For many centuries the presence of copper in the Lake District mountain rocks above Coniston Water provided a livelihood for people in the area. Now Coniston coppermines are mostly visited by walkers and mine explorers (scroll down for video). Looking at the area today it is not easy to imagine a time (much of it before modern-style industrialisation) in which people living on the slopes of Coniston Old Man made a living from iron, copper and slate.

Coniston is not the only Lake District area to have a copper-producing history. The Keswick area was another centre of this metal extracting industry, especially the Newlands Valley. In their early years the Coniston copper mines sent their output to Keswick by packhorse to be processed. After the smelting facility there was destroyed in the late-1700s the ore was taken by boat down Coniston Water from a quay at Coniston Hall to the Nibthwaite Quay. It was then carried to the coast by cart. From the port at Greenodd, and later from Ulverston through its canal, much of the ore went to St. Helens in Lancashire. There it was smelted and and made into copper cladding for the hulls of sailing vessels.

Coniston Copper Mines: The Early Years

The Coniston coppermines certainly go as far back as the 1500s, and possibly longer, although most of what is still visible on the surface dates from the mid-19th century. The mines were worked up until the English Civil War of the 1640s but then there was a break before they were revived. For some of the time, as also at Keswick, the enterprise was led by experienced German miners. The Company of Mines Royal, which had also run other copper extraction enterprises in the Lake District, had control of Coniston’s “Coppermines Valley” toward the end of the 16th century.

The Antiquities of Furness (1774)

In 1774 the antiquarian Jesuit priest Thomas West wrote in his book, The Antiquities of Furness, as follows:

“The fells of Coniston have produced great quantities of copper ore. During the rage of the civil wars the copper mines in Coniston fells were shut up. After the Restoration, Sir Daniel Fleming had an inquest of all the old workmen then living, concerning them, with their opinion of the charges necessary for recovering the said mines. The following abstract is given here, as it may be of some service to future adventurers. The original is at Rydal hall. … “

[West then lists nine different areas of working with depths, thickness of the seams, and comments on the quality of the the ore, including mention of other metals present such as lead, silver and gold. He then continues .... ]

“About 140 workmen were employed in these works, and the ore was carried on horses backs to the smelting-house at Keswick. About 20 miles distant from some of the works the ore was raised at different prices, according to its goodness, from 2s.6d to 8s per kible, every kible being near a horseload. The ore was first beaten small, and washed and sifted then weighed or measured.

“Before the works were left off, a proposal was made for erecting a smelting-house at Coniston, as more convenient for building houses, a nd better supplied with wood and peat, with the convenience of an iron forge, then at Coniston, being only seven miles from the sea-port at Penny bridge, five of which were by water down the lake, and two miles of land carriage on a good road.”

For reasons now unknown West does not mention in his 1774 Antiquities that the Macclesfield Copper Company reopened the Coniston coppermines in 1758. For almost the next forty years they were again in production but then there was a hiatus of about thirty years before they were once again reopened. This time production took off in a big way controlled by the firm of John Barratt, and copper became the basis for several generations of local prosperity, at one point employing as many as 400 men.

Coniston Coppermines in the 19th Century

This prosperity rubbed off not only on Coniston village itself but also on the surrounding area. The 1851 census describes John Biggins of neighbouring Torver as a “calker-maker”. As John Dawson says in his history of Torver, “Calkers are pointed pieces on horseshoes placed so as to prevent slipping; no doubt in regular demand at a time when so many horses would be working up and down the steep and slippery ways to the mines and quarries. Numbers of horses were also employed inside the Coniston copper mines to haul out wagon-loads of ore, a situation in which calkers would give the animal a better grip where the surface was wet and uneven.” Dawson also mentions other makers of industrial equipment such as pick and hammer shafts.

Coniston Water now became an even busier commercial route than it had been previously. Boats were already carrying slate from the quarries. Now they also carried copper ore. At Nibthwaite Quay, near where Coniston lake becomes the River Crake, two buildings became known locally as the “Copper Houses”.

