Old Cumbria Gazetteer |
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| Nent Force Level | |||
| site name:- | Nent, River | ||
| locality:- | Nenthead | ||
| locality:- | Alston | ||
| civil parish:- | Alston Moor (formerly Cumberland) | ||
| county:- | Cumbria | ||
| locality type:- | drainage level | ||
| locality type:- | canal | ||
| 10Km square:- | NY84 | ||
| 1Km square:- | NY8040 | ||
| 10Km square:- | NY84 | ||
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 CEV71.jpg Plaque, in town hall. (taken 15.4.2016) |
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| hearsay:- |
The level was an underground canal built from Alston towards the mines at Nenthead
to provide drainage, to intersect new veins of ore, and to be a canal to extract ores.
Its outflow was on the River Nent at Alston. The section from the portal in Alston
to Nentsberry Haggs shaft, 3.5 miles, is a canal. The project began from Alston in
1776. Various engineers were involved, including Richard Walton and John Smeaton,
working 1776 to 1842, for the proprietors, the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital.
The waterway was wide enough to carry boats. Kelly's directory declared:- |
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| "The Grand Aqueduct, called Nent Force Level, cut by order of the Trustees of the Hospital,
extends to Nent Head, a distance of five miles underground. Several boats are kept
in it, and guides are in readiness at any of the inns for those who wish to explore
these subterransous wonders. Its mouth is near the town of Alston, where the River
Nent forms a very romantic waterfall." |
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| The Alston exit, Nent Force Level Portal, was destroyed by quarrying in the 20th century. |
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| Wilkinson, Peter: 2001: Nent Force Level and Brewery Shaft: North Pennines Heritage
Trust:: ISBN 0 9541845 0 5 Jenkins, Stanley C: 1991: Alston Branch, The: Oakwood Press (Headington, Oxfordshire):: ISBN 0 85361 400 8 : (19th century, late): Kelly's Directory of Cumberland |
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| mapping:- |  Nent Force Level Portal, Alston Jockeys Shaft, Alston Gossipgate Shaft, Alston Moor High Nent Force Shaft, Alston Moor Watergreens Shaft, Alston Moor Blagill Foot Shaft, Alston Moor Foreshield Shaft, Alston Moor Lovelady Shield Shaft, Alston Moor Nentsberry Haggs Shaft, Alston Moor Wellgill Shaft, Alston Moor Brewery Shaft, Nenthead |
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