Mines and minerals in Derbyshire (UK): Ladywash Mine

Located on the Hucklow Edge near Eyam, I visited Ladywash mine on the 15th September, 2018. I based myself at Great Hucklow as I wanted to explore the general area over a couple of days, including the visit to Ladywash mine which lies about 3 miles away.

Access to the mine is via a gated track from the unnamed road joining Edge Road and Sir William Hill Road, entered from the left of Edge Road as you head north out of Eyam and past the Youth Hostel. In my case I cycled to the mine from Great Hucklow along the Hucklow Edge and was able to enjoy the scenery and spectacular views the Edge provides, including the views down to Bretton Clough.

Background

The ore veins underlying the Hucklow Edge are part of a much larger series of mineralised veins and fractures that extend across the White Peak from Tideslow to the north west of Tideswell to Great Hucklow and along to Eyam. To the west of Great Hucklow the veins were mined/excavated down through the exposed limestone from as early as Roman times, but these early workings were not generally to any depth due to issues with draining the workings of water.

Mining to the east of Great Hucklow, along the Hucklow Edge, didn't really start until the late 1600's early 1700's due to the ore bearing limestone being covered by a sizeable layer of mudstones and grits, making location of the ore veins more difficult. A series of mines worked the ore veins from the 1700s up to 1895 by which most had closed as the depths they had reached made it impractical to keep them free of water.

Many of the spoil tips were reworked during the early 1900s to extract fluorspar which was now of economic interest and any subsequent mining has predominantly been for fluorspar.

Great Hucklow is the location of the new Milldam mine, opened in 1987 and the sole remaining working Lead mine in Derbyshire. Located next to the site of the original Milldam mine from the late 1800s it extends along the Hucklow Edge and Eyam ore veins intersecting some of the older mine workings along the way including Ladywash mine. The mine is currently owned and operated by British Fluorspar Limited and although their main interest is in extracting Fluorspar ... Baryte, Calcite, Galena and Zinc Blende are also extracted and sold. Estimated total fluorspar tonnage within the Hucklow vein structure has previously been estimated at around 2.4 million tonnes.

Ladywash mine was the last of the original mines to close and ceased in March 1979. I have seen references to it back to c1750 but do not know the exact age of the mine. It later years it connected with Grebe mine and mainly served as a haulage shaft as mining operations extending westwards along the Hucklow Edge vein. The limestone here is covered to a depth of 796 feet by shale and grits.

The main shaft is still open but fenced off and the engine/pumping house is still standing. At the time of my visit the shaft was emitting large quantities of water vapour accompanied by the sound of roaring water deep below. The shaft acts as a ventilation and emergency access shaft for the current Milldam mine operations. A large pile of extracted boulders, presumably left from its last days of operation, stand to the side of the mine.

Mineralogy

The Derbyshire Lead mine staples are all present here namely Galena, Fluorspar, Baryte and Calcite. Also reported from this mine are Zinc Blende (Sphalerite), Marcasite, Iron Pyrite, Chalcopyrite, Gypsum, Hemimorphite, Pyrrhotite, Smithsonite and Wulfenite.

Minerals found

A somewhat prolonged exploration of the boulder pile provided samples of Galena, some nicely coloured Fluorspar, Baryte, Zinc Blende and Marcasite. I also found an attractive Fluorspar/Baryte banded specimen.

Some useful references

Going underground in Derbyshire’s only remaining lead mine

British Fluorspar Limited Web Site

British Fluorspar's application to extend mining from 2014

Old mines and new sinkholes along the Hucklow Edge vein, Derbyshire

Fluorspar Mining In Derbyshire

Mindat entry for Ladywash Mine

Aditnow entry for Ladywash Mine - Contains some old photographs of the working mine

Photo taken inside the now disused mine

National Archives.Catalog listing for Lead Mining Manuscripts

THE RUSTIC STONE PILLAR WELCOMING YOU TO GREAT HUCKLOW

BRETTON CLOUGH ON THE NORTHERN SIDE OF HUCKLOW EDGE

THE MOUNDS ON THE RIGHT OF THE VALLEY SIDE ARE OFTEN MISTAKEN FOR SPOIL HEAPS BUT ARE IN FACT NATURAL FEATURES CAUSED BY LANDSLIDES AND EROSION