1. The History
This former lead and Fluorspar mine sits just west of Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire high up on the valley side to the south of the Buxton Road. Trying to establish the start of its operation, a 1880 O/S map shows no traces of the mine. However, the mine appears on the 1890 up-date putting its establishment, most likely, circa mid-1880s. The mine is labelled as a lead and spar mine, and appears to still being worked on a latter 1920 map up-date. With no other map until 1970, it closed at some point between these two dates. It must have a name and with that info I'm sure there's more info out there on here.
Detail from a 1890 O/S map:
Until then, that's all I can find about this place.
2. The Explore
The small hut visible from the road has fascinated me for some time. One day I climbed up the just about visible miner’s steps to it. The store two rooms both with thick heavy iron doors, one open and one still locked. After studying old maps, I located an adit above the store and came at it from the top route. Having found it, it became apparent that to get into the mine, you have to cross an old beam over a deep stope. Not fancying that, I returned home. After that, latterly @Bikin Glynn checked it out, saying it was 'pretty sketchy' and that the mine soon ended in a dead end. He also found another large adit below, which you could go in some of the way, before that ended in a collapse too. Hence, I went back latterly to check it out. In between this adit and the explosives store, there looks to be yet another, smaller, adit that at some point, has been rigged. So nothing to get too excited about but still part of Stoney’s rich mining history that needs documenting.
3. The Pictures
At the bottom, across the road are some former mining buildings that are pretty photogenic. Not sure they are for this mine or others. Shed in the woods:
From the inside:
Outside wash area:
Various levels:
This looks like some kind of store:
On to the mine itself. These are the steps miners would have climbed up:
You first come to the very photogenic explosives store with its heavy iron doors, winter:
And in Summer:
When nature takes over:
On the inside:
Up we climb:
First you come to this which looks like an entrance to the bottom of the stopes. It had what appeared to be a rigging bar just behind out of shot:
Moving up the hill you then come to this adit:
With its approach cut into the rock:
Past some stacked up deads:
And in:
In we go:
It goes in for a while over collapses:
Until you get to this final collapse/dead end:
Back out and up the hill again to this second large adit:
To go in, you have to go on this rail resting on old rotten sleeper above a big hole!
It then appears to carry on:
Being solo, I didn’t really fancy this. But big up to @Bikin Glynn who did when he came a month or so later. Apparently, the adit goes on for about 50ft before ending. So, it’s back out and up the bank into the top field and round.
This former lead and Fluorspar mine sits just west of Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire high up on the valley side to the south of the Buxton Road. Trying to establish the start of its operation, a 1880 O/S map shows no traces of the mine. However, the mine appears on the 1890 up-date putting its establishment, most likely, circa mid-1880s. The mine is labelled as a lead and spar mine, and appears to still being worked on a latter 1920 map up-date. With no other map until 1970, it closed at some point between these two dates. It must have a name and with that info I'm sure there's more info out there on here.
Detail from a 1890 O/S map:
Until then, that's all I can find about this place.
2. The Explore
The small hut visible from the road has fascinated me for some time. One day I climbed up the just about visible miner’s steps to it. The store two rooms both with thick heavy iron doors, one open and one still locked. After studying old maps, I located an adit above the store and came at it from the top route. Having found it, it became apparent that to get into the mine, you have to cross an old beam over a deep stope. Not fancying that, I returned home. After that, latterly @Bikin Glynn checked it out, saying it was 'pretty sketchy' and that the mine soon ended in a dead end. He also found another large adit below, which you could go in some of the way, before that ended in a collapse too. Hence, I went back latterly to check it out. In between this adit and the explosives store, there looks to be yet another, smaller, adit that at some point, has been rigged. So nothing to get too excited about but still part of Stoney’s rich mining history that needs documenting.
3. The Pictures
At the bottom, across the road are some former mining buildings that are pretty photogenic. Not sure they are for this mine or others. Shed in the woods:
From the inside:
Outside wash area:
Various levels:
This looks like some kind of store:
On to the mine itself. These are the steps miners would have climbed up:
You first come to the very photogenic explosives store with its heavy iron doors, winter:
And in Summer:
When nature takes over:
On the inside:
Up we climb:
First you come to this which looks like an entrance to the bottom of the stopes. It had what appeared to be a rigging bar just behind out of shot:
Moving up the hill you then come to this adit:
With its approach cut into the rock:
Past some stacked up deads:
And in:
In we go:
It goes in for a while over collapses:
Until you get to this final collapse/dead end:
Back out and up the hill again to this second large adit:
To go in, you have to go on this rail resting on old rotten sleeper above a big hole!
It then appears to carry on:
Being solo, I didn’t really fancy this. But big up to @Bikin Glynn who did when he came a month or so later. Apparently, the adit goes on for about 50ft before ending. So, it’s back out and up the bank into the top field and round.
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