Ayton Banks Ironstone Mine
Ayton Banks was mined by three different companies between 1909 and 1929, it was a small royalty entirely enclosed within Ayton Monument mine.
The most obvious remains are the numerous shale heaps, some with ironwork on top probably from aerial ropeways.
A number of building remains and foundation can be spotted in the dense undergrowth
A very small length of drift is visible at the bottom of a large collapse, but its tricky to reach and also flooded.
About 100m to the south of the drift, iron stained water can be seen emerging from what was presumably a drainage level, this appears to be lined with corrugated iron sheets which have collapsed a few feet in, water can again be seen at the bottom of that collapse.
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:39 am
A few years ago I managed to find Richard Pepper’s ‘Mineral tramways of Great Ayton’ in a Covent Garden bookshop, which was a snip at only £4! It covers a great deal of the history and present day remains of Ayton Banks and is recommended.
October 24th, 2008 at 8:21 am
My treasured 1938 OS map shows aerial ropeways straddling a number of sites in this vicinity
December 30th, 2008 at 9:34 am
By means of an update, the site is now rather overgrown however a few more infalls have occured.