Dale Mine Open Day

Come along to see what we have been doing during fieldwork to consolidate the ore bin structure and excavate around it. Meet some of the dedicated volunteers who have given their time and energy to this project and meet the site directors, Dr John Barnatt and Mark Womersley, as they talk you through the fieldwork we have been carrying out and tell you about the history of the site. Guided tours throughout the day. You can also stick around for the official adoption of the site at the end of the day!

There is no parking at the site so please park in Warslow village or at Hulme End Car Park and walk to the site. Grid reference: SK09355861

Key Times:

• 10:30am: Open day begins - Guided tours by project volunteers throughout the day
• 11:00am and 2:00pm: talk by Dr John Barnatt (approx. 30 mins)
• 11:30am and 2:30pm: talk by Mark Womersley (approx. 30 mins)
• 3.30pm: Official adoption ceremony
• 4:00pm: End of Open Day

Dale Mine is in an impressive location, standing high above the Manifold Valley and opposite Ecton hill, site of the renowned copper mines of the Dukes of Devonshire.

From here you can begin to appreciate how the countryside we see today has been created through the interplay of natural and human forces, and begin to understand how a landscape can change. Alongside evidence of medieval lynchets, and field boundaries of various ages, the remnant lumps and bumps of earlier mining are testament to what was once a busy, noisy, industrial landscape to one that is now a picture of rural calm.

Dale Mine itself is an historically important 18th and 19th century lead and zinc mine, a key archaeological site within the PDNPA Warslow Moors Estate with a range of unusual features. One of these unusual features is a unique set of visually impressive ‘ore-bins’. Once interpreted as a series of limekilns, the ore bins are an unusual feature that has no known parallel elsewhere at a mine site in Britain. They are the focus of this project alongside the site of one of the engine houses that once stood here.

South West Peak volunteers have been working with Dr John Barnatt and Mark Womersley to consolidate the ore bin structure, excavate in front of it and the tanks behind to understand more, as well as opening a small trench on the site of one of the engine houses.

We are also crowd funding to raise money to help support this work, after which a dedicated team of volunteers will adopt the structure to ensure its care and survival for years to come. Donate here:  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/understanding-dale-mine