Nenthead200 celebrations

The village of Nenthead was planned by the London Lead Company 200 years ago, in 1825. A weekend of events was held in August 2025 to celebrate this anniversary. The weekend of events and the activities that led up to it, were developed over ten months by a local community volunteer committee working alongside the North Pennines National Landscape team.

Lead mining dominated the North Pennines from the mid-1700s to the early 1900s shaping the landscape, the villages and settlements, and the communities. The London Lead Company owned and leased many mines, primarily across Alston Moor and Teesdale, during the 19th century and was particularly influential in Nenthead, where they planned and built the village.

In the lead up to the Nenthead200 weekend, workshops, talks and activities took place to uncover stories from the community, to share the history of Nenthead and the mines, and to create display objects for the weekend event. An historical research group used archival and secondary material to chronicle the key events, places and people in the village’s development which were commemorated in a timeline.

The Nenthead200 celebration took the form of a traditional village fair with competitions, games, craft demonstrations, and activities, including shadow puppet making, animation, and drama. There were mine tours at Nenthead Mines alongside a mining display in the mines’ barracks building. Local bands played in the church and Stanhope Silver band performed on the playing field.

Mining and Nenthead history-themed scarecrows were created and displayed outside homes for viewing and judging by the Leek Club, with prizes presented on the Sunday afternoon. People dressed up in mining or Nenthead-inspired costumes and processed from Nenthead Mines car park through to the playing field for judging with prizes presented for under 11s, 11-18 year olds, adults, best mining costume and best-dressed dog.

A supper and folk dance was held in the village hall on the Saturday night with music provided by a local band. A multi-faith blessing was held at Nenthead Mines on the Sunday morning and the weekend concluded with a history quiz at The Hive on the Sunday evening.

Rebecca Cadbury-Simmons, Community Engagement and Interpretation Officer with the North Pennines National Landscape team, said: “We’re really pleased to have developed this event with so many members of the Nenthead and wider Alston Moor community, and to see people connecting with their local heritage in such creative and engaging ways. It was a really enjoyable weekend and great to welcome visitors to the village to participate in the fun alongside the local residents.”

The event was part of the Land of Lead and Silver project, run by the North Pennines National Landscape team and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, and Historic England. The project aims to discover stories and features from the lead and silver mining history of the North Pennines National Landscape and UNESCO Global Geopark and offers opportunities for people to get involved.