Northern England has long been famous for the great diversity of its mineral deposits and for the variety and beauty of minerals found within them. The region has yielded some of the world’s most spectacular specimens of fluorite, calcite, barite and witherite, together with countless fine examples of many other species. Northern England is remarkable for the comparative abundance of several minerals, first found here, but which remain great rarities elsewhere.

This book is unique in bringing together the geological context of the region's mineral deposits, the long and varied history of mining and the role of collectors and dealers, as an essential backdrop to a celebration of the minerals themselves. Richly illustrated with colour photographs of some of the finest specimens in the collections of the Natural History Museum, London, with additional images from the British Geological Survey, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, and other related organisations, this book is an important and beautiful work of reference which will appeal equally to geologists, mineralogists and anyone with an interest in the natural heritage of Northern England.