A Taste of the Peak District |
Accommodation, activities and attractions of the Peak District of the UK |
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Site map >> Home >> Town, Villages and Dales >> Alport |
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Alport - a lead mining village close to the river Lathkill in the White Peak area of the National Park.Highlights - old, interesting buildings and a rushing river.
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Alport is a small community close to the confluence of the rivers Lathkill and Bradford at the crossing point of the ancient route of the Portway. For a period of nigh on 300 years, this area was an important lead mining centre. The Alport Mining Company used no less than 6 water pressure engines (as invented by the great engineer Richard Trevithick) to prevent flooding in its mines. Today this clean and peaceful village is very different to how it was in the 19th century. The Cupola lead smelting works that was operating at that time produced large volumes of unfiltered toxic gases and other pollution. Cupolas superseded the original bole hill type of smelters in the 16th and 17th centuries. They had well developed flue systems leading to their chimneys. In the flues, lead condensed from the waste gases and could be collected by hand, maximising the output from the smelter. The Alport Cupola is reputed to have been one of the best developed flue systems in the Peak District. |
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For pictures of Alport click here, for a picture of an old lead mine (bell pit) click here. |
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