Scheduled MonumentsEnglandRidsdale ironworks

Ridsdale ironworks

England
List entry 1006420
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1006420
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
2.58 hectares
Grid reference
NY 90901 84637
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Ridsdale ironworks is a scheduled ancient monument located in Northumberland, representing industrial activity during the post-medieval period. The site comprises the remains of iron smelting and working facilities that exploited local ore and woodland resources characteristic of northern English ironworking enterprise. The physical evidence includes structural remnants and archaeological deposits relating to the extractive and manufacturing processes undertaken at this location. The works reflect the development of iron production in the region during a period when such industrial undertakings were becoming established in areas with suitable geological and forestry conditions.

Ridsdale ironworks is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1006420. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Ridsdale ironworks?

Ridsdale ironworks is a scheduled ancient monument located in Northumberland, representing industrial activity during the post-medieval period.

Who is responsible for protecting Ridsdale ironworks?

Ridsdale ironworks is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1006420.

What other scheduled monuments are near Ridsdale ironworks?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Romano-British farmstead, 70m south-west of Pity Me (8.1 km), Romano-British farmstead, 750m east of Camphill Farm (8.6 km), Romano-British farmstead, 540m north of Reaver Crag Farm (8.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Ridsdale ironworks

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Ridsdale ironworks's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Ridsdale ironworks

Ridsdale ironworks stands on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone, argillaceous rocks and subordinate sandstone, interbedded.