There was an important lead mine on the north side of the village until the end of the 19th century. Mining occurred on a small scale for the sake of the low but significant concentration of silver in the ores, perhaps from as early as the 16th century. As a result of high demand for lead in the Victorian era, the mine was greatly extended in the 1840s, and had reached 520 m below the surface by the time of its closure in 1890.