By BRIAN TILLEY brian.tilley@hexham-courant.co.uk

Published at 09:40, Friday, 05 February 2010

AFTER centuries of neglect and decay, four iconic ancient monuments in the North Pennines are to be given a long overdue kiss of life.

Title
Author
Copyright

Description

Work is getting under way to remove Shildon Engine House and Muggleswick Grange near Blanchland, Ninebanks Tower in the West Allen Valley, and the remains of Whitesyke and Bentyfield lead mines near Alston from English Heritage’s list of shame, the Heritage at Risk Register.

Work should have started last month, but snow and freezing temperatures caused a four week delay.

The work is being carried out by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership’s Living North Pennines project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

First up for a facelift are Shildon and Muggleswick, where centuries of icy weather have taken a toll.

Muggleswick Grange was built during the mid-1200s for the Prior of Durham and originally lay in the grounds of an enclosed park.

It is of national importance, because standing remains of monastic granges from this time are very unusual.

A grange was a farm owned and run by the monastic community to provide food and materials for the monastery, and to sell surpluses for profit.

A 1464 document shows that at Muggleswick there was a hall, chapel, grange and a dairy, and a large stock of oxen, cattle, calves, sheep, pigs and lambs.

The grange may originally have consisted of several buildings arranged around a courtyard, but today much of the site is occupied by later buildings, themselves perhaps dating back to the 17th century and built with stone plundered from the Grange ruins. The imposing east gable includes a large lancet window, later blocked and modified to function as a chimney.

The work to be carried out involves the removal of a redundant corrugated iron shed, removal of vegetation and the consolidation of stonework. Noticeboards will be installed to explain the grange and its history to visitors.

The calendar moves forward to the 19th century for the work to Shildon Engine House, which was built around 1805 to house a Cornish pumping engine, which kept the network of lead mines in Blanchland free from flooding.

Towards the end of its industrial life in the 1840s, an enormous steam engine was installed in a final attempt to keep the mines dry enough to work.

Following decommissioning, the engine house was converted to a series of flats for mining families.

It was finally abandoned around 100 years ago and has been derelict ever since.

The Engine House is a stark reminder of a once thriving lead mining community of 170 people.

The population declined after the mid-1800s when cheaper lead began to be imported from abroad, and young Shildon families emigrated to goldmining areas of Australia and America.

Work here will see the clearance of vegetation, consolidation of loose stonework, the capping of the mine shaft and the provision of on-site interpretation for visitors.

The days of the lead industry are also evoked at Whitesyke and Bentyfield Mine, on the Garrigill Burn in the South Tyne Valley above Alston.

It once formed part of an extensive complex of more than 100 lead mines operating in the area during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The remains include a mine shop, a dressing floor and several mine level entrances.

Work to be carried out here includes the detailed recording and selective consolidation of some buildings, and information for visitors.

The fourth project takes place in the West Allen, where the turbulent days of the Border Reivers are evoked by grim Ninebanks Tower.

The sandstone tower is all that remains above ground of a large medieval house, to which the tower was added around 1520.

The four storey tower has inverted shields on a second floor window lintel which possibly relate to Sir Thomas Dacre (1515 – 1526).

Ninebanks is not classed as a defensible structure as the walls are considered too thin; it may have served as a lookout.

Work to be carried out here includes re-pointing and consolidation. Once the work is complete, the tower will be opened for organised guided tours.

AONB Partnership spokesman Jon Charlton said: “These buildings really tell the story of the North Pennines; how our ancestors down the ages lived and worked in the area.

“Over time they would have crumbled and disappeared completely; we want to protect what remains so that we and future generations can see these legacies in the landscape of what it was like to live those past lives.”

The work is being carried out by contractors Historic Property Restoration Ltd, and archaeologists are expected to uncover some new insights into the ways the buildings were used.

Historic environment officer with the AONB, Paul Frodsham, said: “The North Pennines landscape is renowned for its lead mining heritage, and while the remnants of the lead industry are important, the AONB’s historic environment consists of much, much more.”

As the work progresses, there will be opportunities for local people to train in the traditional skill of lime mortar pointing, now used extensively in the conservation of historic buildings.

For people with a more general interest, there’ll be introductory ‘taster days’ where members of the public can find out more about the history of the structures and try their hand at specialist building skills.

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk