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BULLETIN OF THE PEAK DISTRICT MINES HISTORICAL SOCIETY LTD. •. Volume 6 Number 4 September 1976 ODIN MINE, CASTLETON, DERBYSHIRE by J.H. Rieuwerts and T.D. Ford Contants Pages Introduction and acknowledgements· 1 A walk over the surface by T.D. Ford 2 The History of Odin Mine by J.H. Rleuwerts 1. Early Barmote Court disputes 7 2. Early expansion - Richard Bagshawe and tho beginning of the Knowlegates Sough 10 3. The Lord's Meer and the workings in Peak Forest Liberty 16 4. The driving of the Cartgate and the continuation of Knowlegates Sough 18 5. The deeper exploitation df the mine 23 The accessible workings today from notes by Peter Lord 32 The Geology of Odin Mine by T.D. Ford 34 The mineralogy of Odin Mine by T.D. Ford 37 Geochemical prospecting over Odi n Rake by T.D. Ford 39 Bibliography of published works 41 References to documents 42 Appendices: 1. Critical heights and depths in Odin Mine 43 2. Check List of Soughs and Levels in Odin Mine 44 3. Ore measured at Odin Mine 46 4. Notes on the old plans 49 a) Introduction 49 bl James Hall's plan of 1751·2 49 c} Robert How's plan of 1757 50 d) Robert How's plan and section of 1769 51 el Various small plans 52 DownloadedOne copy issued free from to paid up members: www.pdmhs.com additional copies £1.60 Price to Non-members £1.76 • • I "Come fellows drink drink drink your fil l, Full soon we must gang up the hill; Where Odin rich i n shining ore, Shall give us glasses - hundreds more. Then l uck to Odin - golden mine, With metal bright like th' sun doth sh'ine". William Wood, 1862. women Lead workers at Odin Mine, 1829 The dress of these women ... seems contrived to secure them from the cold and wet attendant on their employment. The head is much enwrapped and the features nearly hidden in a muffling of handkerchiefs over which is put a man's hat ... the £air miners of Derbyshire whom I saw were complete harridans. A man's coat of coarse grey or dark blue cloth defends the arms, back, throat and bosom of each lady from the cold; beneath it, but tucked up t o form a kind of bag appears a gown of red stuff, set off by a bright green petticoat; then som e shoes at l east three inches thick, bound on to the feet with handkerchiefs, thongs and cords. Some of the women wereDownloaded very old, and one in particular from, who www.pdmhs.com had worked in the mine from her youth was nearly a hundred years of age, yet she was upright and active and wrinkles alone betrayed the fact. (From a newspaper cut ting dated 1829 in Derby Library, Local Studies Accession No . 3213, p . 90) . • INTRODUCTION Odin Vein outcrops, or, to use a mining phrase, is "cut olit to Day" by the side of the Castleton to Chapel-en-le-Frith Road. Here, near the "Hairpin Bend" the narrow, slightly inclined, rock-walled gorge is a well known feature. The vein forms the boundary between Treak Cliff Hill and Mam Tor, the former with its famous show caves, the Blue John Caverns and Treak Cliff Cavern, the latter standing much higher, the great scarred face like a gigantic quarry. Distinctively hummocky ground marks the land-slip at the foot of Mam Tor, extending non hwardly and eastwardly in a fan-shaped mass. The present entrance to the mine is via a small slit at the south western extremity of the gorge, as all former means of access. I.e. those used during Its working life, are either blocked or covered.· The mine is well documented, there being In existence five reckoning books, upwards of a dozen plans, a wealth of Information in Barmasters' books and In the voluminous correspondence of the Bagshawe family. At least five soughs were associated with the mine and at least two major drawing levels. There is evidence that another two or even three soughs were driven and one other drawing level. These are problems not yet resolved. The workings were shown to the public in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the minerals it produced earned it a place In most guide books of the period, but these give little detail. Most of these books took the name to indicate that the Danes had formerly worked the place, but there is no evidence fo r this. In this context it is also worthy of comment that virtually all pre 19th century references call it Oden mine, or in one case Owden. Only at the beginning of the 19th century does the spell ing Odin become common, but the older spelling was still retained in many instances. Although there are gaps in our knowledge, this book set outs to record what is known of the mine's long history, spanning as it does six centuries and terminating with an up to date asses.sment of the geology and mineralogy, and an account of recent explorations in the old workings. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank the following people who have either helped in the preparation of the manuscript or sllo'Ned access to documents In their possession. Firttly to Mr. Peter Smith, Chairman of the former British Speleological Association for gi-Yin9 me access to plans and documents: belonging to the Assoclstlon before they were avallable for public impaction, The late Mr. John Mort, Bannaster gave unlimited access to plans and documents in his possession. latterly thes.e were Inspected et his home at Oroyle-sden, and linc.oro thanks are duo to the lsto MI'S, A. Mort for her unending hospitality. Mr. W. Erskine, the present Barmaster has kindly allowed a continuation of research into his vut collection of mining records. To Mr. T. Wragg, Keeper of the Devonshire Collections. and to the Trustees of the Chatsworth Setdement for the privilege of visiting Chatsworth House on regular occasions In order to teke notes f rcrn their archives. To Mr, Peter J. Lord for allowing us to include his survey of tho accouible parts of the mine. To Mr. Michael E. Smith for &llowlng us to use some of his photographs. Thanks ere also due to tho following: Mlss J. Sinar, tho Derbyshire County ArchMt1, and the Derbyshire Record Office staff. the Librarian, Sheffield City Libraries, the librarian, John Ryland$ Library. Manchester, Mr. J. L0W$0n for many transcripts from the obove documents, Mr. M. Brooke-Taylor, Mr, C.S. Wright of Eyern Hall, Mr. S. Thompson, Mr. A. Flindall, Mr, L.A. Shhtlds carried out a survey of the surface features ar0t1nd Knowles Shaft. Finally. to Miss Lucy Wajs and Mrs, Sue Cunnin~am for typing the menuscript, a particularl y unenviabfe task when so many of the extrecu are quoted in their ori9int1I spelling end contain terms peculiar to Derbyshire lead mining, and to Mr,, Nila Ftirquh.trson and Mrs. Janet WM:terman for redrawi ng the vario us old plans . Downloaded from www.pdmhs.com • ODIN MINE - A WALK OVER THE SURFACE by T.D. Ford Before attempting to understand the history of Odin Mine it is esSential to walk over the surface and to study the relative positions and heights of the surviving relics (Figs. 1 & 3). If these are clear in the mind it will be so much ea_sier to place oneself in the mind of the Old Man, to look at the problems from his point of view and to comprehend-his solutions to these difficul ties. A good starting point is the parking bay by the roadside outside Odin Gorge. From here the disposition of the limestone surface inclining rapidly from Treak Cliff across the mouth of Odin Gorge towards the road can be seen. The cleft of the worked-out vein or Gorge is obvious, and above and beyond it the steep shale slopes rise towards the landslip scar of Mam Tor. Close to the cleft is a cave mouth, commonly called Odin Cave today but once apparently known as Gank or Toume Hole. The flat area between this and the road is the grassed over waste tailings of a spar-washing plant which operated here in the 1940s and 1950s. The waste filled a hollow some 20 feet deep with the Cartgate entrance to the mine therein. A tunnel ran under the road roughly under the lay-bys to the crusher and processing floors close to the Knowles Engine shaft and the now-unknown site of the much earlier Sough Engine Shalt (Plate 2). From the lay-by walk a few yards down the road and turn sharply back down a track to the crusher wheel (Plate 2) erected in 1823 for £40. Beyond this the hollow now occupied by the stream was once the site of vast waste hillocks depicted in a watercolour by J. Webber in 1789 (Plate 1 ). These carried a row of small buildings, presumably used as office, store, blacksmith's shop, stable etc. but these and much of the was-tewere removed during r0ad·building operations last century. Across the stream a fence surrounds the flooded Knowles Engine Shaft sunk in the early 1820s. Adjacent to it are a gin-circle, where a horse-gin provided the power for winding, and a hollow p robably caused by a collapsa in the mine. Climb the stile and follow the footpath downhill towards Knowlegates Farm, crossing part of the toe o f the landslip, About 60 yards and 140 yards from the farm arc two mounds with shaft hollows marking the shafts on the Old Odin (Knowlegates) Sough d riven from 1711 onwards.