Swinhope Burn Families

Lead Ore Mining

Lead ore mining was the main industry in the Allendale area for over three centuries. Mention is made of mining in the dale as early as 1230, but it was not until the mid 18th century before it began to develop into a profitable enterprise. From 1750 to 1850, Britain was the leading producer of lead ore in the world. The areas of Allendale, Northumberland, Alston, Cumberland and Weardale, Co Durham contributed the majority of the ore produced in England during this time. In addition, silver was also extracted in the refining process, and the Allenheads mine in Allendale was once the largest producing silver mine in the world. Mining was big business in the northeast making some of the mine owners the richest commoners in England.

During this time, the majority of the male population in Allendale was employed in the mining industry. The skills and contacts were passed down from father to son for many generations. Contracts to mine, or 'bargains', were offered by the mine owner quarterly, and the workers were paid by the 'bing' weight and the quality of the ore that was raised. Early mining was a risky, dangerous and an unhealthy profession. Many miners died in accidents or from the illnesses that they contacted from the work. Families in the dale would supplement their mining incomes with small farms, but the majority of their income was predicated upon obtaining 'bargains' and remaining in the good graces of the mine owner's manager who issued the the contracts. Because the competition for 'bargains' in the dale was stiff, families stayed on in the same area for generations, and most new miners from outside remained in Allendale through their marriages into established families.

Migration & Immigration

By the 1860's, lead ore yields in the northeast of England had declined, causing a shift in local economies. Many of the ore veins in the Allendale area had played out, and the costs to continue mining became less profitable. In addition, mining enterprises in the United States and Spain were producing lead ore more economically, forcing the international prices to drop. As mining work became scarce, many Allendale families began to migrate to the more industrialized areas in Co Durham, and immigrating to the USA, Australia & Canada.

The NATTRASS' began to spread out, and the first to leave the 'dale' in 1849 as a blacklisted miner was Jacob NATTRASS and his family to Galena, Illinois, USA. Sixteen years later two sets of first cousins once removed inter-married and migrated to Australia. Siblings Joseph and Margaret NATTRASS married siblings Hannah & William NATTRASS and began the Australian lines. All of these early immigrants found mining work in their new countries, later prospered in farming and became leading citizens in their communities. Once the immigrant door had been opened, later generations of NATTRASS' would follow their siblings and cousins to Australia through the 1880's including Joseph NATTRASS, John NATTRASS and Joseph E. NATTRASS.

Around the turn of the 20th century, a second wave departed for Canada. Siblings John Joseph & Phyllis NATTRASS immigrated between 1901 and 1911. John Joseph NATTRASS married in Ontario Province and worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and his sister Phyllis NATTRASS married and migrated to the west coast of British Columbia and raised a family. Their cousin Jane NATTRASS also immigrated during this time and married a French Canadian.

Of the families that remained in Allendale, many left to obtain work in the more industrialized areas of Co Durham. Thomas NATTRASS migrated to Castlesides, Co Durham and William NATTRASS to Blackhill, Co Durham. The one line that remained was Henry NATTRASS and his wife Phyllis NATTRASS nee MARTIN, who continued farming at Light Shield in West Allendale. Descendants of this line can still be found residing in the dale today.