Nenthead (/ˈnɛnthɛd/ NENT-hed) in the county of Cumbria is one of England's highest villages, at around 1,437 feet (438 m). It was not built until the middle of the 18th century and was one of the earliest purpose-built industrial villages in Britain.

Nenthead.

The Société des Mines et Fonderies de Zinc de la Vieille Montagne company of Belgium, or ‘VM’ for short, came to England in 1896, specifically to the small remote village of Nenthead in the Pennine hills of Cumbria. While in England, this international company survived two world wars and the inter-war economic depression, as well as fluctuations in the geological supply and market demand for zinc and lead.

From Roman times until the end of the nineteenth century, Alston Moor in Cumbria was famed for the production of lead. For over 180 years from the early 1700s, the leading exponent was the London Lead Company, with smaller, locally-based enterprises operating throughout the same period.

The industry went into steep decline from the 1860s onwards due to the decreasing ore reserves, the cost of extraction and foreign competition.

In 1882 the London Lead Company sold its interests to the Nenthead and Tynedale Lead and Zinc Company. After initial success, a sharp decrease in the value of zinc combined with the Earl of Carlisle’s refusal to renew the company’s lease of the spelter works (a zinc-lead alloy, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelter) at Tindale Fell, 14 miles (ca. 23 km) away led to the company’s failure after a tenure of only fourteen years.

The new purchaser of the mineral leases, mines, royalties, mills, works, and machinery on Alston Moor in 1896 was the Société Anonyme des Mines et Fonderies de Zinc de la Vieille-Montagne of Belgium or VM for short.

Nenthead was the focal point of their operations in the UK and was the place where they operated for the longest period. From its mines in Nenthead and West Allendale, the company obtained zinc ore by mining and by reprocessing old waste dumps from former lead ore extraction. At one time, VM was responsible for more than 60% of the output of UK zinc ore. In addition, although zinc was the main mineral the company was seeking, any lead found was not discarded, but processed as well. Both ores were not smelted, instead, they were sorted, crushed and cleaned at Rampgill Mill in Nenthead, then transported by road, rail, and sea to the parent plant in Belgium. This was the practice of the company with its mines worldwide.


The establishment of the Vieille Montagne Company at Nenthead was the start of an era of new technology, when previous methods and techniques were replaced by a new dynamism backed by huge financial investment. Nenthead was only one of the many mines; VM also took leases for other mines in the UK. The VM invested many hundreds of thousands of pounds in the area. It was at the forefront of mining and ore processing technology in Britain and Europe, attracting visitors to the village from a distance to view its plant. It employed hundreds of men of several nationalities, mainly Belgian, German and Italian, and the local economy depended on its success.

Then in 1949, after fifty-three years of operation, Vieille Montagne sold its mineral leases, plant, and equipment and left.

Source: "FOREIGNERS IN THE HILLS" by Alastair F. Robertson.

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Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nenthead
Wikidata ID:	Q6991665

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