Shildon Engine House Blanchland

It was very bad weather. I decided to stick to my plan and drive to Blanchland. We had been there in 2019 and I wanted to visit Shildon Engine House just outside Blanchland. On my favourite road from Teesdale to Stanhope visibility was really bad.

Blanchland is a very nice little village with a lot of history. The name comes from the white robes that the monks of the Premontrian Order were wearing who lived in the abbey at Blanchland.

A more detailed history quite amusing to read is on this webpage: Blanchland history  

The engine house is around half a mile outside Blanchland (see map). I had a good walk around the site and even managed to climb inside. The panels are excellent and not only explain the engine house itself but also the lead mining in the area in much detail. For those of you who would like to have a short summary... Here goes:

All mines have a problem with water. The engine house drove a pump that pumped the water out. It was built in 1808.  After the mining stopped in the middle of the 19th century the engine house was used as accomodation. But later on it was abandoned and became a ruin.

Afterwards  I decided to go back and not explore Blanchland further due to the bad weather. As compensation I had Fish&Chips in Stanhope on the way back....