Blackett Level

Whilst in Allendale take an amble down to the River East Allen and have a pleasant sojourn to this fabulous place called the Blackett Level.

We parked in the Market Place and the walk down The Perth to the footpath was fairly steep. It had been steeper but the road was heightened in the late 1800's and you see a white house called Breaside whose ground floor windows are now bricked up as they are below road level.

We are told this is the home of the Wood Wizard (See the wolf carving below).

The Blackett Level was a 7km tunnel that drained water from the four lead mine shafts that were sunk at Studdon Dene, Holmes Lynn, Sipton, and Breckon Hill circa 1855. Lead ore was smelted at nearby Allen Mill.

This industry was successful between 1600 and 1897 and local lead mines could continue as the level lowered the water table. It was hoped that substantial new veins of lead would be sourced and another shaft was sunk at Allenhead, but the bottom fell out of the market and was abandoned in 1903. Silver was also mined and 16,000 ounces were extracted in a year. That is 33 silver swans like the one from the Bowes Museum.

We are here at the exit of the Philip Burn into the River East Allen at the Allendale portal, and it is still functioning.

The plague gives details and there is a depiction of men working in a tunnel. In the river are some old rail tracks possibly removed when the mining ceased.

It appeals to my imagination that there is a 'portal' here as we had just visited the Classic Sci fi Museum with Dr Who features. Could this be a time portal?

This portal is Grade II listed and according to Historic England:

The portal is built from coursed stone blocks with the entrance consisting of a narrow horseshoe arch with dressed stone voussoirs set in a squared rubble wall. There is an iron girder bolted to the right jamb which is part of the fittings for the original iron gate. The mouth of the portal is covered by an iron grille which is a 20th century addition and is excluded from the scheduling, however, the remaining structure of the portal is covered.

The rustic building was a Tally House, where workers would effectively 'clock' in/out' and collect their pay.

From 1905 this area was transformed into a pleasure garden and delightful bridges and quaint vistas were arranged for visitors. Some would swim in the river and youngsters called it a waterfall where the Philip Burn and East Allen river are convoluted. It would have been cold and polluted, but now it is cleaner. There is talk of Trout and Salmon converging at Allen Mill to climb the fish ladder in September and October.

We had some highly entertaining rounds of Poo sticks.

The footbridge over the river East Allen has one or two interesting features. See if you can spot the mythical head. If my daughter-in-law hadn't pointed it out to me I would have missed it!

Along the River East Allen, there is a wood carving of a wolf, which must be the work of the Wood Wizard. There is a local myth about the Wolf of Allendale. It has lichen growing on it, giving the fur a molting look and you can see that his chin has been rubbed.

A naturalist/teacher, Zane Foster (1949 to 2002) had lived in the area. In a stone wall, a stone tablet with a lead tree inscribed is to commemorate his life. He was known to take students on walks in the river and stone hopping became a new sport for the youngsters.

I hope you have time to visit the Museum Of Classic Science Fiction too when you are in the area.