Monument record MDR6892 - Rainslow Scrins, 470m south-west of Leadmines Farm, Elton
Type and Period (5)
- LEAD MINE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- DRESSING FLOOR (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- COE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- BUDDLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- WINDING CIRCLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
Set of c. ten parallel scrins 10 to 13 metres (30 to 40ft) deep, and about 0.6 to 1 metre (2 to 3ft) wide. It can extend up to 30 to 50 metres (100 to 150ft) in depth and up to 350 metres (400yd) in distance. One of only two examples in Derbyshire, the only place in the country, where such a geological condition (the mineralisation of joints in limestone) occurs in such concentration. (1).
Scheduled on the 17th August 1998. The monument lies on and around the brow of a hill 0.8km south of the village of Elton, on either side of a minor road. It includes all the earthworks and buried remains of the Rainslow Scrins lead mining area. The monument is characterised by well-preserved opencuts and shaft mounds, showing successive exploitation of lead-bearing veins. The remains to the north of the road retain clear evidence for the sequence of workings. Spatial and chronological relationships, such as shaft mounds overlying spoil from opencuts and shafts sunk directly into opencuts, demonstrate that opencuts were succeeded by small vertical shafts exploiting the same veins. Amongst opencuts in this northern area are most of the scrins which give the site its name. These are deep, narrow opencuts now visible as open trenches. A series of ten or more roughly parallel scrins are visible in the north west part of the site, on a roughly north west-south east alignment. Shaft mounds in this northern area are small, typically 1.5m high and 8m wide, and show no evidence of earthworks associated with horsepower or other mechanisms to power winding or drainage. A low level of mechanisation is typical of Derbyshire, where geology and topography (shallow veins in hilly limestone) often made water power or other systems difficult to install, or uneconomic on quickly exhaustible shallow veins. The northern part of the site also includes a well-preserved array of embanked dressing floors. In these areas raw ore was processed to retrieve lead, using water to separate the heavier lead particles from other minerals. Here and elsewhere in the northern area there remain heaps of dressing waste, the residue from processing. South of the road are further scrins and shaft mounds, and this area is less intensively worked than the northern part. The earthworks to the south of the road are believed to include a dressing area. In addition, two stone structures survive in the south east part of the site. One, a circular drystone wall of 1.5m height and 3m circumference with an opening in the north, encloses a shaft. The other, a small ruined building of 2.5m by 3m with thick bonded walls, is believed to have been a coe (storage building). The lead mining remains of Rainslow Scrins provide evidence of continuous lead mining from an early date. Lead miners may have been working in the area by 1541, and many ventures were under way in the vicinity by the mid-17th century. (3).
Photograph. (4).
Rainslow scrins is a lead mine of high priority according to Barnatt's survey. It consists of extensive opencuts on closely-spaced veins but with many areas reworked and the hillocks disturbed or removed, with several capped shafts, three buddle dams, a trunk buddle or water leat, a walled shaft and possible ruined coes. (5).
Site monitoring has been carried out. See form for details. (6)
Sources/Archives (6)
- <1> SDR16718 Unpublished document: Rieuwerts, J. Pers. Comm.. 21/11/1989.
- <2> SDR6682 Bibliographic reference: Farey, J. 1811. A General View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire, Vol. 1. p220-221, 272.
- <3> SDR18954 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1998. Scheduling notification: Rainslow Scrins 470m south west of Leadmines Farm. 30952. Cat. No.: 421.
- <4> SDR19107 Photograph: Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA). 1998-2001. Peak District National Park Authority Farm Surveys. 2002: 397. 30-33, 36-37.
- <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.: 88, p120.
- <6> SDR22256 Unpublished document: Burrow, L (PDNPA). 2008. Scheduled Monument Monitoring Form: Rainslow Scrins, 470m SW of leadmines farm.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 2215 6017 (632m by 781m) (Centre) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | ELTON, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- EDR3242
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Nov 12 2014 2:06PM