Monument record MDR9636 - Oxclose Sough and Sough Tail, Matlock, Matlock Town and South Darley

Oxclose Sough was driven from its tail at the River Derwent by Cawdor Quarry to the Oxclose Mines at Snitterton. The sough runs almost due south into limestone and to the Fire Engine shaft (SK 2766 6012) in the Oxclose Mine complex. . Part of the sough has been surveyed and shown to be a coffin level. The tail to Oxclose Sough is located on the south bank of the Derwent beneath Cawdor Quarry by the railway bridge over the river (SK 2890 6063). The tail is a crude structure with no delicate arching, just a wooden sided adit with a wooden lintel, partly bricked in. The water flows out of the tail at a rate of approximately 5 gallons per second. The agreement to make the sough is dated 1743, so work at the tail presumably commenced in the same year. (1) Oxclose Sough drains mines on the north side of Masson Hill for a distance of one mile from the mouth. The tail is located on the west bank of the Derwent and to the north of the railway bridge. It has an arched entrance. (3)