Monument record MDR1301 - Lathkill Dale and Mandale Mines, Lathkill Dale, Youlgreave and Over Haddon

Lathkilldale contains many mining remains the most impressive being Mandale Engine House, dating from mid 19th century, Mandale Sough driven between years of 1797 and 1820, and the piers of an aqueduct which was a wooden trough, built 1840, carrying a leat to Mandale mine waterwheel. (1) The surface features at Mandale Mine include ruined Cornish pumping engine house, flue and chimney. Nearby there is a the goit and entrance to Mandale Sough, a waterwheel pit, blocked shafts and a gated entrance to an inclined level into the mine. Further up the valley there is a long waterwheel leat, the pillars of an aqueduct over the river, and the wall of a second waterwheel pit with launder breast wall at Lathkill Dale Mine. Other features include capped shafts and the ruins of Bateman's House (a manager's house with large accessible shaft beneath it, with a chamber at the base which once had a rare Dakeyne disc engine), and a ruined powder house. Elsewhere are level entrances. Mandale Mine is documented as active in the 1280s and the late 16th century; most of the surface features are 19th century in date. (2) A multi-phase lead mining complex, which was scheduled in 1998. The scheduled area was extended in 2013. The monument includes the standing ruins, earthworks and buried remains of the Lathkill Dale and Mandale mines. The history of the Lathkill Dale and Mandale Mines are entwined, presenting a detailed and complex history of mining activity in a discrete landscape. Mining at Mandale Rake, in the eastern part of the Dale and area of protection, is first documented in the 13th century, and recorded on the north and south sides of the River Lathkill from 1495, although the exact location of these early workings is unknown. Mandale Rake was mentioned in 1585 as containing `the beste orre in the peke' and by 1615, the mine’s excavations were over 300ft deep. Water drainage was a continual problem, however. To aid drainage and increased ore extraction, the excavation of the Mandale Sough was begun in 1798, but production was slow and by 1836 work had virtually ceased. A long stretch of the river to was canalised in the late 1830s by the insertion of walls along its length, aiming to restrict the river to its bed and prevent flooding in the mine workings of both mines. The track from Over Haddon Mill westwards along the valley bottom was probably remodelled at this time. In 1839, a new company was formed. The Mandale Mining Company’s main strategy was to erect a steam engine and waterwheel to drain the mine below the sough by pumping water from below into it. The wheel was erected adjacent to Lodge shaft in 1841. As part of the water drainage system, the Company extended the aqueduct leat at Lathkill Dale Mine and constructed an impressive aqueduct which carried the water by launder (supported wooden channels) across the river. The portal to Mandale Sough was remodelled and an incline level was driven linking to it, resulting in increased ore output. The waterwheel became inadequate for the task and a steam Cornish pumping engine was erected in 1847. The venture was short-lived however, as rising costs led the Company to wind up activities in 1851 and offer equipment for sale in early 1852. Mandale Rake continued to be worked small-scale by individual miners until 1867. (3) Lathkill Dale Vein and Mine, located in the western part of the Dale, may have been exploited in the medieval period, but is known to have been worked at around 1700 and is referenced in Barmote Court documentation of 1703. An estate map of 1720-7 shows two waterwheels with associated coes installed to allow the extraction of ore below river level. In the 18th century, an early drainage sough known as ‘Over Haddon Sough’ enabled greater exploitation in Lathkill Dale. The driving of Lathkill Dale Sough in 1743 enabled more successful mining activity. The sough followed the Lathkill Dale Vein from the eastern boundary of the assessment area westwards to the mine, and was started either by local men or by a Bristol company of Quakers . By 1750, the sough had been driven beneath the river to its south side. The title to the vein and sough was taken over in 1764 by the London Lead Mining Company, who drove the sough further, allowing rich ore and a greater output to be mined. A mine plan of 1826 references an ‘old watercourse’ and ‘old engine’ suggesting that the Company may have built additional structures to facilitate water management and ore extraction. A drop in ore yield prompted the London Lead Mining Company to put the mine up for sale in 1777. Little work took place on the vein until 1825 when Thomas Bateman and John Alsop bought the mine. Intense activity followed, including the construction of a new leat (known as the aqueduct leat) and feeder pond and installation of pumps in an underground shaft at sough level powered by an unusual engine type, an early form of water turbine designed by the Daykeyne brothers and patented in 1830. A building covered the shaft, a measure to prevent industrial espionage it is said, which was converted in 1835 to a dwelling known as Bateman’s House where the mine agent lived. New shafts were sunk at the mine in the 1830s and the leat was widened to accommodate a larger waterwheel upriver from Bateman’s House, said to be ‘the largest except one in the Kingdom’. Several buildings ware constructed close to the waterwheel including an ore dressing coe, a smithy and a workshop and, to the west, a powder house. Water management problems continued, however, and Lathkill Dale Mine ceased large-scale extraction in 1841-2; the wheel was offered for sale in 1847 and removed by 1861. (4) Remains of limestone piers of an aqueduct can also be seen, which fed the waterwheel at Mandale Mine. (5) Lathkill Dale and Mandale mines and soughs are scheduled as they represent rare survivals of mining activity dating from at least the 16th century through to the late 19th century, with well-preserved remains of individually rare features such as the remains of shafts, coes, gin circles, stopes, engine houses and other buildings, crushing circles, ponds and buddles, in addition to water management structures such as the aqueduct and aqueduct leat. It is an exceptionally well-preserved site displaying a diversity of multi-phased surviving features. The 2005 archaeological survey of Lathkill Dale and Mandale mines in addition to the documentary research into the mine adds considerably to its national importance. The mines are located within an area of well-preserved mining remains, the best surviving of which are designated as scheduled monuments. Together, these sites provide evidence for both the historical and technological development of what was once a far more extensive, multi-period and regionally distinct mining landscape. The diverse range of components represented at Lathkill Dale and Mandale mines have the potential to explain the development of the mine working and its chronological range as well as contribute to the understanding of the historical and technological development of lead mining in Derbyshire. For more details please see the scheduling notification. (3) Mandale Mine in Lathkill Dale is well known for its Cornish-type engine house, water wheel pit, sough tail and other archaeological remains, which mostly date to the 1840s. While the history of this lead mine is well documented, unexplained details to seen on site raise questions about exactly how some of the features should be interpreted. The picture is more complex than many have assumed. Detailed surveys of the surface remains and that part of the sough that goes under the engine house and waterwheel pit have been undertaken. These were done to document the site and allow discussion of what we know, what we thought we knew and what still needs careful thought. Historical documentary sources have also been reviewed. Answering interpretative questions at this fascinating site has been partially successful, but only archaeological excavations at some point in the future are likely to provide further answers. (5)