Online talk about the Borrowdale Graphite (Wad) mines

Contact

Organizer: National Trust Borrowdale and Buttermere Valleys

Name: Online/Virtual

Phone: 017687 74649

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/events/7ec8e9ae-1c49-4ed7-a129-6243b49d2277/pages/details

Address

Keswick

Price Notes

Free

Direction

Details

Brought to you by the Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society and the National Trust for GeoWeek. Join us for an online talk about the graphite mines of Borrowdale.

Ever wonder where the phrase "black market" came from? The graphite (or “Wad” or “Plumbago” or “Black Lead”) extracted from the mine at Seathwaite in Borrowdale near Keswick was the purest and finest quality in the World. The graphite was mined from the 15th to the 19th centuries and found many uses, some of which helped make the British Navy the most powerful in the World and saw the finest pencils made in Keswick. The price of this wonder material soared in the 18th and 19th centuries such that it became the most valuable material ever to be mined in Cumbria. Some locals were tempted to steal and illicitly trade the dark coloured graphite, which is reputed to be the origin of this now common expression.

Learn more about the fascinating history and importance of the Borrowdale Graphite mine with this illustrated talk by Mark Hatton of the Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society

Event Details