The Cursed Mine. Magpie Lead Mine
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ธ.ค. 2022
- This video is about Magpie Lead mine Derbyshire England. There has been lead mining in Derbyshire since Roman times. Leads mining at Magpie goes back to the Georgian era and 1740. it's a 18th century mine. We take a look at the old abandoned mine buildings in this urbex trip and examine the history of the mine. We take a look down four old mine shafts. The deepest being 728 feet deep. We look at the engine house that housed a Newcomen atmospheric engine. The old chimney flues are still intact and we can look at those as well. Getting a glimpse inside the 1840 chimney. The Mine is cursed due to the magpie miners lighting fires and smoking out the neighbouring miners in a rival mine, killing them. The wives of the murdered miners put a curse on the mine.
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Brilliant ! one of the most rich lead mines in the Peak District. Yes, its possible to enter the working by the sough -drainage channel - from the Wye valley. This old mine is looked after by yhe Peak District Mines Historical Society. The mine was worked intermitantly until the 1950s.. The corrugated iron hut and the metal winding gear is from that last attempt to make money from mining lead in the 1950s. It didn't make any money, too wet and not enough lead ore. Its one of the best preserved lead mines in the Peak, I love it ! That smaller shaft is a climbing shaft; a few feet vertical, and a foot or sor horizontal, then a few feet vertical, usually going down by steps for up to two or three hundred feet. The miners would use these to get to the active mining faces.
Have you been in the workings Malcolm
50 odd years ago I was there; me and a bunch of cavers. The shaft the winding gear went to was still open and you could get in, which a couple of us did, there were steel ladders zigzagging down the shaft. I went down a couple of hundred feet, without a lifeline(!) and came back up. It was not a happy place. Those old shafts were still open in them days. Some of the lads hung a caving ladder down one but it was too deep to get to the bottom of. I think we only had about 200 feet of ladder and the shaft was 600 ft
You brave git
My dad was there about the same time with Eccles Caving Club, always had loads of stories to tell about the place
@@ltipst2962 Daft not brave!
Strange that because it was about 50 years ago I went there with a couple of older guys Lesand Ron who owned the Good Luck Lead Mine at Via Gellia Derbyshire , I was lowered down on a bosons chair about 100 ft but was to young to go down the ladders , we spent the night in the main building I slept in a rope hammock most uncomfortable sleep ever lol .
(Anderton Lift) I went into the sough with a member of the Peak District Historic Mines Association in the early seventies. Apparently the sough had been blocked and they opened it up with an excavator. Cork out of a bottle. The torrent apparently flooded the Wye valley and muddied the flow so much that it wiped out quite a bit of fishing. The sough is about 500ft below the pithead and thus they had that much less to raise the water out of the lower levels. They also used the sough with small boats to get the materials and waste out.
I went back to the sough with my caving buddies and my canoe and was able to go in a long way. There is quite a bit of flourspar down there which is very pretty when your light catches it. The workings are a bit dodgy with wood steps and props- obviously fairly rotten. It was exciting canoeing out into the Wye. I have the booklet that the PDHMA produced. Will try to get it to you.
Worked as a tin miner in my late teenage years, 2000 ft straight down. Cornwall is littered with these the deepest at 3000 ft. As a child most shafts had minimal safety of perhaps a wall or some rickety barbed wire, cows and dogs were regularly rescued by the fire brigade from shallower ones. Most were capped by EU Grant money up to about year 2000. An experience I will never forget and have fond memories of.
I live in Cornwall and love the mining history we have here, thank you for all of your hard work Sir. xx
Thanks sue. Unfortunately I'm one of the last true Cornish miners done in the traditional way, mechanization is taking over even this career, what little there is but hopefully more in the future for Cornish people.
@@adrianbew9641 Hopefully as that is one hell of a tough career and I take my hat off to you. I hope You and your Family have a great Christmas & New Year, much love. xx
@@SueGirling68 💙
adrian i salute you . your a brave lad.
