Cackle Mackle and Stadford Hollow lead mines on Longstone Moor

Reasons for Designation

Approximately 10,000 lead industry sites are estimated to survive in England, spanning nearly three millennia of mining history from the later Bronze Age (c.1000 BC) until the present day, though before the Roman period it is likely to have been on a small scale. Two hundred and fifty one lead industry sites, representing approximately 2.5% of the estimated national archaeological resource for the industry, have been identified as being of national importance. This selection of nationally important monuments, compiled and assessed through a comprehensive survey of the lead industry, is designed to represent the industry's chronological depth, technological breadth and regional diversity. Lead rakes are linear mining features along the outcrop of a lead vein resulting from the extraction of relatively shallow ore. They can be broadly divided between: rakes consisting of continuous rock-cut clefts; rakes consisting of lines of interconnecting or closely-spaced shafts with associated spoil tips and other features; and rakes whose surface features were predominantly produced by reprocessing of earlier waste tips (normally in the 19th century). In addition, some sites contain associated features such as coes (miners' huts), gin circles (the circular track used by a horse operating simple winding or pumping machinery), and small-scale ore-dressing areas and structures, often marked by tips of dressing waste. The majority of rake workings are believed to be of 16th-18th century date, but earlier examples are likely to exist, and mining by rock-cut cleft has again become common in the 20th century. Rakes are the main field monuments produced by the earlier and technologically simpler phases of lead mining. They are very common in Derbyshire, where they illustrate the character of mining dominated by regionally distinctive Mining Laws, and moderately common in the Pennine and Mendip orefields; they are rare in other lead mining areas. A sample of the better preserved examples from each region, illustrating the typological range, will merit protection.

The Cackle Mackle and Stadford Hollow Mines represent a particularly complete and well-preserved multi-period mining area, with a wide range of features. The remains are particularly characteristic of Derbyshire, where low levels of mechanisation were employed at mines to a late date and intensive shallow workings were commonplace. Stadford Hollow has been described as 'the best example in Derbyshire of a small vertical mine'. The variety, density and complexity of archaeological remains will provide valuable information about extraction and processing technologies, and their long-term development. Underground remains at Stadford Hollow are known to be well preserved, with machinery still in place.

Details

The monument includes the structural, earthwork and buried remains of a complex multi-period mining area typical of the Derbyshire lead industry. The monument lies within two separate areas on Longstone Moor. At least two named mines operated in this area, the Cackle Mackle and Stadford Hollow mines. The largest area of the monument lies between two minor roads. It includes the remains of the former Cackle Mackle mines, and incorporates a complex array of multi-period mining remains which demonstrate the development of mining techniques over several centuries. The Cackle Mackle mine is documented as working from the mid-17th century until the mid-19th century. Remains include rakes (linear workings on a lead-bearing vein), opencuts and shafts, spoil tips and dressing areas where ore was processed. This part of the monument is characterised throughout by intensive workings. In the northern part of this area, north of a field wall and footpath, are further well-preserved earthworks, some of which are overlain by field walls. Dense clusters of small shallow pits up to 1.5m diameter and narrow opencuts are visible. There are a number of large shafts, several of which cut through earlier workings. Most workings clearly follow lead-bearing veins on a roughly north east-south west alignment and include shaft mounds, spoil heaps and dressing waste. A large opencut survives near drystone constructions and large earthworks, one of which is right-angled. The central part of the Cackle Mackle mine includes many shafts of varied size and form, with spoilheaps, dressing waste and other earthworks. The outline of a gin circle (the remains of horse-powered winding) survives clearly in a field boundary, next to a large rectangular shaft. A trackway, thought to be contemporary with the mines, survives on the line of the present wall and footpath. In the south, two well-preserved rakes run east-west for over 1km and meet in a`Y' shape, terminating in a large shaft at the south west corner of the monument. These rakes incorporate workings of shaft and opencut form, with associated spoilheaps. The second area, separated from the first by a minor road, includes the remains of the Stadford Hollow mine. Four well-preserved shaft mounds survive, each associated with a ruined coe (a small storage structure). Immediately south east of the shafts are low earthworks including spoilheaps and a small gin circle. It is expected that buried remains will include dressing floors (ore processing areas), which will contribute to our understanding of the operation of the mine. The Stadford Hollow mine operated from the very early 16th century to the mid- 19th century. It was a small mine, whose low-mechanisation arrangement was typical of the Derbyshire lead industry. All modern field boundaries and road surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

30938

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Parker, H M, Willies, L, Peakland Lead Mines and Miners, (1979), 43,44

Other
Suggestions on scheduling, Smith, K (Peak Park Archaeologist), Letter, (1990)

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