By the late 1840s the Furness Railway had its line running from the Furness area and up the coast of Cumberland. Already thought was being given to the possibility of a branch line to Coniston. After an earlier false start the line was opened in 1859. It was promoted heavily by the owners of interests in the Coniston copper mines because getting the increased volumes of copper ore down to the coast by the traditional water and land route was becoming more and more difficult. In the following year the line was extended to run beyond Coniston to the Copper House at the mines. Although in later years the Furness Railway emphasised the tourism aspects of the Foxfield-Coniston branchline, its reason for existence was copper.

The End of Coniston’s Copper Era

Copper-based prosperity did not last. Good quality ore became available in large quantities from other parts of the world, especially South America, at prices with which the Coniston copper mines could not compete. By the end of the nineteenth century it was all over.

Coniston Copper Mines Today

Today the Coppermines Valley is virtually silent apart from voices of walkers. Many signs of the old industry survive and remain the subject of great interest to many thousands of visitors each year as well as to industrial archaeologists.

There are, however, considerable dangers lurking behind the entrances to the mine workings. Visitors to the area should under no cicumstances enter the mine workings unless properly authorised, equipped and accompanied. Unless you’re an experienced caver or mine explorer and are properly equipped look at them from the outside only, and when back down in Coniston village take a look at the Ruskin Museum where you’ll find a wealth of information about Coniston copper. For now as well you can take a look at this YouTube video from AditNow, Jun 25, 2009:

(NOTE:This post is a revised version of a 2009 page on our old Lake District site.

Related Posts:

Coniston Coppermines – includes links to interesting and useful books.

Lake District History and the Future

Where to Go and What to Do in the Lake District: South & Central

I was about to write another blog article about Coniston Water, but was browsing through some recent entries on other people’s blogs when I came cross a marvellous description of a weekend on the water from travel writer and photographer Lucinda Manouch. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to put a link to it here for others to see.

Yes, I’ll eventually get around to writing what I’d planned for today, but for now you can enjoy Lucinda’s stimulating description of days on the water and camping at Coniston – and she didn’t restrict herself to the lake itself but also ventured a little way down the Crake, the river that flows out of the southern end of the lake and carries its water to the sea.

Swallow and Amazons (Coniston Water) – LucindaManouch.com
“… As we made the 3 hour trip to Cumbria I was still trying to decide which lake to visit. Some I had paddled before, some where just too small and some seemed a little tricky to get to. Then I saw Coniston water on the map and memories of playing Swallows and Amazons on the river as a child came flooding back. …”

By the way, if you have never read Swallows and Amazons you can get a copy here from Amazon.co.uk (no pun intended in referring to this bookseller).

The title of this post may have misled some people to think that I was going to write about the recent Cumbrian floods. Not at all. This is about the lakes, and getting under their surfaces, in particular Coniston Water and Wastwater. Actually it’s all a bit light-hearted. Last night I’d just spent an entire day writing for a number of blogs and preparing photographs for them when I spotted that I had nothing for this blog today. So why not take a look at YouTube and see what might be interesting to people. There were several candidates, but eventually I plumped for something entirely different from usual, and here it is.

Plant life in coniston water

2 meters under the water at Coniston July 2009 Bailiff Wood

I can’t say that the underwater plant life of Coniston is especially exotic, but although I’m no freshwater biologist I do feel that it’s nice to see that there is life down there. As I understand it, however, Wastwater is quite different. Apparently there’s very little to be seen there … a least that used to be the case. As I wrote on my lake district web site a year or two ago, some clever guys decided to brighten up the bed of Wastwater with a collection of garden gnomes. It suddenly occurred to me that someone might have filmed it. Someone had, and put it on YouTube. So here goes:

Wastwater Gnome Garden

Well, I hope that might have entertained you. At least it’s a bit different from our normal fare

Searching through old photos today I came across the following picture of Gondola by a jetty on Coniston Water. It was taken on a cloudy day more than twenty years ago, and is not the world’s best photography, but I think it captures something of the atmosphere of Coniston on many days of the year – cloudy and not so bright – all part of the fascination of the Lake District.

