The Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
The ore deposits of Alderley Edge were first exploited by Bronze Age man and since then mining has occurred sporadically. It is believed that the Romans were responsible for part of the workings at Engine Vein Mine after the discovery of a Roman coin hoard prompted an archaeological excavation [13]. However, following the period of Roman activity there are no records of mining until the 1690s. Throughout the 18th century and the first half of the 19th, the mines at Engine Vein, Stormy Point, Saddlebole and Brynlow were worked intermittently by various companies with James Ashton's company discovering cobalt around 1810 [2]. The most extensive period of mining occurred between 1857-78 when West Mine and Wood Mine were worked for copper and lead. These mines were worked on a small scale during the early part of the 20th century until the last episode of mining ceased in 1919 [2]. A plan of the Alderley Edge mines which are now managed by the National Trust and Derbyshire Caving Club is shown in figure 1.
|
Figure 1: A plan of the Alderley Edge mines in relation to surface features |
|
|
|
|
| Adapted from [2] | |
| localities | |
| 1. Old entrance to West Mine | 11. Old Alderley Quarry |
| 2. West Mine Quarry (infilled) | 12. The Opencast |
| 3. Entrance to Wood Mine | 13. Pillar Mine |
| 4. Brynlow Opencast (infilled) | 14. Entrance to the Hough Level |
| 5. Cross & Straight Mines | 15. Doc Mine |
| 6. Brynlow Mine | 16. The Beacon |
| 7. The Hagg | 17. Stormy Point (Devil's Grave) |
| 8. Beacon Lodge | 18. Twin Shafts |
| 9. The Wizard Inn | 19. Saddlebole |
| 10. Engine Vein Quarry | 20. Castle Rock |
Since the late 19th century the evidence for Bronze Age mining has gradually improved, and archaeologists now believe that the ore deposits were almost certainly worked during this time. The first finds were discovered in the Brynlow area by Professor William Boyd-Dawkins in 1874. These entailed several surface pits excavated into copper-rich ground and around 100 stone hammers which were found predominantly at the bottom of these pits (fig. 2) [2]. Dr Sainter examined the site four years later and found a wooden shovel amongst further stone hammer finds [2]. Unfortunately this shovel was lost and it was only relatively recently that it was rediscovered by Alan Garner in 1993 [13]. The implement was sent to the Manchester Museum where it was dated at around 1750 BC.
|
|
| Figure 2: A selection of stone hammers found at Alderley Edge [14] |
In the early 1900s Roeder and Graves made further discoveries after a thorough search of the area [15]. They found several stone hammers in the spoil heaps of Wood Mine, Engine Vein Mine and the Stormy Point mines. Several hammers were also found at the nearby Mottram Mine. These finds prompted the excavation of several surface pits at Engine Vein, Windmill Wood and Stormy Point in which charcoal and crudely smelted lead ore were found in the latter [2].
The rediscovery of the Bronze Age shovel prompted the formation of the Alderley Edge
 |
|
Figure 3: Exposed Bronze Age workings at Engine Vein Mine |
Landscape Project (AELP) in 1997. An excavation at Engine Vein revealed
Bronze Age hearths and associated charcoal which was dated as 1700 BC [16].
Evidence of Bronze Age activity can be seen on the north face of the Engine
Vein Mine although it has been intersected by later workings (fig. 3).Carlon [2] explains how Bronze Age man extracted and smelted the ore which is summarised here. The groove found in many of the stone hammers suggest they were jammed into a cleft in the withy and were possibly lashed using leather thongs. The ore was extracted using the hammers and possibly by driving wedges into the ground. Following extraction the ore was heated and then doused with water which caused it to crack. The fragments of ore were then dug out using wooden shovels and smelted on site in open hearths.
Until recently the possibility of the Romans mining at Alderley was pure speculation although a Roman road did pass nearby from Stockport to Congleton [2]. In 1995 a hoard of Roman coins dating to the 4th century was discovered in an abandoned shaft at Engine Vein Mine [13]. An archaeological excavation of the shaft followed and it was found to resemble other Roman workings in the British Isles. The shaft (known as Pot Shaft) connects with a horizontal square passage which is also believed to be the result of Roman activity. Pick marks on the walls of this passage reveal that it was dug from Pot Shaft to the Engine Vein Mine [13].
The Seventeenth Century (based on Carlon [2])
Before 1693 records for any mining which may have taken place at Alderley is vague. Although mining may have occurred in the 1670s, the first to be accurately dated began in 1693 which was directed by Thomas Legh. The mining is thought to have taken place at Nether Alderley, Engine Vein and Stormy Point in the form of pits and galleries. In 1696 a dispute arose when Thomas Crosse was granted a lease to work the mines by Sir Thomas Stanley (the landowner). There were several periods of violence from both sides which included dragging workmen out of the mines using ropes and chains!
It is possible that the ore was smelted at Saddlebole while the wood required for the process was brought from 'the Hagg'. The smelter or 'bole' was a pile of stone built around a fire which allowed the natural intake and expulsion of gases when smelting took place. Boles are normally built on west facing hillsides because westerly winds are the most frequent in Britain.
A Mr Abbadine worked the Engine Vein Mine around 1708 for copper and lead and built a smelting house near the present Edge House Farm [2]. A tunnel was supposedly dug by Abbadine's men which ran from Dickens Wood to a shaft near the Old Alderley Quarry [2]. There is uncertainty as to the location of this tunnel and it is thought not to be the passage known as Abbadine's Level in Pillar Mine [13].
