Rookhope Arch and village, Weardale, North Pennines, Northern England
I quite fancy taking some photos foucusing on the industrial heritage of the region. I thought I'd begin by venturing up to the Rookhope valley which was a key region in the lead and fluorspar industry which permeated the Northern dales for arond 400 years and more. The arch is all that remains of a massive flue system which carried the exhaust from a smelting mill high up onto the moors. At first it seems ecolgically sound but in point of fact this wasn't the principle function of such constructions, rather they served to act as enormous condensers, and lead and silver would condense on the interior surfaces of the exhaust walls. Children were then employed and sent into the condensers to scrape the condensate from the walls, recovering and returnng it for further processing in the smelt mill. It was both a hard and short life for many of the workers in these industries.
Rookhope Arch and village, Weardale, North Pennines, Northern England
I quite fancy taking some photos foucusing on the industrial heritage of the region. I thought I'd begin by venturing up to the Rookhope valley which was a key region in the lead and fluorspar industry which permeated the Northern dales for arond 400 years and more. The arch is all that remains of a massive flue system which carried the exhaust from a smelting mill high up onto the moors. At first it seems ecolgically sound but in point of fact this wasn't the principle function of such constructions, rather they served to act as enormous condensers, and lead and silver would condense on the interior surfaces of the exhaust walls. Children were then employed and sent into the condensers to scrape the condensate from the walls, recovering and returnng it for further processing in the smelt mill. It was both a hard and short life for many of the workers in these industries.