Hushes, Slei Gill, Arkengarthdale. |
This term is used for opencast workings,
many of which have used torrents of water to flush broken rock out of
the excavation. The classic hush was developed where a mineral vein
outcrops on a steep valley side and was worked by building a small turf
dam at the top of the hill and breaching it when full. The water rushed
down the hillside and scoured the soil and any loose rock away. Once
the vein was uncovered, crowbars, chisels and hammers were used to loosen
the rock and extract ore. In a process which was repeated over and over
again, broken rock accumulated on the floor of the hush and was eventually
washed away by breaching the dam. Hushing was used extensively in the
Swaledale and Arkengarthdale areas in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Hushes were worked into the 20th century, but by this time they were
more like linear quarries (see opencut) and water was no longer used.
In Arkengarthdale, some hushes were worked for chert, a type of stone,
after being abandoned by the lead miners.
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