My Dad worked in Lacnor uranium mine at Elliot lake in Canada. One of my uncles went to get a job and saw them bring a dead man up in a bushel basket .My uncle went home.😢😢😢
My grandad worked in the mines in Eliot lake though stuff, he moved to the wood pulp mill . i still have a cousin and aunty there. No mines now
Search on TH-cam "miners life in the pit" old interview with two miners from different towns. They told of the same stories but said it happened every day. I'm certain it would be an interesting watch for you. Your dad is v brave. On the channel ThamesTv from I imagine the 70s early 80s.
Great to see James back
All the lumpy bumpy land around the mine is old surface workings. 12:52 I was expecting you to say "Aren't lead mines brilliant"
After watching this I got talking to a friend who is part of the caving community .he also used to take part in cave rescues.I mentioned the video and as I expected he said" I've been in there.The workings around there are massive stretching all the way through the hillsides." I think they did some survey work in the seventies and eighties.
Nice one and interesting. Thanks guys.
I'm generation "cut the spuds for the chips". That would be the late fifties
Nice little vid Martin z , good to see how much is still left over
Tell James he needs to get some decent buns in for the next one 🤣
Live in Buxton just a few minutes from here, very eerie place at night
Be kids at first 😢
James was going all-out today with both action and dialogue! Nothing like a free-entry site to get him excited i guess 😆
Seen that place from the road, but never been to explore it. Great that it's existed all this time and we can see how they used to mine stuff donkeys years ago... A great bit of viewing on Christmas day morning 🙂
A book worth reading is 'Lead mining in the Peak District' by Trevor Ford and Jim Rieuwerts. It explains the history of lead mining from Roman times
Martin and assistant James (Jamie!) doing more location scouting for Hammer Films. Or early 1970s Dr Whos? I bet a Yetti was watching you all the time. Next Week: Martin & the Silurians.
Hi martin the second shaft was the engine shaft the small one is the climbing shaft, red soil is the one with the horse Jin the main shaft is 600 ft to the water I've looked up it in the 70s 80s now no longer accessible the roof fell in not far from the shaft
Thanks Martin, love Sundays :)
Good video Martin. This is very much my stomping ground. The mine is preserved and maintained by the Peak District Mines Historical Society. I’ve been a member since the early 1970’s and have been involved in many of their projects over the years.
A few bits of further information for you.
The main shaft is 590’ to water. In the late 1970’s I dived to the bottom of the shaft into a large chamber or ‘stope’. There was evidence of a pump there which was buried in rubble. At that time the shaft was equipped with cables and pipework which has since collapsed.
The horse gin was a reconstruction which we built in the early 1980’s.
The secure building which you didn’t mention was the mine manager’s house and the forge which is now used as the Society’s field study centre.
The round building was indeed the powder house or magazine.
Over the years society members, myself included, used a winch to descend and explore the shafts on the site before we capped them all.
The Maypitt Mine and Redsoil Mine are thought to be on the same vein but worked from different shafts. When the two mine workings met there was a dispute about ownership.
I highly recommend you visit the Peak District Mining Museum in Matlock Bath. This is also operated by PDMHS.
Many of the miners were farmers who worked in the mines during Winter when farming wasn’t possible. They were paid by the amount ore they raised so it was probably them and not the owners who created the conflict.
@@daveclucas4663 Beside every hole stands a liar. Mine owners are renown the world over for being skin flints when it came to their employees well being. I heard lead was the result of uranium deteriorating. England [Tarshish mentioned in the Bible] was a major source of lead for 4000 years and for Roman plumbing that led to the fall of Rome. Jonah took a boat to Tarshish to evade God's will, real lesson there Mates!
I used to be a member there at one time!
The Gin was made around 20 years ago as a reconstruction.