The Ruskin Museum has developed considerably over the years that I have known it. Nowadays it covers a wide range of local themes and deals extensively with the lives of two great men, from very different spheres of activity, associated with Coniston in the English Lake District.

John Ruskin, the eminent nineteenth century literary and artistic figure, lived for many years at Brantwood across Coniston Water from the village. Ruskin was extremely influential in his support of traditional craft industries. He is strongly associated with the small lace industry of the area, which is one of the museum’s themes. John Ruskin died in 1900 and is buried in the village churchyard (I put photographs of the Ruskin monument in an earlier post).

Donald Campbell was very different. He was a mid-twentieth century speed enthusiast, breaking world records many times both on land and water. Coniston was host to many of his water-speed record attempts, and it was here that he died when his boat Bluebird II somersalted at high speed. He is buried in the new area of the village graveyard.

The achievements of both men are extensively portrayed in the Ruskin Museum, tucked in behind the buildings of Yewdale Road. Other major themes are the ancient local industries of copper mining and slate quarrying, as well as the distinctive stone walls of the Lake District field and fells.

During summer months the Ruskin Museum is open from 10:00am to 5:30pm, but in the winter may have shorter hours so do check before travelling far.

Recently I’ve posted several articles here with reference to Coniston. They’ve included one on visiting Coniston in the winter, another linking to our lake district site about the Coniston Coppermines, and yet another with photos of the John Ruskin monument in Coniston churchyard.

I was reminded again of Coniston yesterday when I picked up my copy of Practical Photography for January 2010. Out of the packet fell a 40+ page guide to landscape photography – “Landscape Answers”. Toward the end of the booklet is a section entitled, “Where can I shoot an iconic landscape?” Among the nine suggested locations is Coniston Water.

Absolutely right. A good choice. I can’t wait to get back there in a few weeks’ time. After all I must introduce my new camera to the Lake District at the earliest possible opportunity

As I started to write this item for our blog the newspapers, radio and TV, both local and national, were full of Lake District and wider Cumbrian stories.  More than a foot (>300 mm) of rain in little more than twentyfour hours had swollen rivers, formed lakes where previously there were none, and generally made the lives of many Cumbrian residents a misery.  Bridges had been destroyed, and it was just being reported that a policeman attempting to save others had been lost as the bridge on which he was standing was swept away.  Clearly this has been an exceptional weather event which is going to have massive human consequences. I trust that by the time this post is due to appear on the blog the big clean-up will be well under way.

It was, however, not water to this extent that was on my mind when I first thought of writing about things to do in and around Coniston in the winter.  Rather it was a simple response to the fact that things to do indoors take on an added significance in the colder months of the year.

For many decades one of the economic difficulties faced by the Lake District tourism industry was the shortness of the season.  Gradually this has been changing. Of course, the enthusiastic outdoor person may laugh at wimps who want to be inside in the warmth.  As someone who used to love the battle against an icy wind, and revel in pressing footsteps deep into mountain snow, I can empathise with that.

As the years have worn on, however, I’ve come to appreciate that pretending to be Hilary on Everest or Scott in the Antarctic is not the only way to enjoy the uplands in winter.  There are warmer occupations.  So what does the area immediately around Coniston have to offer the person who prefers to keep reasonably warm and dry?

The Ruskin Museum

In Coniston village itself there is the Ruskin Museum.  This should not be confused with Brantwood, which was John Ruskin’s home on the opposite bank of the lake from 1871 until his death in 1900, and which I’ll mention in a later paragraph. The museum is in the village itself and although it includes a considerable amount of Ruskin-related material it also covers a far wider range of local interests including the Coniston Coppermines in “Coppermines Valley” up the slopes of Coniston Old Man above the village.

Originally established by the writer and philosopher W. G. Collingwood in 1901 it has been extended substantially down the years.  It has informative displays on the local (now defunct) copper mining and slate industries as well as many local crafts. Most recently the part of the museum devoted to Donald Campbell and his waterspeed records has been greatly expanded.  Sometime in 2010 it is planned to bring the restored Bluebird to a permanent display here.

Brantwood

What John Ruskin would have thought of careering up and down the Coniston lake at 250-300 miles per hour we’ll never know, but certainly he considered the view across the water to Coniston Old Man from his study window to be more than outstanding.  I guess that under today’s planning regimes he would not have been permitted to develop the old cottage into the house as it now is, but thankfully he lived before the age of such restraints and we can now visit Brantwood to enjoy exhibits of the art and philosophy of this highly influential artist, writer and social reformer of the mid/late-nineteenth century.

To quote the Brantwood web site, its displays and activities “reflect the wealth of cultural associations associated with Ruskin’s legacy – from the Pre Raphaelites and Arts and Crafts Movement to the founding of the National Trust and the Welfare State.”  Over the years I’ve paid many highly enjoyable visits to Brantwood, and particularly recall an exhibition describing the influence of Ruskin’s thinking on Ghandi.

Brantwood, however, is not only concerned with the past.  It has a lively programme of contemporary style events.  For example, the Severn Studio has an exhibition under the title “Space and Place” showing the recent work of five south Cumbrian textile artists.

Oh, and there’s also some good food to be enjoyed!  As the house doesn’t open until 11:00 am you might want to enjoy the Ruskin Museum in Coniston village in the morning and then go on to Brantwood for lunch before touring the house in the afternoon.

Places Nearby

The above two places can easily occupy a relaxed winter’s day before the darkness falls and one retreats to a warm Coniston area hotel or guest house. A second day might involve a trip to nearby Hawkshead with its Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter connections. Or, a little further away, how about the Laurel and Hardy museum in Ulverston?

Take Care in the Winter Outdoors

Finally, if you decide that it’s the outdoors for you, then please make sure that you’re properly equipped, check the weather forecast and the daylight times … and don’t take risks on the fells.  The rescue services have enough on their plates without having you as another of their statistics.

Check Winter Opening Hours

One important point about visiting anywhere in the Lake District during the winter months (or for that matter any tourist destination around the whole of the UK outside of the big cities) is:  Check the winter opening hours.  Not only are daily times usually shorter than in the summer, but some venues may be closed totally for several weeks, especially in late-December and January. Check the relevant websites carefully before travelling far:

Brantwood – home of John Ruskin

The Ruskin Museum in Coniston village

The Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead

The copper mines around Coniston were worked from at least the middle of the 16th century and, with a number of breaks in production in between, up to end of the 19th when competition from high-grade ore imported from overseas killed this local Lake District industry.

Coniston Old Man, the mountain behind Coniston village, was a source of large amounts of copper ore. This ore was initially carried by pack horses to be processed at Keswick but from the 18th century onwards was transported by boat down Coniston Water and then carted by road to the coast.

Today the homes of generations of Coniston copper mine workers are mostly holiday cottages and the old mine workings are a tourist attraction, albeit mostly for those with enough energy to do some walking.

Anyone interested in old industries, or simply in the ways our forefathers earned their livelihood, or in the processes by which today’s Lake District landscape was shaped, will want to explore this aspect of Coniston’s past – either on the ground or in an armchair (see Coniston Copper Mines: A Field Guide by Eric G Holland).

Eric Holland’s much larger book, Coniston Copper: A History, gives a more extensive treatment of the subject. It is out of print but can still be found, albeit often quite expensive, at some book dealers either new or secondhand.

There is also a later blog post on the Coppermines at Coniston, expanding on this fascinating aspect of Lake District history.