Monument record MDR2149 - Lees Rake and Burfoot Mines, Brushfield and Taddington
Type and Period (6)
- LEAD MINE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- BUDDLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- MINE SHAFT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- COE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- RAKE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- DRESSING FLOOR (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
Excellent example of pipe work open to daylight. Good materials. Vast area of old hillocks, dressing floors, shafts etc. Completely untouched since lead mining days. (1).
The south side of Millers Dale, between the old Priestcliffe Quarry and Monsal Dale Viaduct, has many old workings. Few have been touched by hillocking, and are very close to the former railway track. (2)
Lees Rake is an east/west vein running along the hilltop and then dropping eastwards towards the river. There are shaft hillocks intermittently along the vein. Enclosures that map evidence suggests were walled out after 1848 indicates that the mines may have continued to be used well into the 19th century, or that the hillocks were not grassed over and thus were a danger to stock. All the mines were certainly disused by 1880, although some of the hillocks appear to have been subsequently reworked for secondary mineral. There are also the remains of a walled rectangular structure, possibly a building. (3)
Much work probably took place in Lees Rake before the earliest documentation, which dates to the 18th century. Mines in the Burfoot title, including those in Brushfield Liberty, are known to have been in work in 1709-13, and probably near-continuously in 1726-63. Production was small throughout this period. From at least 1770 the Burfoot Mines were worked continuously on a somewhat more ambitious scale, although output declined after 1794. Sterndale Sough, which ran between the river and Lees Rake/Burfoot Old Vein, Torrtops Vein, was first recorded in 1738 but when it was driven is not known. In the 19th century only small-scale working at well-tried mines and their hillocks took place. Mining at the Boothlee Pipes (to the east of the Burfoot mines) is known from documentation in 1670 and 1671. Surviving features in this area include belland yards defined by ruined drystone walls, a fine example of a washing pond, a rare example of a drystone-lined semi-circular bouse team (ore storage bin) with a raised barrow-run leading to it, extensive hillocks, a short stretch of shallow open cut and four pipeworking entrances. (4)
Lees and Dove Rakes, Booth Lee Pipes, and Sterndale Sough. Surface interest includes well-preserved hillocks, shafts, opencuts, water storage and/ore dressing ponds, belland yards and a run-in high-level sough tail. Two belland yards have important associated features. (5).
The lead mining features in this area were scheduled in March 2013. For full details, see the scheduled monument description. (6)
The footpath from Bull Tor to Litton Mill passes to the west of a series of mounds being the remains of disused lead mines. (7)
Sources/Archives (7)
- <1> SDR19109 Bibliographic reference: Hill, R (PPJPB). 1985. Peak Park Treasures. Rieuwerts, J : 18/4/78 : C111.
- <2> SDR19111 Index: Council for British Archaeology (CBA). CBA Industrial Archaeology Report Card. Burfoot Mines.
- <3> SDR19711 Unpublished document: Barnatt, J (PDNPA). 1993. Priestcliffe Lees Nature Reserve, Priestcliffe, Taddington, Derbyshire, archaeological survey, 1993. pp 2-3, Features 3 & 4.
- <4> SDR21362 Article in serial: Barnatt, J and Heathcote, C. 2003. 'The Maury and Burfoot Mines, Taddington and Brushfield, Derbyshire', Mining History: The Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society. Volume 15, No. 3, pp 45-50.
- <5> SDR19821 Bibliographic reference: Barnatt, J. 2004. An Inventory of Regionally & Nationally Important Lead Mining Sites in the Peak District. Vol. 2: Corpus of Sites. No. 51, pp 76-77.
- <6> SDR21482 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 2013. Scheduling Notification: Lees and Dove Rakes, Booth Lee Pipes and Sterndale Sough. List entry no. 1412889.
- <7> SDR18788 Bibliographic reference: Fowkes, D (ed.). 1997. Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology. A Gazetteer of Sites. Part IV. Derbyshire Dales.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 15662 72757 (1888m by 464m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | BRUSHFIELD, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | TADDINGTON, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- EDR3993
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Jun 28 2021 5:10PM