Sargill lead smelt mill, Wensleydale. N.B. Narrative and pictures are as of the times when the pictures were originally added (mostly 1997 to 2004). In 2021, things may look different; conditions, tracks and rights of way may have changed. Click on the Home button for more explanation. Top picture 1999 with inset 1974. Below, update 2 oct. 2003. At the time of this update, this picture had been recently taken by Barry Jones. The picture shows that a lintel is falling when compared with the 1999 picture. Barry observed that the lintel has oblong holes in it such as might be found in a fence post. I assume that the original lintel had been replaced at some time. In this picture John was inspecting the lintel when it was still in position in 1999. Overall, even by 2003, there had been much further deterioration since 1999 and sadly, we are fast losing the integrity of some industrial archaeology in the Dales. Also compare the 1999 picture with its inset picture from 1974. Although the stone-built walls are about 2 feet thick, they now have no mortar. If there ever was any, it must have been lime mortar which has washed out. Possibly the walls only ever were "dry-stone." The front wall of Sargill lead smelter is the least deteriorated of its walls. The lintels, like any in an old neglected building, have rotted. However, in April 1999, the decayed state of wooden lintels in the front wall were such that even that wall was sadly threatening sudden collapse. One lintel was already broken. Indeed, we could see no obvious reason why the structure above it had not already fallen. When it does so fully, a domino effect will probably complete the fate of the wall. Until this happens, the front of the smelter still shows some of the character the old mill had. Two of the the chimney pots from the collapsed calcining smelter at the west end of the lead smelter have found use at the east end to help support a collapsing wall. Getting to the Sargill lead smelt mill. The map showed Sargill lead smelt mill to be about five kilometres west of Askrigg. Unlike many other old lead smelt mills in the Dales, Sargill is not the sort of place you are likely to happen across. It is located in an isolated position away from the crop of other smelters in Swaledale and Wensleydale. It can be reached in various ways but none is easy; one good reason why Sargill was never going to be a candidate for conservation. We got there via the hamlet of Sedbusk at the West end of Wensleydale. Sedbusk can be reached by using the road which runs on the north side of the river Ure. We came from Askrigg, heading West along the road towards Hardraw, so coming across a right turn into Sedbusk. In Sedbusk, we took Shutt Lane, which soon bears round to the right. Shutt Lane then went uphill and become a gated track. Its surface became unsuitable for all but "off roaders." It is possible to park on the right of the track, without obstructing the first of the gates, then walk. This is what we did. We needed to reverse some distance when coming down on our return. Alternatively one could park in Sedbusk and walk from there. If you use Shutt Lane to access the smelter, then to check your bearings, look for a stile and gate on the left, just before the first gate across Shutt Lane. Do not go left but continue up Shutt lane, through the gate in the now poor road. It goes up steeply, turning left, rising, and going through another gate. Shutt Lane has now given way to a mere track. After the gate, the track turns left again, then right. It continues to rise steeply before eventually leading you to the watershed point. From there, you see Sargill Dale coming into view, with Stags Fell on its far side. The track forks. The track goes ahead to North Rakes Rigg. We took the right fork which drops to ford the Sargill Beck. Following the track down, Sargill Smelter came into view, when our gaze followed the line of the beck across to the East. We continued on down the track and forded Sargill Beck. On the far side of the beck, we immediately turned right. Here, there is no track. We walked on the bank side to North side of the beck, in the direction of its flow. Although reeds were growing, none of the ground was excessively marshy and we found no problem in reaching the smelt mill, which is situated just a few metres from the beck. We explored the area around the smelter itself. After that we sought the entrance to the mine, Sargill Level. We found a mine entrance behind the spoil heaps up the hill to the north-west of the smelter. As with many mines whose drainage has failed, water is running from its entrance. There are considerable spoil tips outside the mine entrance at Sargill. As elsewhere it would have been the sighting of outcrops from the vein which drew people here to work the lead. It would probably have been the following in of one of the outcrops on Stags Fell in Wensleydale which resulted in the Sargill Level (picture from entrance shown below left). In turn, the success of the level led to the building of the smelt mill. The layout of Sargill Mill. The main building is oblong, about 18 metres by 9 metres. Within, it was divided into two rooms. The slightly smaller room, at the western end, housed the bellows. The bellows were driven by a waterwheel inside the room. The wheel pit is no longer directly visible as the smelter's western wall has fallen into it. Built on to that west end was a "lean to" structure which housed a roasting furnace. The lean to has collapsed along with that western wall. The roasting furnace had its own square chimney. Its base can still be seen. Two of three glazed pipes which together served as a chimney pot are now being used at the east end to help support the fast deteriorating structure. The main hearths were at the eastern end of the smelter. We understand that the eastern room housed a single ore hearth and a slag hearth. These two furnaces were located at the back of the eastern room so that the hearths could connect into the single flue which goes up the hillside. As the fumes left the smelter, they passed through small condensers. The flue is about 23 metres long. It is therefore short compared with some of those at other smelters. The flue terminates in a square vertical chimney. It seemed odd that a zig-zag leat has been cut in the moor above the smelter and leads to the chimney. Perhaps water was led to the chimney or condenser or both to cool the fumes and precipitate more lead. John Archbold traced the line of a narrow level terrace along the dale side for a considerable distance. The terrace terminates above the smelter. If it had had a purpose, it was not clear to us. It could have been used to support an aqueduct to supply water to the smelter's wheel or have once been railed for ore tubs. Possibly, it was a natural feature being part of a narrow lateral morraine. In the left of the above picture are the remains of the chimney. The broken flue can be seen connecting from the back of the Sargill smelter, below. We understand that after a short life, the Sargill Mill was closed in 1870 as smelting there was no longer economic. Link to the page on the Summer Lodge Smelt Mill >>>

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