Lead mining in Matlock and District is discussed under the following sub headings:

• Roman 'Finds'
• In more recent times
• Lead mines in the parish at the beginning of the nineteenth century
• Description of the miners, including the womenfolk
• Further information

L(uci) Aruconi Verecundi metal(li) Lutud(arensis)
- which translates as
'(Product) of Lucius Aruconius Vericundus from the Lutudarensian mine.'

Vericundus was one of the private lessees in the Derbyshire area. Lutudarum was presumably the administrative centre of the Derbyshire lead mining area, but its location is unknown.

The whereabouts of the second pig, which was found on Matlock Moor in 1787 and dated from between 41 - 54 A.D., is unknown. The face also carried an inscription, which was recorded, and this time was rather more cryptic:

TI. CL. TR. IVT. BR. EX. ARG.
- which translates as
Ti(berii) Cl(audi) Tr(ifernae?) Lut(udarense) Br(itannicum) ex arg(entariis)
or
'(Product) of Tiberius Claudius Triferna: Lutudarensian British (lead) from the lead-silver works.'

Interestingly, four other pigs 'carrying the same inscription' were found in Sussex in 1824.

The third pig was found in good condition in 1894 on the Portland Grange estate, which had become part of Tansley. The inscription is:

which stands for:
(moulded) P(ubli) Rubri Abascanti Metalli Lutudare(n)s(is)
- which translates as
'(Product) of Publius Rubrius Abascantus from the Lutudarensian mine.'

A further pig from the same mine, bearing the name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, was found on nearby Cromford Moor and so can be dated to about 130 A.D.

Between 1550 and 1692 any man could dig for lead by right in the 'King's Field' - the mountain limestone district of Derbyshire - so they could search without being accountable to the landowner for the surface damage! When a searcher found a possible vein it was marked temporarily with a cross on the ground. The King had rights over the strip of land on each side. The miner used a tool called a mattock or a pick - and hammers and iron wedges in harder veins - to loosen the ore. Many mines were very shallow and, once opened, proved too poor to develop. Benjamin Bryan (p.291)^[1] cites the example of 'Ember Hill, on the shoulder of Masson, above Matlock Bath' where there are hollows in the suface showing where there had been fruitless searches for lead. I remember being told as a child to avoid the dangers of the various excavations that littered the top of Masson Hill. Old shafts were covered with a pile of uncemented stones to protect the entrance to the mine but over time these fell in and the disused mines had to be securely fenced. In recent years attention has been given to capping the shafts to make them safe for the unwary wanderer.

There were small buildings, called 'coes', near each mine shaft and they were used for tool storage, to provide shelter and as places for changing into working clothes. It was here that the lead was smelted and stored until ready for sale. Lead mining was even more important in the nearby villages of Winster and Bonsall; there are lots of tiny derelict one-room miners' dwellings still to be seen on Bonsall Moor.

Lead is, of course, very poisonous. As miners washed lead-bearing material, great care was taken with the washing vats, which had to be covered. If cattle accidentally drank the poisoned water they would die from something called 'belland' (Bryan, p.295^[1]).

The disposal of the used water was strictly controlled. The Barmote Court for Matlock, dating from at least 1653, was held at nearby Wirksworth twice a year in April and September. It was this court that dealt with lawbreakers, settled disputes and determined claims and insisted upon the lore of the miners being upheld.

In 1852 Charles Clarke of Matlock Bath was barmaster; his Matlock deputy was Michael Cadin.

^[a] A rake vein is a straight and vertical crack or fissure in the limestone strata filled with spar and ore etc.
^[b] A pipe vein is a cavity, often nearly horizontal, between the beds of limestone, similarly filled, having a narrow rake leading from it to the surface of the stratum.
^[c] According to Farey, the only mine steam-engine in the county was going here in 1809

Some of these mines are also listed under caverns in Matlock Bath. More information can be found in:
Gem of the Peak (1840).

Firth (p.419^[2]) quotes Defoe's "Tour Through Britain"^[3], which was written in the early eighteenth century. Defoe described one miner he had seen emerging from a shaft, wearing a leather suit and cap, as "lean as a skeleton, pale as a corpse, his hair and beard a deep black; what little flesh he had was lank and, as we thought, something of the colour of lead itself". Apparently, Defoe needed an interpreter as he could not understand the dialect! He also observed how narrow the shaft - at that time called a groove -was with narrow steps, made of timber, leading straight down into the mine. He says that the lead miners were 'highly esteemed in the British army as sappers'.

Women also worked in the mines and Firth, quoting an unattributed account from 1829, says: "The head is much enwrapped, and the features nearly hidden in a muffling of handkerchiefs, over which is put a man's hat, in the manner of the paysannes of Wales."² He also describes their gowns, usually red, as being 'tucked up round the waist in a sort of bag, and set off by a bright green petticoat'.² They also wore a man's grey or dark blue coat and shoes with 3" thick soles that were tied round with cords. The 1829 writer called them "complete harridans!"

A great deal of money has been made and lost in the mining of lead and, although the example he gives is not about Matlock inhabitants, Firth quotes Bray as writing in 1777 that miners in the Ecton mine earned one shilling (twelve pence) for six hours work; women earned between fourpence and eightpence a day; boys and girls earned between tuppence (two pence) and fourpence a day. The mine's owner, the then Duke of Devonshire, was receiving £10,000.

In "Peak Scenery",^[4] (pp.258-9) Rhodes describes passing a small lead mine called Mouse Hole, that was between Willersley and Matlock. He found a 'poor solitary individual, apparently about eighty years of age, industriously pursuing his daily avocation.' The old man had a bucket for the ore which he let down, went down into the mine himself to fill and then raised when it was full. He placed 'the produce ... in his little hovel at the mouth of the mine'. Rhodes also remarked on the natural cheerfulness of this man, who was clearly very poor.

Gem of the Peak has more information on the Caverns
Smedley's Cumberland Cavern Advertisement from Bemrose's Guide (about 1869).
There's a little more, under Antiquities on page 41, in the same guide.
Magic Lantern Slides and Vista Screen views There are some images of the interior of the Great Rutland Cavern (The Nestus Mine or Nestor Mine) .

The Wolley Manuscripts mention Matlock miners petitioning the House of Commons and the documents contain a good deal of information about lead mining in Matlock.
The Wolley Manuscripts, Matlock provides detailed information from the Catalogue at County Hall LSL
The Wolley Manuscripts, Derbyshire has more general information about the whole county

County Hall LSL in Matlock has a three part Index to the Catalogue of British Museum Additional Manuscripts Numbers 6676 to 6686 being the Manuscripts relating to the Derbyshire Leadmining Industry which are part of the British Museum Additional Manuscripts numbers 6668-6718, otherwise known as the Wolley Manuscripts, prepared from a microfilm copy for Derbyshire County Library by Miriam Wood (1977). ISBN 0 903463 04 0 pub. Derbyshire County Council.
How to contact County Hall LSL in Matlock

External Links (these will open in a new window):

Read about Roman Britain on Guy de la Bédoyère's website

Peter Aspey describes the Great Rutland Cavern (The Nestus Mine or Nestor Mine) and the Great Masson Cavern, from his own experience of living at the Heights of Abraham
Peter Aspey's website (see Personal Details/Early History)

Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd., where further information on mining may be found.