Land of lead and silver

What we do

The Land of Lead and Silver project, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England, with additional funding from other funders, aims to unearth some of the the hidden stories of lead and silver mining in the North Pennines.

From the mid-1700s to the early 1900s, the North Pennines was dominated by lead mining which shaped villages and settlements and played a part in creating today’s rights of way, largely based on the footpaths and tracks that connected miners with their places of work. The landscape today has visible remnants from this once-thriving industry, from the levels driven underground to exploit the lead veins, to the mine complexes, dressing floors, and smelt mills which scattered the surface.

Work is underway to consolidate eight regionally and nationally important mining sites in the North Pennines National Landscape and UNESCO Global Geopark, preserving them for generations to come and making sure these are no longer at risk. Additional work is improving access, information and interpretation at significant lead mining sites across the National Landscape.

The North Pennines National Landscape team, with partners and volunteers, is exploring this industrial heritage and its people through a vibrant community arts and engagement programme to find out what makes this place the ‘Land of Lead and Silver’.