In 1758 Charles Roe and Rowland Atkinson founded the Macclesfield Copper Company after being granted permission to work the mines [2]. It is likely that the Macclesfield Copper Company worked the surface of the Engine Vein Mine (fig. 4) [13]. The extracted copper was used to construct metal sheets for ships and also to produce brass wire and nails [2]. The Macclesfield Copper Company also dug a tunnel in Brynlow Valley which is thought to be a part of the Brynlow Mine [13]. The Company wound up operations at Alderley around 1770 and moved to Anglesey to work the rich Parys Mountain copper deposit.
 |
|
Figure 4: Some of the surface features at Engine Vein are likely to be 18th century workings |
Following the departure of the Macclesfield Copper Company the mines were examined by Mr Heaton and Whitfield before being worked by Mr Patten in the 1780s. The ore was treated at Warrington and was probably obtained primarily from the Engine Vein Mine. The last mining venture of the 18th century was directed by Mr Radcliffe during the 1790s with varying degrees of success [2].
During the 18th century the lead ore was crushed by hammering and washed in a 'buddle' [2]. The process separated the lighter sand grains from the heavy lead. The copper ore was hammered and the highest quality was smelted in open hearth furnaces until coal fired smelting became the preferred method in late 18th century [2].
In 1804 James Ashton prospected for ore at Alderley Edge and found reasonable deposits at Engine Vein Mine [2]. The Alderley Mining Company was formed the following year when Mr Ashton and his partners took out a 14 year lease. During this time a windmill was built in Windmill Wood to supply the power for the ore-crushing machinery [2]. Cobalt was discovered around 1810 and was initially sold to a pottery company in Yorkshire [13]. A few years later the cobalt was sold to a separate company in Wallasey [13].
It is likely that the original cobalt discovery was made at Mottram St. Andrew but the landowner (Mr Wright) declined all offers of purchase [2]. Perhaps this was due to Mr Wright's unsuccessful attempt to mine the copper and lead found at Mottram in 1807 [2]. Mining at Mottram and Alderley had ceased by about 1827 but the most profitable venture was still to come.
The Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
Mining restarted in 1857 when James Michell took out a 20 year lease to work the mines. The operation began at West Mine and in 1859 the Alderley Edge Mining Company was formed [13]. During the 1860's Wood Mine was opened and extensive exploration work was undertaken at Engine Vein Mine and Stormy Point [2]. The ore deposits were predominantly copper and lead but silver was also obtained in small amounts. A large treatment plant was built to extract the copper using a new method involving hydrochloric acid [2]. The operation removed nearly 200,000 tons of ore with production peaking in 1869. The Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1878 which brought to an end the most prosperous period of mining to have taken place at Alderley.
Copper ore deposits were found at Mottram during the late 1850s and was exploited by several companies. The mines were worked for copper, lead and cobalt but were not as prosperous as the Alderley mines. Mining had ceased by 1867 and are now flooded [2].
Between 1911 and 1913 small-scale mining took place at Alderley Edge with a lease being granted to Allan Gibb in 1914. A small leaching plant was erected on the site of the 19th century treatment works to process ore from West Mine and Wood Mine [2]. The mines were maintained until 1918 when the lease was passed to Alderley Copper Ltd. The operation never exceeded 35 tons of ore per annum and in 1919 all mining ceased which brought Alderley's mining history to an end [2]. The mines attracted many inexperienced explorers with the inevitable result of accidents and fatalities. By the early 1960s the mines had been sealed. A chronology of the events on this page can be found in table 1.
|
Table 1: A chronology of the events mentioned on this page |
|
| Date | Event |
| 1750 BC | Age of Brynlow wooden shovel and smelting site at Engine Vein Mine |
| 320-300 AD | Age of Roman coins |
| 1670s | Possible mining at Alderley |
| 1693 | First accurately dated mining since the Romans |
| 1696 | Dispute between Mr Legh and Mr Crosse |
| 1708 | Mr Abbadine worked the Engine Vein Quarry and drove a tunnel from Dickens Wood to Old Alderley Quarry |
| 1758-1770 | The Macclesfield Copper Company worked the Engine Vein Mine and drove a tunnel into Brynlow Valley |
| 1780s | Mr Patten worked the mines |
| ca. 1804-1810 | James Ashton and the Alderley Mining Company. Cobalt found. |
| 1807 | Mr Wright worked the Mottram mines |
| 1859-1878 | West Mine and Wood Mine extensively worked by the Alderley Edge Mining Company. Exploration work at Engine Vein Mine and Stormy Point |
| Late 1850s-1867 | Mottram mines worked for copper, lead and cobalt |
| 1911-1919 | Small-scale mining at Alderley Edge |
| 1919 | END OF MINING |
| 1969 onwards | Work done by the DCC to reopen the mines |
From 1969 to the Present Day (based on the DCC's website [13])
In 1969 Wood Mine was the first to be re-opened by the Derbyshire Caving Club. An entrance into West Mine followed in 1975 and in 1981 the Engine Vein Mine was added to the DCC's lease. Since the late 1980s the DCC has concentrated on reopening the Hough Level and by 1992 the route from Wood Mine to the Edge (below Stormy Point) had been cleared. However, there are still many passages to be explored and the DCC continue to excavate the area.
Since 1972 the DCC has been guiding visitors around the mines and they now run two Open Weekends a year. Full details of the DCC's events can be found here.