The main access to the mine was from the last shaft you showed (I think) and was a series of ladders so that if you fell you would only break a leg and not kill yourself .... who said there was no compassion back then?
We were told thet Magpie never made a profit and only ever managed to break even, which might explain owners antagonism to rival mines!
The buildings in the background of your last shot were the managers office and were converted to dorms ion the left and a community room on the right! It had a generator but was heated by a wood fired burner (took a while to warm up but by the end of the night everyone was against the far wall because of the heat.
One of the tricks was to get a shovel full of the red hot coals from the fire and dump them down the grill of the main shaft. You had to be careful but you could see them drop quite some way. The reason you had to be careful was the updraught was strong enough to beat gravity and after a short time those red hot coals would then erupt at quite a rate into the night sky in the best Roman Candle I have ever seen.
The place was dangerous though and you needed to be carefull as on a dark night you could just walk over the edge of a building basement, or worse!
There are many pits in the area where they dug a tunnel down and excavated at the base to form a chamber. when they felt it might collapse they simply cut a tree down and stuffed it into the hole bole first causing the branches to wedge tight against the wall. They would then throw the spoil in over the tree and call it good. Unfortunately when people or cows walk over it after a century of rot it can collapse ..... hence some of the landscape!
Also the cattle in the area are not friendly and have been known to attack people. I have talked to one woman who had to be evacuated by air ambulance after such an event with her dog!
As a place to view the meteor showers in a dark sky, it is one of the country's best, and also an interesting place in its own right!
Cheers thank you, Fortunately we never saw any cattle
I remember on our Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award, our expedition route took us through the Magpie mine site, made for an awesome stop for lunch!
Rather than the upcast/ downcast shaft arrangement, that you'd find in typical coal pits, Peak District mines often have a drawing shaft & climbing shaft. The drawing (winding) shaft would be the larger & go to the sole of the mine. This is the shaft that ore was wound to the surface by. The climbing shafts are usually around 50ft deep & small diameter. There may be several of these used to descend to the bottom of the mine, one above the other but slightly offset. They often had recesses or protruding stones in the side, to act as hand and footholds. Alternatively, pieces of wood ( known as stemples) were wedged between the shaft walls to act as a crude ladder. These shafts were how the men got to & from work.
@@derektaylor2941 When you mention parallel tunnels, I presume you are referring to (typically) coal mines. With coal workings ventilation is very much an issue, in ways that don’t often apply to small lead mines. Coal seams once exposed to air, can emit highly flammable methane gas, whilst oxidation of the coal removes oxygen from the mine atmosphere. Both can result in the demise of the miners! To ventilate such workings, fresh air is drawn in via the downcast shaft & distributed through the main airway(s). Stale air travels out of the mine through the return airway(s) to be discharged by a fan on the upcast shaft. The “main” & “return airways” are the parallel tunnels that you see in such mines.
This is a very simplified generalisation of mine ventilation, a massive subject that whole books have been written about.
I lived at Magpie, in the old Blacksmiths Shop, as a member of P.D.M.H.S during 1974 and 1975. The Main Shaft was easily descended to the first level at 312ft (I think) where we did a lot of exploration, I also helped open the collapsed Sough (drainage level) into the River Wye and was the first up it (I was the idiot daredevil). Where you were by the Gin was Red Soil Mine, the bigger shaft was the winding shaft, the smaller was the climbing shaft used by the miners for daily climbing up the ladders or projecting stones - no hoists... The round house was the Powder House made with a blow-off roof and well away from the main buildings in case of accidental explosion.
Incidentally the square chimney you were trying to film up wasn't gated in the 1970's and there's a photo of me sitting on the top of the chimney after climbing up the inside. The "curse" was caused by ill-feeling between the local Maypitt Mine and the 'imported' Cornish miners at Magpie, not really the bosses fault - Maypitt is in the group of trees on the right, halfway up the track from the road.
