Allen Mill - Circa 1910
Allen Mill bridge (1828) and the road to Catton.
With the smelt mill output more than doubling between 1800 to 1820, the existing poor roads became a major problem for getting the ore in and the lead pigs out. The original road hugged the river and exists now as a public footpath.
A new road was built over Beaumont land from the Allen mill to Catton, with a new stone bridge over the river. It was completed between 1820 and 1828 and on Greenwood’s ‘Map of Northumberland (1828)’ is called ‘The Great Ore Road’.