I visited the Northern Dale mines on the 12th May 2018 and, due to the extent of the mines in the area, revisited on the 15th May 2018. Northern Dale lies to the south east of the village of Wensley and has numerous old mine workings, some reportedly dating back to the 1530's. Access is easy with a path extending from the southern end of the small car park in the centre of Wensley village. It descends behind the village eventually meeting a wooden signpost. Take the Brightgate turn to the left and follow the small path up the hill opposite and through a gate into fields. The path is followed across the fields passing a large restored stone barn on the right. Continue straight on through a couple more fields until the path sharply bends to the right. Northern Dale is in front of you as you approach the bend, with signs of old mine workings on the hill to the left. This whole area is home to mine workings and extends all the way up to Brightgate and Tearsall Quarry to the south west.
Background
As previously mentioned, the area appears to have been mined for lead from the 1500's onward, with references right up to the 1920's. It contains many mines with the typical colourful names often given to Derbyshire mines including Old Ash mine, Lords and Ladies mine, Hit and Miss mine (Tearsall Pipe Caverns No2), Tearsall Mine and Dalefield Mine.
The area is covered with small hillocks marking workings along veins, pipes or flats along with shafts (mostly capped) and some old dressing floors with associated spoil heaps.
Very little information appears to be available though regarding the history of these mines. I have listed references to what I've been able to find at the end of this post in the References section for anyone who is interested.
Mineralogy
Again there appears to be little detailed mineral information available
other than the main ore was the Lead ore Galena, which was associated
with Fluorspar, Calcite and Baryte.
Minerals found
Specimens were hard to come by as the workings are old and have no doubt
been picked over many times during their existence. Some of the
workings may well have been reworked in later years for Fluorspar too.
However, with perseverance I was able to find various examples of
Fluorspar, Calcite, Barytes, traces of Galena, a green mineral -
probably Pyromorphite, and Quartz.
The Fluorspar specimen shown below is interesting in as much as its
crystals lie on top of a layer of Baryte cementing occasional broken
fragments of an Olivine-Basalt which I had previously come across at
Tearsall Quarry. This layered structure atop of solid limestone.
Some useful references
Wensley, from the Peak District Online
Various references to Old Ash Mine and Wensley in The Lead Legacy PDF
Detailed article on Tearsall Mine, Wensley
Northern Dale Lead Mines - Ancient Monuments Site
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| CAR PARK IN WENSLEY VILLAGE |
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| ROAD LEADING OUT OF THE REAR OF THE CAR PARK |
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| SOON TURNS INTO A TRACK AS YOU DESCEND |
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| SIGNPOST TO BRIGHTGATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL |
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| CONTINUES UP HILL |
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| VIEW BACK THROUGH GATE |
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| BLUEBELLS |
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| RESTORED STONE BARN |
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| START OF MINE WORKINGS ON HILL BEYOND THE WALL |
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| GULLY - PREVIOUSLY WORKED WITH HIDDEN ENTRANCE |
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| ENTRANCE |
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| OLD ASH MINE SHAFT |
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| OLD ASH MINE SHAFT |
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| OLD ASH MINE - LOCKED COVER |
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| FURTHER WORKINGS LOOKING TOWARDS BRIGHTGATE IN THE DISTANCE |
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| SPOIL HEAPS - THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A DRESSING FLOOR HERE |
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| VIEW OF THE SAME SPOIL HEAPS FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF NORTHERN DALE |
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| FLOWERS GROWING IN THE SPOIL - HERB ROBERT |
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| FLOWERS GROWING IN THE SPOIL - LEADWORT |
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| FLOWERS GROWING IN THE SPOIL - YELLOW ARCHANGEL |
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| THE VALLEY DESCENDS SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET THROUGH WOODLAND |
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| WOODLAND FLOWER - DOG VIOLET |
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| ENTRANCE ON RIGHT HAND SIDE OF VALLEY - POSSIBLY INTO LORDS AND LADIES MINE? |
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| SPOIL HEAPS ON VALLEY SIDE OPPOSITE |
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| VIEW TO RIBER CASTLE, MATLOCK FROM THE SOUTH SIDE OF NORTHERN DALE |
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| FENCED OFF SHAFT ON ABOVE NORTHERN DALE TO THE SOUTH - LORDS AND LADIES MINE AGAIN? |
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| LESS IDEAL SHAFT COVER! |
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| ANOTHER FILLED SMALL SHAFT |
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| SPOIL HEAP TO THE SOUTH WEST OF NORTHERN DALE - PREDOMINATELY CALCITE |
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| VIEW OVER TO WENSLEY VILLAGE FROM THE TOP OF THE SPOIL HEAP |
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| ENTRANCE TO BRIGHTGATE CAVE AT THE TOP OF THE SMALL VALLEY TO THE EAST OF TEARSALL QUARRY |
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| ANOTHER SMALL SHAFT TO THE WEST OF NORTHERN DALE |
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| A PINKISH 'EARLY PURPLE ORCHID' |
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| COOKOOFLOWER (LADY'S-SMOCK) IN THE LUSH GRASS |
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| FLUORITE CRYSTALS |
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| DOG TOOTH CALCITE CRYSTALS |
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| A CLOSE UP VIEW |
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A MASSIVE FORM OF PURPLE FLUORITE WITH BARYTES. SIMILAR TO SOME EXAMPLES I'VE FOUND IN THE PAST AT TEARSALL QUARRY, NEARBY
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| SOME FOSSILISED CORAL (CHEMICALLY REPLACED BY QUARTZ) |
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| QUARTZ LINING ANOTHER FOSSIL CAVITY |
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| A LARGE WEATHERED CALCITE CRYSTAL |
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| THIN VEIN OF GALENA |
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| A GREEN MINERAL ON THE SAME SPECIMEN AS ABOVE: PROBABLY PYROMORPHITE |
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