Cliff Ironstone Mine

Lease Holders

  • 1857 – 1865 : Henry William Thomas
  • 1865 – 1887 : Bell Brothers

Timeline

  • Before 1865 – Ironstone possibly thrown over Huntcliff and collected on the seashore.
  • 1865 – Cleveland Railway connected to mine.
  • 1865 – Two 102ft shafts sunk either side of railway
  • 1868 – Houses at new Brotton built for miners.
  • 1877 – Mine closes
  • 1880 – Mine reopens
  • 1887 – Mine abandoned

Virtually no trace remains of this early mine at the top of Huntcliff, it later became linked underground to Huntcliff mine and worked again after 1880. Some remains of the base on which a Fowler traction engine was mounted are said to exist

Cliff Mine Plan
Shafts either side of railway line
Fowler winding engine, probably similar to the one used at Cliff

Sources

Catalogue of Cleveland Ironstone Mine (Peter Tuffs, Cleveland Ironstone Series, 2003)

Wheels Turning and Smoke Rising Vol. 1 MInes to the North of Brotton (Simon Chapman, Cleveland Ironstone Series, 1997)