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Charterhouse, Mendip Hills, Somerset, England, UK
UK Grid Reference: ST504555
Latitude: 51°17'45"N
Longitude: 2°42'41"W
Latitude: 51°17'45"N
Longitude: 2°42'41"W
Mining probably began here during the iron age but became an industry within a few years of the arrival of the Romans with archaeological evidence dating their occupation at the site from 49 CE.
The mineralization occurs as veins of lose rock, clay and calcite 'spar' containing stones, granules and intergrowths of galena within fissures that follow the structures in the resistant Carboniferous limestones but pinch out not deeper than 50m below surface.
The open works were exhausted by around 1300.
In the late 1700s Cornish Miners began working undergroud but soon found that there was no deep ore. Instead they reworked spoil and slag which contained up to 55% lead by weight with 2 smelters at Velvet Bottom and later Blackmoor with a workforce of up to 300.
The mine finally closed in 1885.
The site contains many buddles, open works, glassy slag tips and the remains of condensing flues at Blackmoor. However, the area appears to be barren for minerals due to the ease of initial extraction and the efficient reworking.
The BGS have several online documents with plans of the site.
Mineral List
| Calcite |
1 entry listed. 1 valid mineral.
The above list contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
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References
The Habitat and Origin of Lead Ore in Grebe Swallet Mine, W.I. Stanton, Proc. Univ. Bristol Spelaeol. Soc (1991) Vil19.1, 43-65
The Geology of Somerset, P. Hardy, (1999) Ex Libris Press.
The Geology of Somerset, P. Hardy, (1999) Ex Libris Press.
External Links
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mendips/localities/charterhouse.html [Link Broken? Oct 2012]
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