Tan Hill Inn is the highest inn in England at 1732 ft (500m) above sea level. The reason for its existence was the discovery of a coalfield consisting of a series of shallow coal seams, the 'inn' originally being part of a small mining community, the cottages being demolished in 1929. The coal seams were thin and are part of the Carboniferous millstone grit series. The significance of the coalfield is often missed, it is early and dates back to the 13th century providing coal initially for domestic use and later for use in local lime kilns. There are many features left to see, including
open mine shafts which are potentially hazardous. See Northern Mine Research Society, British Mining no86 pp 68-108 The Great Dales coalfield, Eastern areas by MC Gill 2008 Further details including the historyof the inn can be found at Tan Hill Inn
