindal Cote under Harrison Ainslie]