Butterley Engineering Site, Butterley Hill, Ripley, Derbyshire: Desk-Based Assessment of the Ironworks and Underground Canal Wharf
Author(s): Rebecca Pullen
This report presents research into the nature and significance of remains at the Butterley Engineering Site, a prominent former ironworks and mineral extraction site near Ripley, in the Amber Valley, Derbyshire. The site was established in 1790 and continued in operation through a series of expansions and redevelopments during the 19th and 20th centuries, until the Butterley Company went into receivership in April 2009. Following recent demolition of all post-1948 buildings and partial development of the site for residential housing, the surface remains include two early 19th-century Grade II Listed Buildings associated with the administrative functions of the company, and an imposing sandstone retaining wall incorporating the partial remains of two 19th-century blast furnace structures. Additionally, the Butterley Tunnel on the Cromford Canal passes directly under the former furnace bank, at which point a series of subterranean features associated with extraction, and loading and unloading survive. These include a wharf or ‘wide hole’ where boat traffic could continue to pass while loading and unloading took place, vertical loading shafts to the surface, an underground roadway to Carr Pit Colliery, and several adjoining culverts, tunnels, shafts and old headings. Although subject to later alterations, these underground remains appear to represent the earliest surviving elements associated with the ironworks. At present the canal tunnel is in an unstable condition and is only partially navigable.
- Report Number:
- 87/2010
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 49
- Keywords:
- Desk Top Assessment
