The Farnsdale mines operated between 1873 and 1897 under the Blakey Iron Company and later the Farndale Iron Company.
An incline can be followed down to the location from the railway line up at Blakey Junction.
At the bottom of the incline, a tramway ran along the hillside at the level of the ironstone
Most of the remains are obscured by subsequent rock falls, but one small drift is still visible.
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That drift looks interesting, how far does it go?
About 10ft unfortunately.
Am I right in thinking this is the most Southerly portion of the Cleveland ironstone seam?
Pretty much, you can get a bit further south to the mines near Rosedale Abbey.
I visited the mines, the trackway, the incline and the railway to Little Blakey today 17 Apr 2019 from Farndale, and the pictures are much the same as Chris took.
The one level is still open as shown but we found some considerable holes in the ground just beyond the end of the trackway, possible underground collapse, but maybe just water erosion.
I am left with a question – How was the ore put into the railway wagons?
The incline went over the railway with no obvious connection. The abutments of the bridge are substantial and the map shows no working area at this point. There must have been some tipping mechanism between the wagons, now lost.
1891 NLS 25″ OS map https://maps.nls.uk/view/125627272 shows the cross over and several Levels into the mine.