Nenthead

Coordinates: 54°47′06″N 2°20′06″W / 54.785°N 2.335°W / 54.785; -2.335

Nenthead
Nenthead  Nenthead shown within Cumbria
OS grid reference	NY785435
Parish	Alston Moor (Nenthead Ward
District	Eden (Alston Moor Ward)
Shire county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ALSTON
Postcode district	CA9
Dialling code	01434
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Penrith and The Border
List of places: UK • England • Cumbria

The small village of Nenthead in the county of Cumbria is one of England's highest villages, at 1,500 feet.^{[citation needed]} It was not built until the middle of the 18th century and was one of the earliest purpose-built industrial villages in Britain. Nenthead was a major centre for lead and silver mining in the North Pennines of Britain.

Rampgill Nenthead

Nenthead in 1861 was a bustling village of some 2,000 people, mostly Methodist and employed by the Quaker-owned London Lead Company in the Nenthead Mines - some of the most productive in the country. The benevolent Quakers built, amongst other things, housing, a school, a reading room, public baths and a wash-house for the miners and their families. Nenthead was the first villages in the UK to have electric street lighting from excess power generated by the mines. The mines were responsible for as many good things as well as bad, life expectancy was short but the children were being educated.

For many mine explorers Nenthead is a mecca as hundreds of miles of accessible mines remain. It features some of the most stunning mines in the country with several horse whims and an 80 metre engine shaft in Rampghill. The mines closed in 1961 and there is a Heritage Centre displaying their history.

The economy of the village is based around tourism. England's most popular long distance cycle route, the C2C, passes through Nenthead.

See also

• Mine exploration

External links

• Wright Brothers - Well known Bus & Coach operator who are based in Nenthead
• http://www.virtualalston.homedns.org/
• Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre