Raise (Lake District) - Mining History

Mining History

South of Raise the ridge swings a little to the west, crossing an unnamed col on the way to White Side. The eastern face of this ridge is gouged deeply by Kepple Cove, a corrie whose back wall is named Red Screes. Kepple Cove once contained an artificial tarn, although today the bed is merely marshy except after heavy rain. The water from the tarn was used in a hydroelectric scheme to drive electric winding gear at Greenside Mine. Commissioned in 1891, this was the first such system in the country. It continued in use until the night of 29 October 1927 when the Kepple Cove dam burst during a heavy storm, leaving an 80 ft (24 m) wide gap in the earthworks. The resulting wave passed down the valley and through Glenridding village, flooding buildings and causing extensive damage. The breached dam can still be seen today.

A further tarn serving Greenside Mine was created in Sticks Gill (East) by the construction of a stone barrage. Called Top Dam, this was still in existence in the 1950s but is now a dry bed. There are other signs of mining activity on the Stang ridge, in particular the stone smelter flue. Prominently marked 'chimney' on Ordnance Survey maps, the flue ran over half a mile up the fellside to a stone chimney at about 2,250 ft (690 m). There are also the remains of a number of leats, artificial channels to divert streams to the thirsty mine. Stang now carries the marks of a more modern industry, with the Lake District's only permanent ski-tow installed on the northern slope. There is some rock outcropping on the eastern slopes of Raise, particularly at Stang End above the Glenridding Beck.