The last shaft you looked at I've descended (as I have all the shafts) and was totally blocked at about 100ft. You missed probably the most historical shaft, a small round shaft very close to the side of the Smithy, this is the "Founder's Shaft" and was the first shaft sunk on the site and to the lead vein claimed as Magpie Mine...
Interesting video though, just a shame I wasn't there to act as your guide 🙂👍
Thank you. Very informative what you have said. Yes I would of loved a guide on the day.
Interesting! I wonder if you ever knew my family that lived in Bakewell during the second world war and owned a fruit shop up until the time you mentioned. They lived in Lumford House right at the foot of the Chert Mines where my nan would escape as a young girl during air raids. I've been in there multiple times myself and I'm constantly meeting people that knew my grandparents ☺️
Excellent production. We had everything: tunnel, chimneys, winding gear, shafts, aerial views, great scenery, sunset, great commentary, refreshments, information and great editing. Many thanks and Merry Christmas. Pete
Next time your in south yorkshire call at elsecar heritage center to see the oldest newcomen beam steam pumping engine still in its original location , it was used to pump water out of elsecar colliery, all these engine house ruins will make imediate sense when you see what went where
We used both cage and chair at the pits I worked in. Myself I always called it a chair. We had many names for the same thing, such as the corrugated roofing sheets were known as Lagging - Tins. - Zinks or Sheets. It got a little confusing when one worked with miners from other county's. The gunpowder round house would be called a powder mag throughout my career. I still miss riding the chair. 14 mtrs per second for a mere 1,500 / 2,000ft. Better than any funfair ride. 👍
Brilliant video again. I wish these old mines could be opened again as long as it could be economic. We need the metals.
You can recognise a Newcomen engine house by the extra thickness of the wall that supported the rocking beam. Not noticeable from ground level, your drone shots bring it to life.
In the remnant of the Engine House, Lathkill, below Over Haddon, one of those was there, wasn't it, entrained up from Cornwall ?
Looks cold guys. Must have been even chillier walking back after dark. Many thanks from the armchair explorers amongst us. Have a great Christmas. Cheers from Peter in Oz.
Nippy? It's cold enough to freeze the Bo**ox off a brass monkey
Ps To you and the crew, have a Merry Xmas and a great new year AND thanks for entertainment over the last year
Nice to see the capped pump rod shaft at the end of the newcomen engine house.
Oh no, can James order another present and send the Torch back in time for Christmas 🤔
The Sough or drainage level at the main shaft is aprox 500 feet from the surface. Love the video. God bless
Looking at the comments, it's all been said. Still I congratulate you for this historical documentation of English, local mining practices and architecture. Well done, very well done. Breathtaking.
The shafts often followed the mineral lode downwards instead of being straight, as the lead, tin or copper raised would pay for the sinking of the shaft. If you’re ever In Cornwall you can go underground at Poldark Mine or Geevor to get a feel for what it must have been like.
The sought end has some really good Water ways and a water powered small building if you go over there . There’s a bridge that crosses the river and then to the right is the sough and the other water wheel . Also inside the sough are lock gates which I was told are used to float small barges to the entrance to go into the mine . It still has people who go in to inspect it via the sough
i REALLY like how the plants are grown down in the shafts
I was a brickie stone mason in the 70's /80s Z&W Wade we did some repairs on it and the top of it.there is also a sough come out in ashford dale they cut 2" a day they cut 2" apart vertical grooves with a pick ,then speched them of horizontally with chisels (Proper Men) though it might interest you .👍
Thanks Martin for another interesting video. Perhaps it was a lament for the 3 miners lost that the woman singing along in the background was reminding us about.
love the banter between James and Martin now! classic combo with these 2 lads on the video!
Nice one fellas 👍 good to see the BR hat 🤣
I live ten miles from this mine , yet have never been.. however, there are dozens of old workings and shafts nearby. Very cool, I'm gonna drive to magpie next dry day
Very atmospheric very enjoyable .thanks
You two make a great team. Always interesting and I always look forward to your next video! Stay well! and Merry Christmas!
