Pillar Mine
Pillar Mine is excavated within Wilmslow Sandstone near Stormy Point and has the appearance of a cave (fig. 1). Although it looks dramatic, Pillar Mine is quite a small excavation when compared to the other mines at Alderley Edge. Pillar Mine is so named because at one time there was a pillar of rock at the entrance but this was vandalised in the 1970s [2]. At the back of the entrance chamber there is a level about 30 metres long which leads to another small chamber [2]. Two short levels have been driven from this small underground stope, one in a southerly direction while the other leads to the west. Another level (now infilled) was excavated in the floor of the entrance chamber and extends as far as the Opencast, where it connects to the surface and the Hough Level via a shaft [2]. None of these excavations display any rich patches of ore but traces of malachite and azurite can be seen at the entrance.
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| Figure 1: The entrance to Pillar Mine is excavated within the Wilmslow Sandstone |
Doc Mine
The entrance to Doc Mine is a short, inclined level situated above and a little to the west of Pillar Mine (fig. 2). The mine was opened up in Engine Vein Conglomerate and Wilmslow Sandstone and used to connect to Pillar Mine. Two small levels comprise the upper section of Doc Mine which was excavated along a mineralised portion of the Stormy Point Fault [2]. A shaft provided access to several small stopes which together form the lower level of Doc Mine [2]. In 1977 part of Doc Mine collapsed and the lower level was blocked as a result [2]. Patches of malachite can be seen in the Engine Vein Conglomerates at the entrance to Doc Mine.
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Figure 2: The entrance to Doc Mine |