From : http://www.fivenine.co.uk/family_history_notebook/background/millom/hodbarrow_mine.htm 

The Hodbarrow mine at Millom was one of the most successful iron ore mines in Cumberland (now Cumbria) not only for the amount of ore that was excavated but also for the quality of the Haematite.

Mining had been tried at Millom before 1855 but with little success. Two men Nathaniel Caine and John Barratt formed the Hodbarrow Mining Company in around 1855. One of the biggest problems at Hodbarrow was due to water and when the old workings collapsed the low lying areas flooded leaving the company with very little choice but to press on and in 1868 extra boreholes were sank and a huge body of Haematite was discovered.

In 1869 work began on shaft No.1, No.2 and No.3 but shaft No.2 had to be abandoned in 1870 due to flooding, so work had to be started on a new shaft No4 which was operational around 1874. The problems with sand & water became worse, and in 1880 a large embankment was built but this was not as successful as first hoped. The Haematite, which came out of Hodbarrow, was some of the best in the area and was very highly valued. A second sea defence was built in the early 1900s to protect the mines and workings from the sea. This proved very successful and is still in good shape today.

The Hodbarrow mine ceased production in 1967 after 112 years. In 1968 the iron works closed it doors for the last time.

Also, some terrific historic photos here : http://www.banklands.com/millom.htm 

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Wonderful pics.... loved the industrial loco's as into my trains too.

Are there any remains of the engine houses in the area, particularly the Hodbarrow ones? They are unusual in design and I always wondered....

Educate me :thumbsup: please!

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Sadly the engine houses at Hodbarrow have all gone - in the late 1960's they were there complete with engines! Despite the efforts of Eric Holland - a local mine historian - to save them, they were demolished and the engines scrapped.
Now you can barely see where they stood.

More photos : http://www.trochos.freeserve.co.uk/photog/millom2/millom2.htm 

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You can still see part of an old windmill which looks like a chimney. Was this anything to do with the mining operation?

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Aren't many engine houses in Cumbria... I think there's one at saltom (spelling??) coal mine near whitehaven - though that's of a different design to those in Cornwall and Furness.

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Is your source of these photos ok re-downloading..... only for own use as I do industrial locomotives and engine houses... oh and.... well loads. Just want to have em for reference only, they are so good.

Thanks again for putting these up.... stunning quality.

I just found a lovely box of E.Midlands pics of locos from collierys, iron ore mines and Clee Hill & Crich quarries. and Stanton Iron Works.

:thumbsup:

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Is your source of these photos ok re-downloading..... only for own use as I do industrial locomotives and engine houses... oh and.... well loads. Just want to have em for reference only, they are so good.

Thanks again for putting these up.... stunning quality.

I just found a lovely box of E.Midlands pics of locos from collierys, iron ore mines and Clee Hill & Crich quarries. and Stanton Iron Works.

:thumbsup:

I shouldn't think there would be any issues, but probably best to e-mail the webmaster - phil.baggley🇦🇹virgin.net

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Cheers

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Went here yesterday, saw many people boating on subsitence lake, many tips and foundations for a building + a lighthouse.

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There's the remains of an excellent one at Stank, near Barrow.

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Sadly the engine houses at Hodbarrow have all gone - in the late 1960's they were there complete with engines! Despite the efforts of Eric Holland - a local mine historian - to save them, they were demolished and the engines scrapped.
Now you can barely see where they stood.

I was under the impression Eric actually blew them up!

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Sadly the engine houses at Hodbarrow have all gone - in the late 1960's they were there complete with engines! Despite the efforts of Eric Holland - a local mine historian - to save them, they were demolished and the engines scrapped.
Now you can barely see where they stood.

I was under the impression Eric actually blew them up!

Yes, he did the job but only after he tried hard to save them. He took the view that if he didnt do it, someone else would... 😞

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is that a collapsed wall in 2 of those pics,did the whole roof of the mine cave in or is it just very bad subsidence.

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Subsidence - they had to build an outer wall to keep the sea out. That's the inner one. Have a look at the area on Google Earth. It makes more sense. You can see the curve of the inner barrier and the much larger outer. Now they are part of an enormous lake. A water-ski place uses it.

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