Agree, bet these two lads would be great to go for a pint or two with 👍 some interesting conversations would be had for sure!
That is one deep shaft !!! When you talked about the horsegin, it reminded me of a film from the 80s called “frog dreamers”
The kids thought there was a monster in a pond and called it the donkeygin. It was an old digger under water sunk, the bucket was over some air pocket so ever so often the bucket would fill with air causing the arm to raise out of the water scaring the shhh out of the kids 😂
Diesel engine aka donkey engine… Donkeygin
A beautiful industrial heritage that can be seen from the mine.
Great explore guys! felt like I was with you.
Another great film Martin. What a tough life it must have been.
A side issue, but your mention of your trainspotting trip to London reminded me of when, aged eleven, a friend and I went on our own by train from Rochdale to York for the day to spend the day on York station looking out for Deltics. It would have been 1969 I think. My Mum must have thought it was ok, she made us a packed lunch and later on I wrote about the day trip as part of a school project so the teachers mustn’t have been concerned either. Times have changed! We were lucky to have had that freedom. I think we spotted five or six Deltics.
Keep up the great work!
Haunting.
The lives spent here!
And lives lost.
Amazing
Thankyou.
Nice 1 Martin, I can see blokes going down the squar-ish holes but, geez that lil round one, wOw! Rippa sunrise/sunset too. Nice work m8s, thanks, you live in a good necka da woods!
Went there this summer while we were camping at Flagg just down the road. Great place, hoping to go to the open day next summer. People have been along the drainage adit towards the mine, some stuff available if you Google a bit.
Good for James sticking with the dance classes. His performance in Swan Lake will never be forgotten by those that survived the shock of his white tights.
😀
Top video, Martin. Ever thought of dropping a glowstick down a deep shaft, to get a visual idea of how deep they are?
It's a lovely, eerie site, that. Definite feeling of kenopsia there - a place that was once bustling with industry, and dozens of folks doing various tasks, now deserted, ruinous, and silent. Literally awesome.
I should of tried that
The mine’s historical society do various open day guided history tours through the spring-summer time which are very informative
Thanks for your latest video. I really do enjoy your videos so much. I'm not sure why but sometimes I get quite emotional when watching them. I suppose it's because I'm a old chap and bemoan the fact that so much which was once once there is now gone or just a ruin. So much beautiful architecture crumbling. You do such a wonderful job reminding us what was once there and giving credit to the men who built it all.
You're not alone in that, Keith.
We don't know we're born today. Fantastic video once again and I thank you both.
Never has that trite Manchunian farewell of "See yin a bit" been delivered in such an enticing way, promising more beautifully presented history adventures in the future.
The stunning visuals and music, and the expected humour and Brew break, are getting better all the time. Thanks.
Unlike superheroes Batman & Robin, or Wallace & Gromit, or favourite Super Pair Martin & Brew Boy are guys we can relate to and I for one will look forward to seeing more of Team Zero in a bit.
Merry Christmas
Heartfelt comment this. Glad you enjoy his videos as much as I :)
4-6 million gallons a day from one sough puts the emptying of the reservoirs you filmed during late summer into context.
Merry Christmas to you both and Best Wishes for another great year of videos in 2023.
You can't beat a good old pokey hole, for some reason I've always loved mines caves and other underground places also nice bobi nog martin 😊
Loved this one. My two favourites from Manchester. Well done. If I don't see you before Christmas - have the best one you have every had. Be well. Cheers
Fantastic video Martin and James, I didn't know this place existed. Interesting place with great history and brilliant that it's still there for people to visit. Thanks again for keeping us entertained on a Sunday, much appreciated.
It's worth looking out for an open day
You and James are such a great commentary partnership. It just works and makes the videos such a pleasure to watch.
