Magpie Lead Mine, Derbyshire by Clive Lynes

About "Magpie Lead Mine, Derbyshire"

by Clive Lynes

About the artwork

Old lead mine in Sheldon, Derbyshire UK.
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 renowned mining engineer John Taylor took over management of the mine in 1839 and he established a complex of new limestone buildings and innovative equipment. The square chimney (renovated in 2016) and the circular chimney were both built in 1840. The agent's house, smithy, winding house (now demolished), circular gunpowder house and engine reservoir (to supply boiler and cooling water to the engines) were all constructed in the 1840s. In 1869 the Cornish engine house replaced an earlier engine house building and the winding engine was installed, with the winding drum that still remains. The main shaft was sunk in 1823 and is over 200m deep. The underground channel used to drain floodwater from the mines (the sough) was built from 1873 to 1881 and runs about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to its outlet into the River Wye to the north (carrying several million litres of water per day). The mine closed with financial troubles in 1883. It was operating for brief spells between 1913 and 1923 but was then only reopened again in 1950, before finally closing down in 1958. The existing steelwork frame of the headgear above the main shaft and the corrugated iron winding house are from the 1950s. The underground mine shafts are now all closed for safety.