Magpie Mine

About

Magpie Mine is a well-preserved disused lead mine near the village of Sheldon in Derbyshire, England, in the parish of Ashford in the Water. The walled enclosure of five lead mines (Magpie Mine, Dirty Red Soil, Great Red Soil, Maypit and Horsesteps) is a protected Scheduled Monument. Mid-Derbyshire has a history of industrial lead mining going back to Roman times. Lead mining at this site goes back to at least the 17th century. The Shuttlebark vein of lead ore was officially opened in 1682. Magpie Mine is recorded back to 1740. After over 200 years of operation, Magpie Mine closed in 1958 and was the last working lead mine in Derbyshire. The Peak District Mines Historical Society now manages the site and has undertaken much restoration work.

Between productive, profitable times, there were closures for several years in 1793 and in 1835 because of floods, disputes and drops in the price of lead. In 1833 a bitter dispute led to three miners from the neighbouring Maypitt Mine being suffocated by smoke from fires lit deliberately by miners from the Magpie Mine. A murder trial followed but all of the 24 suspected culprits were freed because they had been provoked and it was also unclear...