Informative video. Beautiful shot of the moon over the mine.
James's cap makes him look like a tank commander in WWII ready for battle.
Fascinating and great video. Thanks Martin and James. Best regards from Chicago
great vid Martin, I was there during the summer, I only live 10 minutes away, cheers
Another classic from Martin, can’t imagine working down that mine in primitive conditions
As a Boltonian/Leifer, I try to imagine working in such a place, as this was the environment in which about 4-5 generations of my family worked in, all the way through the 1800s.
you blokes make my day.The new Laurel and Hardy.
Amazing place. When you're out in these beautiful open areas it reminds me of the Depeche Mode video for "Enjoy the Silence", I expect to see the little King go walking by in the background carrying his folding chair. Have a great Christmas !
Another excellent video Martin :) Mines and pits are just as fascinating as old drains and culverts. History under our feet!
Brilliant Martin, love anytime to do with the mines , imagine the pain in digging’s those shafts with no electricity no lights no heath and safety , the quality of the workmanship is incredible
All lit by but a flickering wick.
Interesting videos always look forward to watching them.
Just watching video awesome video hat British rail
I definitely need one for my railway exploring Videos
love the hat and nice to see your supporting the RMT martin big love
Mines or mills: always a fine adventure with Martin (& James when he's about)! And if you think it's nippy there, it's -25 here this morning. That's the warmest expected the next few days.
Some good old school Martin Z fancy lighting shots. Nice. Thanks Martin. And James too.
Glad James could get a day off school for this one. Good luck with the strike, Martin.
Congrats on reaching 100k Martin, Merry Christmas
love lookin at shafts like this
Fantastic video gents.... will go look myself soon... :)
ACE, I'm really glad you filmed & lit down them shafts cos when I was there it was on a cloudy day like yours & I didn't have torch & I wanted to see what they was like, Cheers Chaps...
Liked the atmospheric voice on soundtrack
Martin, to see the largest working newcomen engine, in the UK, visit the Elsecar Heritage Centre near Barnsley.
Thanks Martin finally got my youtube sorted .
Youre right Martin, we dont know were born !. How on earth did they dig shafts that deep, especially in tin mines. Lovely video .
Thanks So Much Martin A James A Absolutely Brilliant Video From Blue
You’re right there Martin, it sure does ring bells … all the best guys
I'm glad that you remind us you are Martin at the start, might forget otherwise 🙂
Brilliant video Martin and James, really love the info into the past xx
Brilliant video 👍 looked very spooky last off 😮
Loved this video Martin (and James). Seen Magpie covered before but your attention to detail gives a much better perspective on just how large and well-preserved the place is. A wonderful look back at our industrial heritage!!
GREAT WORK men. "In days of old - When men were bold ..." etc. Thank You both.
You do like a good shaft Martin! Haha!😁👌✌
That weather looks good to me, we have had 35celsius today and it is 9pm and 25celsius. Western Australia. Good video I miss the historic buildings.
I got an Adventure Kit early 70s for Christmas.
See if James can get you one. They're great.
Excellent video.
Stunning picture at 27.00 with the buildings silhouetted agains the cloudy sky!
Love your videos!
Thank you 👍
The walling at the shaft-head is Gingeing. Yiou came to Bakewell and did not get a Pudding from Bloomers!! Great video guy as ever
Lovely overview
You can calculate the depth by dropping something down the shaft and waiting until you stop hearing it fall. There are sites that do the calculations for you if you enter the duration of the fall
Hey martin hope you doing fine, this zak utman from islamabad , Pakistan, waiting long for new videos, I am reguglar viewer, plz do more videos regularly, I been in london for long time but now in Pakistan . Your videos took me to glorious past of great nation with great engineers and planners. Take care😊 hoping to see you soon.
Thanks Zak. Back tomorrow 👍
Very interesting Martin. Like to know more about the sough! Future video maybe??
If I can find it David