Summary
Jopson's Level, an adit cut into the stream bed about the middle of the 18th century
Identification Images (0)
Monument Types
- ADIT (Mid 16th C to Mid 18th C - 1540 AD to 1754 AD)
- COPPER MINE (Mid 16th C to Mid 18th C - 1540 AD to 1754 AD)
Description
There are two other adits in the side of Newhouse Gill; one of these is Jopson's Level which is cut into a step in the stream bed and was presumably only workable in high summer. There is some discrepancy in the records as to its origins; Ian Tyler (Tyler, I. 1995, 96) states that Jopson's Level was dug some time after 1750 by William Hetherington, a mine steward. Previous to his employment at the mine, Hetherington had driven an illegal adit into the mine, pretending that he was searching for copper. G.C. Boon (Boon, G.C. 1976, 124) also relates the story of Hetherington's illegal exploits, noting that the land he had driven the 'copper' level on was owned by Caniel Jopson. He also sets the date for Hetherington's appointment as mine steward as 1754. However, according to annotations on Farey's plan, Jopson's Level was an illegal mines level dug - ostensibly for copper - which was discovered by William Hetherington in 1750 while driving a separate shaft. The duplication of the two stories suggests that Farey may confused some of the details (Lax, A. 1995).
References
- SNA61977 - Unpublished document: Oxford Archaeology North. 2007. Historic Landscape Survey of Borrowdale, Cumbria.
- SZI2562 - Article in serial: G C Boon. 1976. An early Tudor coiners mould and the working of Borrowdale graphite. 76. SECOND.
- SZI7756 - Monograph: I Tyler. 1995. Seathwaite Wad.
Other Statuses and References
None Recorded
Associated Events
- ENA4020 - Field Survey, Historic Landscape Survey of Borrowdale, Cumbria
Associated Finds
None Recorded
Related Records
- Related to: Graphite (Wad) Mine on Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (Monument) - 20118 / MNA119961