Scheduled Monument
Wanlockhead,remains of lead mining and smeltingSM5597
Status: Designated
Documents
Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).
The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.
Summary
- Date Added
- 08/02/1993
- Supplementary Information Updated
- 18/01/2018
- Type
- Industrial: kiln, furnace, oven; mines, quarries; non-ferrous metals; rail; tip, bing, dump
- Local Authority
- Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish
- Sanquhar
- NGR
- NS 86720 13577
- Coordinates
- 286720, 613577
Description
The monument consists of most of the above and below-ground remains of lead mining and smelting in Wanlockhead.
These consist of shafts, adits, and underground workings (including specifically the water-pressure pumping engine in the Glencrieff Mine), above-ground remains of buildings and machinery used in mining, tracks, roads, railways and water-courses associated with lead working, waste heaps, and the remains of at least two lead smelters and a washing floor, including the flue system associated with the Meadowfoot smelter.
The scheduling includes all these remains, together with an area around in which traces of activities associated with their construction and use may survive. The area to be scheduled is irregular in shape, as marked in red on the accompanying map. The church, all occupied dwelling houses and their outbuildings and gardens, together with all modern fences, walls, road and track surfaces are excluded from the scheduling.
Statement of National Importance
The area to be scheduled is of national importance as it contains most of the significant remains of metal mining and working in one of the most valuable metalliferous areas in Scotland.
Individually, the sites include the Meadowfoot smelt mill with its unique flues and Stokoe condenser, the Bay mine with its early steam engine and waterwheel remains, the Glencrieff mine with its relatively complete surface buildings and underground water-pressure engine, the beam engine on the Straitsteps vein, the Pates Knowes smelter, and the ore crusher and dresser near Meadowfoot.
Each of these is of national importance, a significance which is enhanced by their functional and geographical connections. The linking tracks, tramways and watercourses are also of great interest. The mines here were worked from the late 17th century. The only comparable complex is nearby at Leadhills, and is the subject of a separate scheduling proposal.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
About Scheduled Monuments
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.
We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.
Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)
Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the
scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).
The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.
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Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.